Ancient shaman discovered in Mexican tomb: 1,500-year-old sculpture found guarding bodies in underground shaft

The tomb, complete with the figure, was uncovered by archaeologists in the city of Villa de Alverez in Colima, Mexico
Six pots of different sizes and human bones were found in the underground burial chamber along with the figure, which measures around 20 inches
Few of the statues have been found intact as many have fallen victim to grave robbers in the region

The sculpture has a long face and holds a weapon to guard the shaft tomb which was covered over by slabs of volcanic rock. Six pots of different sizes (pictured) were also recovered

By Sarah Griffiths
PUBLISHED: 12:49 EST, 14 March 2014 | UPDATED: 13:18 EST, 14 March 2014

He has been guarding a tomb for over 1,500 years.
And only now have a team of archaeologists come across a shaman sculpture in an underground burial chamber in the state of Colima, Mexico.
It is unusual to find one of the statues intact as many have fallen victim to tomb raiders over the centuries.
The sculpture has a long face and holds a weapon - probably an axe - to guard the shaft tomb which was covered over by slabs of volcanic rock.
It was uncovered by archaeologists at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) who have become the first people to see the sculpture in hundreds of years.
Archaeologist Marco Zavaleta explained that the model was found in the entrance of an underground funerary space in Villa de Alverez.
'With regards to the figure of the shaman, he was found upright and is holding some kind of weapon, probably an axe. He was placed exactly at the entrance, towards the crypt. He is some kind of a guardian of the main character deposited inside the shaft tomb,' he said.
Sites nearby have recently revealed burials of around 35 adults and three infants in cists - small stone coffin-like boxes or used to hold bodies from a slightly later period.
The square shaft, which is around one-and-a-half metres deep, is thought to date to between 300 AD and 600AD and leads to an underground vault measuring approximately two metres squared, containing bones of either one or two individuals, physical anthropologist Rosa Maria Flores Ramirez explained.
They could have been moved to the sides of the vault to make way for another individual who was found lying on his back, who was presumably buried slightly later.

Other shaman figures discovered from the time are less stylised and more representative of the ancient people, some of whom practiced cranial deformation to elongate their heads.
It is believed that burials of this kind belonged to elite members of society as only richer people had the resources to fund such constructions.
Dogs were also buried with important people at the time as a guide to the underworld for the deceased and archaeologists have recovered what they think are dog’s teeth from the Villa de Alverez site, hinting that those laid to rest there were of high social standing.