A $4 thrift-store vase turned out to be an ancient Maya artifact — and the find has gone viral.
Anna Lee Dozier from Washington, D.C., bought the vase at a local thrift shop during a sale. Among the discounted items, she spotted a vessel priced at $3.99, decorated in the Maya style. Dozier had previously worked in Mexico with the human rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide, so the vase brought back memories of her time there.
At first, Anna thought the vase looked old, but not older than 20 to 30 years. Imagine her surprise when she learned she owned a genuine treasure.
Shortly after, Ms. Dozier returned to Mexico. While visiting Mexico City, she toured the National Museum of Anthropology, where exhibits reminded her of her own vase. Anna decided to consult a museum expert, who recommended that she reach out to the Mexican embassy in Washington, D.C. Upon returning home, she showed photographs of the vase to the Mexican embassy, as reported by IFLScience.
The embassy staff was thrilled by the images and confirmed the piece was a genuine Maya artifact.
Cultural experts studying the vase say it originally came to the United States from southeastern Mexico. The vessel is estimated to be about 1,800 years old, placing it in the Classic Maya period, which declined for several reasons, including drought and the Spanish conquest.
Diplomats asked Ms. Dozier to return the ancient vase to the Maya homeland. The embassy organized a ceremony where Anna ceremonially handed the artifact to Mexican representatives and received thanks from Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., Esteban Moctezuma Barragan.
Anna Lee Dozier said she was glad the artifact would return to its native land and join the National Museum of Anthropology’s collection in Mexico. She added, “I’m glad the vase is leaving my home because I have three little boys, and I wouldn’t want them to break a vase that’s two thousand years old.”
In Mexico, the artifact joined 19 other recently discovered items related to the country’s cultural heritage. These relics will augment a collection of more than 13,500 Maya artifacts uncovered abroad in recent years as part of the Mexican government’s program to repatriate nationally significant items.
