The puppets, unearthed in El Salvador, have movable heads, strange facial expressions and may have been dressed for ritual roles.

The discovery was made in the Helena complex, an archaeological site dating back to the Late Preclassic period. The plants found included Ipomoea corymbosa (xtabentun in Mayan), Capsicum sp.

Dzibanché, located in Quintana Roo, Mexico, was founded in the Late Preclassic period and was occupied as late as the 16th ...