Earliest known Mayan writing found in Guatemala

Yahoo ^ | 1/6/06 | Mikey_1962

[Mikey_1962]

ANTIGUA, Guatemala (Reuters) - Archeologists excavating a pyramid complex in the Guatemalan jungle have uncovered the earliest example of Mayan writing ever found, 10 bold hieroglyphs painted on plaster and stone.

The 2,300-year-old glyphs were excavated last April in San Bartolo and suggest the ancient Mayas developed an advanced writing system centuries earlier than previously believed, according to an article published on Thursday in the journal Science.

The glyphs date from between 200 BC and 300 BC and come from the same site in the Peten jungle of northern Guatemala where archeologist William Saturno found the oldest murals in the Mayan world in 2001. Radiocarbon tests prove the writing is 100 years older than the murals depicting the Mayan creation myth.

The glyphs, thin black paintings on off-white stucco, lay in a plastic tub in a laboratory in an old house in the colonial city of Antigua on Thursday as archeologists cleaned and cataloged other stones from the San Bartolo site.

While the writing is mostly indecipherable, Saturno and his team claim one glyph could be an early version of the word "ajaw" or "ruler."

"People have long been hoping to find a carved stone monument from this period of the Maya," said Mary Miller, a Mayan art expert at Yale University.

"It turned out not to be carved in stone but instead associated with this incredible complex of early paintings," she said. "It's as if we were to find pictures of Jesus on the cross from the time when he was really alive."

The pyramids at San Bartolo were constructed over several centuries with newer structures built over the old. Guatemalan archeologist Boris Beltran discovered the hieroglyphic writings by accident while excavating a structure buried deep below the room housing the ancient murals.

[Mikey_1962]

Maybe they are directions to the US border?

[Tax-chick]

"It's as if we were to find pictures of Jesus on the cross from the time when he was really alive."

I think the lady's in a time warp.

[coconutt2000]

"Mikey was here."

[TChris]

"It's as if we were to find pictures of Jesus on the cross from the time when he was really alive."

Sometimes people say really stupid things in the heat of the moment.

[Leo Carpathian]

"It's as if we were to find pictures of Jesus on the cross from the time when he was really alive."

Riiiight! Quickly call daVinci, or someone might be already working on the movie.

[Red Badger]

They say:

Starbucks Opening Soon!..........

[JZelle]

An op-ed by Helen Thomas?

[vikk]

How is that stupid?

[Fractal Trader]

ggg ping

[Tax-chick]

I thought it was stupid because Jesus died on the cross, and therefore "... on the cross from the time when he was alive," is a nonsequitur.

[mikeus_maximus]

Translation: "Do NOT go in there. Man, that burrito came back on me."

[Koblenz]

These are glyphs, so pictures, right? Not an alphabet per se. Although I heard somewhere that all the world's alphabets are related. Roman, Greek, Runic, Arabic, Cyrillic, various Indian subcontinent alphabets and even Asiatic alphabets.

[TChris]

How is that stupid?

Well, since Jesus died on the cross, it would be pretty tough for anyone "from the time he was really alive" to have painted it. More likely "from the time after he was really alive."

It's not too hard to understand the meaning of what was said, but it was a dumb way to phrase it.

[Utah Binger]

While the writing is mostly indecipherable, Saturno and his team claim one glyph could be an early version of the word "ajaw" or "ruler."

There must be sombody in the Mormon corridor that can translate this.

[FreedomFarmer]

Milk

fruit

berries

lyama steak

lamma steak

hamburger

facepaint

[colorcountry]

Get out your Urim and Thummin cuz the Mormons are a comin'!

[colorcountry]

Is this a good time to post a picture of my beautiful, half-guatemalan grand babies?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Be sure to eat your Ovaltine.

[Utah Binger]

Look like translators to me. Cuties!

[Mikey_1962]

Did they share in Rosca de Reyes today???