TheAgedotcom_AU
May 6, 2004
ANCIENT SOCIETY WAS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLDER THAN THOUGHT
Thomas Maugh writes from Los Angeles.
Archaeologists excavating a 2500-year-old Mayan city in Guatemala have unearthed buildings and massive carvings, suggesting a royal metropolis of more than 10,000 people.
The enormous stucco face of a Mayan deity in Cival dwarfs archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli.
It was previously believed the Mayans were only simple farmers but studies at the Peten jungle site of Cival have unearthed the oldest known carved portrait of a Mayan king and two massive stone masks.
The discoveries indicate that the Mayans developed a complex and sophisticated civilisation hundreds of years earlier than previously believed.
The city of towering pyramids and sweeping plazas is also yielding other surprising artifacts, including jade and ceramic offerings to the gods that may mark the beginnings of the Mayan dynasties, according to archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli. The Mayan civilisation came into full bloom at cities such as Palenque and Tikal in the Classic Period, beginning about AD300. But other Pre-classic sites have been built over, often repeatedly.
Cival, for reasons that are not clear, was abandoned about AD100, "never to be occupied again", Mr Estrada-Belli said, and had lain relatively untouched ever since.
Because it was preserved, it was now clear that " 'Pre-classic' is a misnomer". The new evidence showed that "Pre-classic Mayan societies already had many features that have been attributed to the Classic Period: kings, complex iconography, elaborate palaces and burials".
The origin of the Mayan civilisation had to be found in the first part of the Pre-classic period, rather than the last.
Cival, about 40 kilometres east of Tikal, was originally discovered in 1984 by Ian Graham, of Harvard University. Most of the site was overgrown by jungle and it was thought to be a minor outpost.
Mr Estrada-Belli had been studying the nearby Classic Period city of Holmul and was using satellite imaging and GPS positioning to explore the surrounding area when he rediscovered Cival four years ago. The new technology showed that its ceremonial centre spanned almost a kilometre.
The most spectacular find at Cival occurred by accident. Mr Estrada-Belli reached into a fissure in a wall in the city's main pyramid and felt a piece of carved stucco.
Digging into the site from the other side of the pyramid, he discovered a 4.5-metre by 2.7-metre stucco mask.
More recently, the team discovered a second, apparently identical, mask. The eyes appear to be adorned with corn husks, suggesting the Maya maize deity.
- Los Angeles Times
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Ever since I learned of the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayas in grammar school, I've always preferred the stories of the Mayans, the peaceful, agricultural society (I was born a pacifist, I think).
It's intriguing to read of the latest discoveries which will call for yet another rewriting of Mayan history.
Wow, this is interesting. Thanks for posting it!
Posted by: Rose | May 12, 2004 at 11:32 AM