Mike Ruggeri’s Maya Archaeology News
November 9, 2009
The Mural Discoveries at Calakmul
Archaeologist Carrasco Vargas and his team have been digging into 68 buried structures at Calakmul. They found a buried pyramid and dug a tunnel to inspect the interior and have found an area that had been remodeled many times over 600 years. And, in the process, have found many murals painted between 620-700 CE. 30 murals have been documented so far. They show the everyday life of the Maya and shed light on virtually unknown aspects of Maya society. There is a man with a big broad brimmed hat making maize gruel and another with an ornate headdress drinks from a bowl of the gruel. A female tamale vendor offers tamales to a man already eating some. There is a salt seller and a tobacco seller and a pottery seller. The paintings are described in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Was this a series of paintings in a Maya marketplace? These murals have opened up a new archaeological frontier in the area of Maya food and goods and feasting.
MSNBC Cosmic Log has the report here with some good photos and drawings of the murals;
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/11/09/2123180.aspx
October 31, 2009
Maya Underwater Site Explored
Scuba divers are exploring a Maya site found at the bottom of a volcanic lake by an amateur explorer. The site is called Samabaj and was discovered 12 years ago in Lake Atitlan. Professional archaeologists are now exploring the site with sonar technology and excavating structures on the lake bed, 50 feet below. The island site was flooded in 250 CE by volcanic action. 6 monuments and 4 altars have been found. The island site appears to be a pilgrimage destination. The exact location has been kept secret to keep out looters.
Red Orbit has the story here;
October 7, 2009
The Fall of the Maya
NASA scientists have been investigating the fall of the Maya. They have concluded that the major reason was drought. A major drought occurred at the time of the Maya collapse and the Maya had cut down most of their trees in advance of this drought to grow more corn for a growing population and for firewood and building. They needed to cut down huge amounts of trees to make their lime plaster. Using the the PSU/NCAR mesoscale atmospheric circulation model, known as MM5, and the Community Climate System Model, or CCSM, they found a 3-5 degree rise in temperature and a 20-30 percent decrease in rainfall at the end. Most of this change was due to deforestation.
Not all city-states were pushed over the edge by this drought. But civil unrest, war, starvation and disease would have been brought on by the drought.
Science@NASA has the story here;
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/06oct_maya.htm
September 19, 2009
The Maya Abandonment in the Puuc Region
Archaeologists at the Labna-Kiuic Regional Archaeological Project are studying the Maya abandonment and collapse at sites in the Puuc region. The Maya had been in the Puuc region from 500 BCE but headed for the coast when they abandoned their cities there. Exploring at the site of Kiuic, the archaeologists in the study are looking at two pyramids and plantation palaces on ridges around the center. One is called "Stairway to Heaven," because of its long staircase down to the central plaza a mile away. The two pyramids and the palaces were late additions to the site in the 9th century when Maya centers to the south were being abandoned. Kiuic may have prospered due to immigration from the south. The archaeologists have found stone tools, knives, axes, metates and pots sitting in place, as if the inhabitants simply walked away suddenly. More studies will be done by the team to see if the abandonment was really that sudden. There was a collection of spear points found in the central plaza but warfare does not seem to be the cause of the abandonment. Construction was halted suddenly in the central plaza and perhaps it was drought that caused the collapse.
USA Today has the story here;
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2009-09-19-mayan-collapse_N.htm
September 15, 2009
Ancient Human Remains and Objects Found in Yucatan Cenotes
INAH archaeologists have explored 5 Yucatan cenotes in the last season; Balmi, Canun Che’en, La Guadalupana, Xkal Xkal and Kan Kab Che’en. 37 ritual and domestic vessels were found at Kan Kab Che'en. Some are red, egg shaped funerary vessels. 4 cranially deformed skulls with perforated teeth were found in each cenote along with ceramics. The objects were studied and left in situ because they may have disintegrated if they were pulled from the water.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=39&Itemid=150
September 3, 2009
Final Battle at El Mirador
Researchers at El Mirador are carrying out DNA tests from spear tips and arrowheads with bone fragments and smashed pottery at the summit of the El Tigre pyramid at El Mirador, Guatemala. Many of the blades are of obsidian obtained from the Mexican central highlands. 200 of these have been found as well as flint ones and it appears there was a major battle atop the pyramid. It may have been Teotihuacanos who invaded. El Mirador was occupied from 850 BCE-150 CE and may have collapsed due to over-use of resources. Chief archaeologist Richard Hansen believes the final 200 of El Mirador were trapped by the Teotihuacanos in a siege before the final battle. Graffiti that may be Teotihuacano was left after the Teo fighters smashed monoliths and carved crude skulls on them. Tlaloc images were also carved into the smashed monoliths. Scientists are attempting to extract blood from the spear points and arrow heads to identify the fighters.
Reuters has the story here;
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=18952
August 21, 2009
Update on Maya Altar
The recently discovered Maya altar found in the Yucatan recently will
be re-located when it is reconstructed. The 200 stones that made up
the altar have been registered for re-building. The stones show that
there was an occupation of that place from 250 CE to 900 CE. 2
skeletons have also been found, also a metate, and limestone and flint
artifacts and mollusks. The mapping of the site will continue to
completion and then the highway will be built over the possible site
unfortunately.
Art Daily has the story here;
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=32811
August 13, 2009
Maya Altar Uncovered in the Yucatan
During road repairs between Merida and Campeche, a Maya altar made of 200 stones was uncovered. It is circa 300-600 CE. There are signs of earlier pre-Classic occupation at this site going back to 800 BCE.
Erik Boot published today's story from El Universal (in Spanish) with a photo of the ongoing excavation at his Maya News page;
Erik Boot's Maya News Updates
http://mayanewsupdates.blogspot.com/
August 9, 2009
Early Maya Brick Making at Jonuta
Excavations at the Maya site of Jonuta in Tabasco uncovered 4 parallel masonry walls built with thin bricks and a stela made of powdered shell mortar. The slabs are unique and were manufactured with clay. So the Maya were building bricks at 850 CE. Sea shells, obsidian knives and small animal bones were placed in a ritual fashion in front of the building. 5 figurines were found-2 of them intact.
Art Daily has the story and a good photo here;
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=32589
July 23, 2009
New Substructure Uncovered at Chichen Itza
INAH archaeologists have found a substructure neat the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza. It dates to the 8th century CE. It was built 100 years before the El Castillo pyramid. The structure is only partially excavated at the moment and excavations continue. 5 floor levels and parts of walls have been found so far. It is well preserved due to the sealing of the structure with limestone and lime and the Maya covered over the structure with stucco to build the El Castillo pyramid near it.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=39&Itemid=15
July 22, 2009
The Ancient Maya and Forest Conservation
David Lentz, publishing in the Journal of Archaeological Science, has found that the Maya practiced forest management. They conserved forest resources as shown in the wood they used for construction. The pollen record backs this up. Lentz and his team worked at Tikal. They found the Maya were at first not cutting down trees in the "sacred groves." This did not change till the late pre-Classic. When the rulers of Tikal became imperialistic in their views, they gave up careful conservation to build larger temples with larger trees. They tapped into the sacred groves. As a result, they ran out of good trees and began using inferior wood. Soil erosion took place as the trees were cut down in larger numbers and the ground dried up and less rainfall was also a result of deforestation. They burned trees adding carbon but without the living trees to turn carbon into oxygen. The team will return to Tikal in 2010 to find more precise information on the dates when practices changed.
Science Daily has the story here;
June 16, 2009
Intensive Maya Manioc Production Found at El Ceren
At the Maya site of El Ceren in El Salvador, buried and preserved under a layer of ash from a volcano that destroyed the site 1,400 years ago, Boulder researchers found a large manioc field. It had been harvested just days before the eruption. This is the first and only evidence of intensive manioc cultivation in the New World. Manioc pollen has been found in Belize, Mexico and Panama but not intensive cultivation proof. Manioc grows well in poor soils and is drought resistant unlike corn, beans and squash. There was more manioc harvested than could be consumed by the villagers. The manioc fields are constructed as family plots. The team is now looking at other Maya sites for signs of intensive manioc production.
Perhaps some of the surplus manioc was ground into powder for tortillas and for making alcohol as the Maya indigenous today do with manioc.
The team also found a structure with a colorful deer headdress, an alligator pot, deer bones and lots of food items which appear to have been distributed to the villagers. The people of El Ceren appear to have fled to this structure for religious protection when the volcano erupted since no bodies have been found in their adobe homes. No human remains have been found so far.
EurekAlert has the report here;
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/uoca-css061609.php
To access the scientific report on the 2009 field season at Ceren go
to http://www.colorado.edu/anthropology/projects/documents/2009ReportJoyadeCeren.pdf
June 8, 2009
Important Excavations at Ichkabal
INAH has announced that the first stage of the excavation and
reconstruction of 4 buildings at Ichkabal in Quintana Roo will take 2
years. One of the mysteries that may be cleared up is whether the site
is related to the Kaan dynasty. Dzibanche is 8 miles away and the Kaan
dynasty ruled there from 450-620 CE. It may be discovered that
Ichkabal was the place of origin for the dynasty. The archaeological
team is also looking for evidence of early Teotihuacan influence and
what the nature of that influence was. INAH found that the site of
Dzibanche had intense occupation until the Spanish arrival and the
same may be found at Ichkabal. If this is the case, it would change
the Maya collapse narrative on its head.
And finally, researchers at the site will be looking for raised fields
agriculture rather than slash and burn at the site to see if the
raised fields theory has some substance to it.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=39&Itemid=150
June 1, 2009
The Maya Used Inferior Wood Near their Collapse
The Maya builders at Tikal switched to inferior wood a few decades before their collapse indicating the main cause for the collapse was resources had run out. Wood was sampled at all 6 major temples and 2 palaces in Tikal. Strong sapodilla trees were replaced by logwood, an inferior wood. Earlier studies indicate deforestation and soil erosion was increasing but this new study is the first to show ecological overexploitation is a main cause of the collapse.
The New Scientist has the story here;
May 28, 2009
More on the Maya Site of Moral-Reforma
More information is emerging on the ruins at the Maya site of Moral-
Reforma, a river port in Tabasco. So far 3 buildings, a ball court and
five stela have been restored. The main pyramid is now being uncovered and resemble Calakmul construction. A series of altars on the steps of the pyramid have been discovered as they scrape the soil off. Masks, small figurines, spear points are among the 23 artifacts unearthed recently around the pyramid.
There are 95 additional earthen mounds waiting to be uncovered. By
August, 50% of the main pyramid will be uncovered.
Art Daily has the story here;
May 25, 2009
Artifacts Uncovered in Tabasco
Six stucco masks and a stone statuette have been uncovered at the site of Moral-Reforma/Balancan in Tabasco. The masks are polychrome and greenish and the statue resembles a warrior and some incensarios have also been found. Work is continuing and more finds are anticipated. At the time of the masks, Palenque and Calakmul dominated the site in 650 AD as a trading post.
Excavations on a platform temple are also ongoing at the site.
Erik Boot has the story here (in Spanish) with some photos;
Maya News Updates;
http://mayanewsupdates.blogspot.com/
And it is from Tabasco Hoy;
http://www.tabascohoy.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=174436
May 14, 2009
Early Copan King’s Tomb Found
Honduran archaeologists believe they have uncovered the remains of one of the first kings of Copan in the temple of Oropendola. The bones are in poor condition due to a roof collapse onto the remains. The bones belong to a 30 year old man. The teeth are well preserved.
(My note; quite a lot can be learned from the teeth including the geographic origins of the individual. I will post any further information)
The Straits Times has the story here;
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Tech%2Band%2BScience/Story/STIStory_375009.htm
Archaeologist Ricardo Agurcia, the chief archaeologist at this tomb,
has announced that the skeleton may belong to a son or brother of
Copan ruler Yax K'uk Mo who came from Teotihuacan. In the next several
weeks, radio carbon dating and DNA tests will reveal more about the
skeleton. Agurcia also announced that they found the largest piece of
jade in the Maya world at the site along with other jade pieces and
pottery.
Erik Boot has the new report at his page;
Maya News Updates;
http://mayanewsupdates.blogspot.com/
April 20, 2009
Maya Blue Discovery
In a follow up to the discovery of the use of "palygorskite" for making Maya Blue, Spanish researchers have traced the route of the Maya to its source in the Yucatan. They analyzed various clays in the Yucatan. They found the clay in several locations in the Yucatan within 40 km of Uxmal. Their article is posted in Archaeometry Journal.
Science Daily has the story here;
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090420085049.htm
April 5, 2009
Massive Maya City Being Excavated in Quintana Roo
A massive Maya city is being excavated at Ichkabal in Quintana Roo. It is buried under tons of earth and jungle. The site dates to 250 BCE and has many large buildings, the largest being 656 feet wide and 151 feet high. This is an important Maya political capital in the area and will yield much information about Maya history. The constructions would appear to be in the Peten style. The site had been discovered by a local person in 1995. Finally the site excavation is taking place as they build a road to the site, since the area was impassable during the rainy season.
It is expected that tourists will be able to visit the site within the next 2 years.
The Latin American Herald Tribune has the story here;
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=331237&CategoryId=14091
March 9, 2009
Maya Stela Discovered in Belize
A Maya stela has been discovered at the Site of Quebrada de Oro in Belize. The site is part of the Bladen Branch group in the Maya Mountains and was thought to be the only site in that group not to contain a stela. The stela may be a commemorative monument and/or a "sign" of the site itself or a monument erected to show a shift of authority at the site. This discovery at Quebrada de Oro suggests the site had a much more important role to play than was previously recognized and new excavations will now take place at the site.
Mesoweb posted the story from "Antiquity" journal;
http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/abramiuk/
March 9, 2009
“Hero Twins” Frieze Uncovered at El Mirador
Here are two pretty good photos of the frieze uncovered at El Mirador by Richard Hanson of the Maya Hero Twins.
http://newshopper.sulekha.com/photos/slideshow/others/4/707992.htm
And from Breitbart;
http://www.breitbart.com/image.php?id=app-6f14c75b-a75c-4318-a4c3-3a26fcb53638&show_article=1
February 11, 2009
Great Pyramid at Uxmal Discovery
INAH reports that it has discovered an earlier facade in the Great Pyramid at Uxmal that precedes Puuc architecture. The design dates from 250-500 CE. The facade was uncovered during maintenance work on the illumination system at the site. It consists of a simple platform, smooth vertical face, a two piece molding and a 2 element cornice.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2892&Itemid=150
January 7, 2009
Maya Ruler Pendant Found Very Realistic
A bone pendant portrait of Maya ruler Ukit Kan Lek Tok of Ek Balam who ruled from 770-801 CE has been found to be a very realistic portrait of the ruler in his later years. The deviated jawbone and broken lip in the pendant have been confirmed by an analysis of the rulers remains. He had 3 severe dental infections and his right mandible suffered bone loss affecting his facial symmetry.
The ruler's tomb was found with 21 vessels and 7000 jadeite, shell, bone and pyrite pieces and a golden frog pendant.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2746&Itemid=337
December 18, 2008
2 Copan Jaw Bones Turned Over in Holland
The Honduras Archaeological Institute received two jade and iron pyrite coated jaws of two elite Maya. The jaws were sent anonymously to the Honduran Embassy in the Netherlands. They are from the Maya site of Copan it was determined by researchers at Leiden University. Strontium Isotope analysis of the teeth showed the tooth enamel in the jaws were consistent with ratios in the Copan River.
The Latin American Herald Tribune has the story here;
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=323586&CategoryId=23558
December 8, 2008
Hieroglyphs Deciphered at Sabana Piletas in Campeche
INAH has announced that more than 130 hieroglyphs on the Sabana Piletas staircase in Campeche have been deciphered. The text is well preserved. The site was occupied 600-1000 AD. Nikolai Grube and Carlos Pallan Gayol made the preliminary deciphering. The date on the first 8 glyphs corresponds to the 18th or 25th of December, 858 CE. Ball game glyphs are represented perhaps showing the staircase was a sacrificial staircase. There is evidence of a blue stucco covering that would be related to sacrifice.
More details are found at INAH;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2687&Itemid=240
November 21, 2008
Calakmul Hegemony in the Maya World
Nikolai Grube of the University of Bonn announced at the 6th Palenque Round Table that he believes that Calakmul had a more extensive hegemony over large parts of the Maya world than was thought. By studying the serpent head glyph at various sites in the Maya world which was the emblem of the Kaan dynasty at Calakmul, Grube believes that Calakmul had hegemony or strong influence over Uxul, Quintana Roo; Oxpemul, Campeche; Morral Reforma, Tabasco; Naachtun, Cancuen, La Muñeca, Piedras Negras, in Guatemala, and Caracol, Belize from 636-736 CE until Tikal conquered Calakmul in 736 CE.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=39&Itemid=150
November 9, 2008
Follow up on Maya “Xibalba” Caves in the Yucatan
AP has posted an interesting follow-up story on the extensive underground Maya chambers recently uncovered in the Yucatan. It includes the reports of the work of Gulleromo de Anda in combing through the Spanish Inquisition records of torture applied to the Maya to find the secret places of the Maya. When de Anda and his team found the secret caves, he saw much evidence that this was the place the Maya saw as the road to Xibalba. de Anda has found a 100 yard underground road, a submerged tample, walled off stone rooms and a submerged altar dedicated to the God of Death at a crossroads that leads to the west. There is a room that can only be entered by squeezing through sharp stalactites that may be the "room of knives" of the Popul Vuh. There is the chamber of "roasting heat" and the "chamber of shaking cold," mentioned in the Popul Vuh; one of them making you sweat and the other very frigid.
The Las Vegas Sun has the story here;
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/nov/09/scholar-finds-mayans-buried-highway-through-hell/
October 30, 2008
Large Olmecoid Sculpture Uncovered in Guatemala
A new and enigmatic sculpture has been uncovered at the National Project Tak'alik Ab'aj in Guatemala. Earlier this year at the site, Altar 48 was uncovered, a monument to the birth of Maya culture. Monuments 215 and 217, as they are called, were also uncovered. This new sculpture has some Olmecoid characteristics such as a U sign on the sash and the figure is carrying a small human on its back. The infant has Olmecoid characteristics similar to Olmec jade infants.
The character is standing on the capital of a column carved in the head of a monster bat or earth monster similar to stelae at Quirigua and Copan where the earth monster is carved at the base of columns where rulers are standing. The small human is connected artistically to the earth monster on the base of the sculptor. There is a double column of early glyphs on the sculpture.
The sculpture had been mutilated and its pieces placed in a wall during the Late Pre-Classic (200 BCE-150 CE) so the sculpture is earlier. It may be transitional between the Olmec era to the Maya era at the site. Perhaps the artist was invoking Olmec ancestors.
The Guatemala Times has the story and pictures of the sculpture here;
October 12, 2008
New Finds at Xtampak
Work is proceeding at the site of Xtampak in Campeche occupied from 300 BCE to 950 CE. Chief Archaeologist Renne Lorlei Zapata is looking to validate the theory that Xtampak had commercial ties to the southwest. The architecture, epigraphy and art found there indicate it was an interregional crossroad. Xtampak is one of the few Chenes sites with stelae. Paintings have been found in the vaults with geometric and naturalistic elements.
A report on the ongoing work is at INAH
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2398&Itemid=150
October 9, 2008
100 "White Roads" Uncovered at Chichen Itza
Recent investigations at Chichen Itza have revealed there are close to 100 "White Roads" or Sacbeob leading out of Chichen Itza says INAH archaeologist Peter Schmidt. More than 90 roads have so far been detected. The Sacbeob network proves strong political control emanating from Chichen Itza. The roads also adopted routes that would control water sources and civil works were constructed of channels that crossed the roads with drainage to avoid water stagnation.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=39&Itemid=150
October 8, 2008
New Methods of Sourcing Maya Pottery
Scientists now have geochemical clues about the volcanic ash used in Maya pottery between 800-1100 CE. The Maya used volcanic ash and clay to make pottery and the ash was freshly erupted. Tons of ash for the pottery at El Pilar had to be hauled there from a great distance since the ash at El Pilar was too old and degraded for use. The ash used for pottery at El Pilar is 78% silica while the El Chichon volcano, suggested by some as the source for pottery at El Pilar, spews ash of 58% silica. Researchers will now look at other volcanos in the area to find the source of the ash in pottery from El Pilar. By utilizing this method, researchers can find the ash source for Maya pottery at other sites.
Science News has the story here;
October 2, 2008
Yucca Cultivation in El Salvador 1400 Years Ago
Archaeological investigations at the site of Joya El Ceren in El Salvador has found that yucca has been used by the Maya in that area going back 1,400 years. Yucca plantations have been found undedr 14 layers of ash from the volcano that destroyed El Ceren in ancient times. Beans, squash, cacao, guava and chile have also been found buried under the ash.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=39&Itemid=150
A tiny URL;
September 29, 2008
New Offerings Found at Copan
Archaeologist Ricardo Agurcia announced at the Roman Pina Chan Symposium in Mexico City that he has found offerings at 2 substructures in Copan. The offerings consist of incensarios with jaguar and ceiba icons, sacrificial knives, painted shell and a jadeite ruler bar.
INAH has the report here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?
option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=39&Itemid=150
A tiny URL;
September 5, 2008
Termination Ritual at Kabah
Lourdes Toscano Hernandez has been working at Kabah for INAH and has found evidence of a termination ceremony there in Rooms 13 and 14 which consists of tearing apart door elements and evidence of burnt soil has also been found. This kind of evidence of termination rituals has also been found at other Puuc cities such as Uxmal and Sayil. Kabah came to an end in 1000 CE and had been occupied since 300 BCE. The Maya elite may have carried these ceremonies out in preparation for abandonment.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=39&Itemid=150
August 26, 2008
Tahitian Vanilla Origins With the Maya
A team of botanists at the UC Riverside campus claim to have found that Tahitian vanilla began as a plant cultivated by the Maya of Guatemala. Vanilla was brought by way of trade to Tahiti by the French in the 19th century. The botanists found that the closest relatives to Tahitian vanilla grow naturally only in the jungles of Central America. They found that Tahitian vanilla was a hybrid. The Maya had mixed cacao plants with vanilla plants using vanilla as a spice for chocolate. They found that vanilla can be easily hybridized with cacao and this is the origin of the Tahitian hybrid plant.
Science Daily has the story here;
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821164558.htm
August 15, 2008
Underground Temples and Human Bones Uncovered in the Yucatan
Archaeologists have discovered a maze of 11 stone temples in underground caves containing human bones and some of it underwater. Human bones of possible sacrificees are present. Stone carvings and pottery were left with the dead. The artifacts date to 700-850 AD. This may be the place the Maya believed was the entrance to Xibalba. Some of the shafts leading to the temples are 30 to 40 meters long. An underground sacbe has also been discovered there 100 meters long and well cemented running east to west and ends at a stalactite column that looks like a Ceiba tree.
INAH has the story here;
http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1602&Itemid=150
August 14, 2008
Oldest Human Ever Found in the Americas
The fossil bones of a woman dated at 13,600 years old have been uncovered in the area of Tulum. This would make her the oldest human ever found in the Americas. She was between 30-40 years old at death.
Milenio has the story here in Spanish.
http://www.milenio.com/mexico/milenio/nota.asp?id=650772
August 6, 2008
Rare Pigment Found on Funeral Masks at Calakmul
A pigment called veszelyite has been identified on Maya artifacts. It has a blue-green color and was used to imitate jade. The pigment was found on the funeral mask of the ruler "Smoking Jaguar Paw," in Tomb 4 at Calakmul. He reigned from 686-695 CE. In adjacent Tomb 6, a woman was buried with two more with two jade masks painted green.
The pigment used was veszelyite which has never been reported used by any other civilization although it is found in many parts of the world. The pigment had to have been imported from central Mexico since there is none in the Maya lowlands. It probably came from Teotihuacan.
The Times of London has the story with 2 photos here;
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/global/article4473373.ece
June 22, 2008
New Findings in the Puuc Region
Archaeologists George Bay and Tomas Gallareta are investigating the abandoned Maya site of Kiuic in the Puuc region and are finding that the Puuc region had been occupied by Maya large scale builders for 2000 years. They are unearthing Maya cities in the Puuc region that date back to 800 BCE and with large scale monumental architecture.
At Kiuic, they are finding Guatemalan obsidian and Olmec jade and seeing that the Puuc cities were tied to Maya centers further south very early. There are now hundreds of large cities that have been found in the Puuc area of the Yucatan containing hundreds of thousands of people unknown to researchers until the 1980's.
Kiuic was abandoned in the 10th century and Bey is finding some signs of warfare as an explanation of the collapse at Kiuic. Bey believes they will find large Maya cities in the Puuc area dating back to 1000 BCE as they continue to dig.
USA Today has the story here;
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2008-06-22-maya-kiuic_N.htm
April 25, 2008
Update on Maya Fabrics at Copan
National Geographic has an update on the sophisticated fabrics found in Maya tomb at Copan. The tomb was probably of a queen who was buried in the 5th century. the thread count of the many fabrics found are of modern intensity and the materials used are from cotton, grasses, leaves and tree bark, cinnabar and a deep black, possibly from iron. It is suspected the tomb was opened to conduct rituals and to make fabric offerings.
Here is the full story;
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080425-maya-fabric_2.html
April 16, 2008
Copan Tombs Yieled High Quality Fabrics
A tomb at Copan has yielded textiles that reveal the Maya created high quality fabrics woven by highly skilled artisans. At one offertory platform, there were 25 layers of fabrics made up of different fabric structures, color, yarn size, some with very high thread count equal to modern fabrics.
Newswise has the story here;
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/539875/
February 29, 2008
Maya May Have Induced Their Own Destruction
Researchers from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama working with new satellite data have found that self induced drought and climate change may have caused the fall of the Maya civilization. The reason may be the way in which the Maya encircled the bajos or seasonal wetlands alongside of slash and burn agriculture on a large scale. This induced local drought and caused warming which reduced rainfall.
National Geographic has the story here;
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080229-servir-maya.html
February 26, 2008
Secrets of Maya Blue Revealed
The journal Antiquity has in its online version today that Dean Arnold and a team from Wheaton College and the Field Museum have unraveled the mystery of Maya Blue. They believe the Maya cooked the pigment in ceramic bowls over burning incense. Arnold has studied a small bowl from the cenote at Chichen Itza that the Field Museum has held for decades. The bowl contains traces of polygorskite, a clay mineral, indigo and copal. The invention of Maya Blue took place in 500 CE and required the fusing of the three elements over a slow, low heat provided by copal incense in ceramic bowls.
When Thompson dredged the large cenote at Chichen Itza, he found a 14 foot layer of blue silt at the bottom but no one studied its significance. Now it appears Maya Blue was made at the edge of the cenote during priestly rituals. Now the team is studying other objects from the Sacred Cenote in the Field collection to find out the exact portion of indigo that was used.
This is the value of having artifacts sitting in museum collections for a long time and at some point, technology is sufficient that major breakthroughs can be made from unused artifacts.
Elizabeth Graham of the Institute of Archaeology at University College, London said that Dean Arnold is probably the main person in the world today in the field of Maya ceramics and production and this proves it.
The Santa Barbara News Press has the story here;
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=NATIONAL&ID=565251819938644016
February 25, 2008
Maya Temples May Not Have Been Built Only By Rulers
Archaeologist Lisa Lucero has been investigating at the Maya site of Yalbec in Belize. She now believes that Maya rulers were not the only people sponsoring and building Late Classic temples. Nobles, priests and commoners may have built temples. This may be why there are many temples in most centers. Temples were built by different agents to worship different gods and represent different parts of Maya society Lucero now believes.
Lucero's latest findings are detailed in the journal Latin American Antiquity in an article titled "Classic Maya Temples, Politics, and the Voice of the People."
Science Daily has the story here;
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225134239.htm
January 23, 2008
Maya Sacrificed Boys and Men at Chichen Itza and not Females
Archaeologist Guillermo Anda from the University of the Yucatan has pieced together the bones of 127 bodies at the bottom of a Chichen Itza cenote and found 80% were boys between 3-11 and the others were mostly adult males thus disproving that the Maya sacrificed virgin females to the wells. The children were skinned or dismembered before being thrown in.
The Daily Telegraph of Australia has the story here;
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23095592-5001028,00.html
Erik Boot's Maya News Updates from the Mexican and Central American Press
http://mayanewsupdates.blogspot.com/
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear Friends,
I would like to invite you all to join the listserv "Aztlan" as it joins its new host at FAMSI -- The Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.
Aztlan has been around for well over a decade, and has recently been moved to a new home at FAMSI. It is one of the oldest and most respected listservs for Mesoamerican Prehistory.
Recent conversations on Aztlan cover such topics as: -The Maya Collapse (discussing the new book by Jared Diamond)
-Associated Press reports on Mesoamerican Archaeology -T! he origins of Maya writing (discussing the new discovery of murals at the site of San Bartolo), the uses of yokes and other ball court artifacts in the Gulf Coast ball games, -Haley's Comet and it's influence on the Ancient Maya -The Ancient Maya Calendar (specifically, various arguments about which correlation merges it with our modern western calendar)
The moderators filter out ad hominems and science fiction archaeology.
If you are interested, please visit:
http://www.famsi.org/mailman/listinfo/aztlan
Aztlan typically has an activity level of approximately 3-5 emails per day. This may be too many emails for the casual reader. In this case, I still suggest subscribing, but click the bubble for "daily digest" which will deliver all Aztlan messages in a single daily email (you will therefore only receive one email per day, containing all of the day's messages).
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