In 1898, archaeologist Marshall Saville discovered a tomb built by the Zapotec people of Mexico. Not far from the tombs, he found a row of five clay urns, decorated with elaborate masks and jewelry. They had been created to honor a noble, or a person of the highest class. The urns were then placed as an offering in the noble's tomb. Saville brought two of the urns back to the American Museum of Natural History.