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Oldest Maya mural uncovered in Guatemala
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-14 09:45
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.
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.
[AP] |
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 錕斤拷 the symbol of Maya royalty 錕斤拷 on his
chest.
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