A monolith found back in March 2005 at the Tantoc ruins, near Mexico's northern Gulf coast, is being theorized as evidence that women held important status roles in pre-Hispanic culture. The graves of fourteen women with burial offerings have also been found in the ruins, but it seems to the monolith itself that is being offered as prime evidence. Carvings of glyph-like inscriptions above a depiction of two decapitated women are thought to have been made by the Huasteco around 700 BC, and it's as yet uncertain whether they really are glyphs or calendar entries.

The theory that the monolith provides proof of women playing very important roles apparently relies on it whether or not the carvings depict part of a 13-month lunar calendar, which is frequently associated with female figures. If so, it would predate the earliest known calendrical inscriptions from Oaxaca by about two hundred years, so there is some doubt as to its plausibility from experts.

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