Mexico’s government is going bananas after this ancient artifact was discovered at a Maryland thrift store

Thrift store shopping is a great way to find useful items at a great price that’s a lot less than retail.

In some cases people visit thrift stores to look for hidden treasures lurking in the store bins.

But now Mexico’s government is going bananas after this ancient artifact was discovered at a Maryland thrift store.

Thrift store shopper buys ancient Mayan vase for $4

Anna Lee Dozier is a Washington, D.C. resident who assumed she got lucky and found a great deal on a piece of cool home décor.

The shopper purchased what she thought was a reproduction of a Mayan vase at the 2A Thrift Store in Clinton, Maryland for about $4.

However, the vase turned out to be an authentic ancient artifact that is at least 1,200 years old.

Dozier said she was just about to leave the thrift store when she saw the vase sitting on the clearance shelf near the checkout.

“It did look old to me, but not old-old, like 20 to 30 years old, maybe,” said Dozier.

Dozier is a human rights advocate with Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and has worked with indigenous communities in Mexico.

She said the unique pottery was a true treasure, even before she knew more about its age or value.

“I could see that it had some kind of link to Mexico, in terms of what it looked like, and since it’s a country that I work on and it’s really important to me, I thought it would be just a nice little thing to take home and put on the shelf and to remind me of Mexico,” she said.

In January, Dozier was on a work trip to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City when she noticed a display of Mayan vases that looked very similar to her thrift store find.

She said some of the things she saw “looked awfully like what I had at home on my shelf.”

“I was still dubious that it was real, but just thought it looked enough like that that I asked to speak to someone in the [museum] offices and just ask, if I had something of interest, what would the process be to authenticate that,” Dozier added.

The truth about the vase was revealed

Dozier was told to contact the Mexican embassy, so she sent them some photos and the dimensions of the vase.

She said Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History told her she had a real piece of history on her hands.

They sent her an email saying, “Congratulations – it’s real and we would like it back.”

It turns out that the vase dates back to between 200 and 800 AD during the Classic period, a time historians say is at the height of the indigenous Mayan civilization.

The Cultural Institute of Mexico in D.C. held a ceremony to mark the repatriation of the vase and Mexico’s Ambassador to the US Esteban Moctezuma Barraga was in attendance. 

As for Dozier, she said she is “thrilled to have played a part in its repatriation story,” and that she would “like it to go back to its rightful place and to where it belongs.”

US Political Daily will keep you updated on any developments to this ongoing story.