A photo released by the National Geographic Society shows a detail from a Maya mural found at San Bartolo in Guatemala. The mural depicts the birth of the cosmos and the divine right of a king and this portion shows the son of the maize god, patron of kings, with a pair of birds tied to his woven hunting basket, letting blood and offering a sacrificed turkey before one of five cosmic trees. Archaeologist William Saturno said Tuesday,Dec. 13, 2005, 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, that he was awe-struck when he uncovered the 30-foot-long Maya mural, which had not been seen for nearly two millennia. (AP Photo/National Geographic Magazine, Kenneth Garrett)
fyi
This illustration provided by National Geographic Magazine shows a cut-out view of the vegetation-covered pyramid complex at San Bartolo in Guatemala with the mural room located at the base (bottom center) of pyramid. The rooms recently excavated west wall, adorned with the earliest preserved Maya mural, abuts the edge of the pyramid. Archaeologists believe the vividly painted room, dating from around 100 B.C. and chronicling the mythology of kings and the birth of the Maya cosmos, could have been a preparation area for ceremonies that took place on the courtyard in front of the pyramid. (AP Photo/National Geographic Magazine, Vlad Dumitrascu )
And they're teaching it in Kansas science classes.
If the mural lay in contact with soil for the past 2000 years, we are lucky that anything remains. I would guess that no rain or groundwater penetrated the room during that time.
I'm guessing the painting came with footnotes.
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I was hoping it would be a picture of Danni Boatwright in her red short shorts and Survivor buff.
Looks like two guys getting ready for a cockfight to me.
Damn!
I hope they leave something for me to discover.
That is really something. The colors are amazing.
The Mayans - known for their prowess in astronomy and mathematics - dominated southern Mexico and parts of Central America for some 1,500 years until the Spanish conquered them 500 years ago.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4526872.stm
I just HAD to post this..
Evidently no one at the BBC web site checks any sort of facts at all, they just throw out whatever "bovine scatology" that suits them..