Posted on 12/13/2005 12:05:10 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Archaeologist William Saturno said Tuesday he was awe-struck when he uncovered a Maya mural not seen for nearly two millennia. Discovered at the San Bartolo site in Guatemala, the mural covers the west wall of a room attached to a pyramid, Saturno said at a briefing.
In brilliant color, the mural tells the Maya story of creation, he said. It was painted about 100 B.C., but later covered when the room was filled in.
"It could have been painted yesterday," Saturno said in a briefing organized by the National Geographic Society, which supported his work and will detail the finding in the January issue of its magazine.
Saturno, of the University of New Hampshire, first reported discovery of the site in 2002 when he stopped to rest in the jungle, taking shelter in an old trench that turned out to be part of the ancient room.
Since then the west and north walls have been uncovered. The room's other walls had been demolished and used for fill, he said. The west wall was the centerpiece of the room, Saturno said.
The mural includes four deities, which are variations of the same figure, the son of the corn god.
As Saturno explained it: The first deity stands in the water and offers a fish, establishing the watery underworld. The second stands on the ground and sacrifices a deer, establishing the land. The third floats in the air, offering a turkey, establishing the sky. The fourth stands in a field of flowers, the food of gods, establishing paradise.
Another section shows the corn god crowning himself king upon a wooden scaffold, and the final section shows a historic coronation of a Maya king.
Some of the writing can be understood, Saturno said, but much of it is so old it is hard to decipher.
Nearby, archaeologists led by Guatemalan Monica Pellecer Alecio found the oldest known Maya royal burial, from around 150 B.C. Excavating beneath a small pyramid, that team found a burial complex that included ceramic vessels and the bones of a man, with a jade plaque — the symbol of Maya royalty — on his chest.
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On the Net:
National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com
MOI?....
The Corn God...
Lover of corn hole...
Kerry was the king of bad photo ops. I remember this shot, it looked like one of his handlers said "hurry hold these out the window and shake them at the crowd."
"the corn god crowning himself king"
Cornholio?
Mazola knows all. Sees all.
It sounds as if they would fit in on any Ivy League campus.
The Classical Mayans may not have been as bloodthirsty as the Aztecs (fortunately, few are); but I believe that the Mayan practiced human sacrifice. Do a Google search on "Mayan human sacrifice." (One of the web pages is found at //www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAMRCA/MAYAS.HTM.)
Winston Churchill was a creationist?
fun-ny!!!!
"Correct me if I am wrong but the Maya were devil worshipers in a society that killed their own children in sacrifice to their evil gods. Correct?"
"I'm guessing the painting came with footnotes."
You are, huh? The Maya culture, including its religious beliefs, is quite well understood. We've been studying it for decades, and the culture left plenty of stuff to study, including a written language, which has been deciphered.
You might do a little looking around on the web. It's amazing what you can find.
The sacred scripture of the Maya is called the "Popol Vuh."
It's been translated into English, by the way. You might want to read the Creation story from it. It starts out in pretty much the same way as Genesis, really, as do most creation myths.
You can read that part of it, or the entire scripture, here:
http://www.crystalinks.com/popolvuh.html
Or - I might not.
"Or - I might not."
Well, that would be up to you, of course. I've found that learning about things is a useful way to spend time. Perhaps learning isn't a priority for you. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.
Devil worshipers? Hardly. One of their gods was actually sort of Christ-like. They were more like nature worshipers. The Maya usually sacrificed their enemies, whom they captured in wars. There is some evidence of occasional child and female sacrifice, for instance remains found in the well at Chichen Itza, but it is relatively rare. Usually those sacrificed were adult male warriors. See murals at Bonampak.
There was a program on Discovery or some channel about child sacrifice of the Maya up in some caves.
That is really something. The colors are amazing.
I thought that Abe Lincoln said that. I have a magnet that has the statement on it.
Could also have been Mark Twain or Confucius. Never mind, it has been around a long time.
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