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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
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3 ancient Maya cities discovered in Guatemala, 1 with an 'astronomical complex' likely used for predicting solstices
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of three Maya cities in the Petén jungle of Guatemala. The cities are about 3 miles (5 kilometers) apart and are arranged like a triangle, Guatemala's Ministry of Culture and Sports reported in a translated statement. The cities were settled sometime during a period that archaeologists call the "middle preclassic," which occurred between roughly 1000 and 400 B.C. They were inhabited until around 1,100 years ago, when many Maya cities in the region collapsed. The most important of the three cities is a site archaeologists are calling "Los Abuelos," which means "the grandparents." This name comes from two stone sculptures found at the site: one of a man and another of a woman. They are believed to depict ancestors of those who lived at the site, the statement said, noting that this city may have been a ceremonial center for those who lived in the area. Los Abuelos thrived during the Middle Preclassic (1000 B.C. to 400 B.C.) and Late Preclassic periods (400 B.C. to A.D. 300) before being abandoned and then reinhabited during the Late Classic period (A.D. 600 to 900). It has an astronomical complex with buildings positioned in such a way that solstices and equinoxes can be recorded precisely, the statement said. The remains of a human burial were found at the site, along with the remains of two felines, pottery vessels, shells and arrowheads. Archaeologists also discovered an altar in the shape of a frog and an engraved stone slab known as a stela. Once the Mayan writing on the stela is translated, it may provide more information about the site and the people who lived there. Another newly found city, which archaeologists named "Petnal," has a 108-foot-tall (33 meters) pyramid, the statement said. The top of the pyramid is flat and has a room that houses the remains of murals on its walls. Red, white and black from the murals can still be seen, but more research is needed to determine what the murals depict. Petnal was likely a political center, according to the statement. A frog-shaped altar was also found there. The frog is perceived as a symbol of fertility and rebirth in Maya mythology, wrote researchers Robert Sharer and Loa Traxler in their book "The Ancient Maya: Sixth Edition" (Stanford University Press, 2006). Frog altars have been found at other Maya sites and presumably would have been used in rituals. The third newly found city, which the archaeologists dubbed "Cambrayal," has a network of canals that originates in a water reservoir at the top of a palace, the statement reported. The main purpose of the canals may have been for removing waste. "It's especially exciting to learn about the Los Abuelos site," Megan O'Neil, an associate professor of art history at Emory University who was not part of the excavation team, told Live Science in an email. The stone sculptures found at the site "are especially poignant and are similar to many other examples of Maya people making offerings to vital sculptures and connecting with their ancestors by interacting with sculptures from the past." RELATED STORIES —'Stunning' discovery reveals how the Maya rose up 4,000 years ago —Ancient Maya 'blood cave' discovered in Guatemala baffles archaeologists —Genomes from ancient Maya people reveal collapse of population and civilization 1,200 years ago O'Neil noted that it was important that archaeologists found the remains of intact ceramic vessels during their excavation. In the past, this region was heavily looted and the pottery made by the ancient Maya was taken and sold on the international market. The new finds may "help reconnect items in private and museum collections with their places of origin and deposition, helping return memory to those ceramics, to these sites, and to Maya people living in this region and across the world," O'Neil said. The discoveries of the three cities, along with other newly found sites in the region, were made by a team of archaeologists from Slovakia and Guatemala who were part of the Uaxactún Archaeological Project (PARU), which searches for Maya ruins near the Maya city of Uaxactún. Since 2009, PARU has discovered 176 sites, although only 20 have been excavated. Live Science reached out to archaeologists involved with the research, but they did not answer questions by the time of publication.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Secret of ancient Maya blue-pigment revealed from cracks and clues on a dozen bowls from Chichén Itzá
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A mural in Bonampak, Mexico, showcases a Maya blue background. | Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Ricardo David Sánchez A Sherlock Holmes-style investigation has revealed the ancient method for the stunning pigment known as Maya blue — and it's different from a previous method uncovered nearly 20 years ago by the same researcher. Maya blue, discovered by modern researchers in 1931, is not an easy pigment to make. Echoing the color of an azure sky, the indelible pigment was used to accentuate everything from ceramics to human sacrifices in the Late Preclassic period (300 B.C. to A.D. 300). Maya blue is a highly unusual pigment because it is a mix of organic indigo and an inorganic clay mineral called palygorskite. The rich blue color does not fade over time; it has maintained its vibrancy even in the harsh tropical forests of southern Mexico and Guatemala where the Maya Maya civilization thrived. For decades, scientists tried to decode the precise method of manufacturing Maya blue, but they did not succeed until 2008 . By analyzing traces of the pigment found on pottery at the bottom of a well at Chichén Itzá , a Maya site in the Yucatán Peninsula, a team of researchers led by Dean Arnold , an adjunct curator of anthropology at the Field Museum in Chicago, determined that the key to Maya blue was actually a sacred incense called copal. By heating the mixture of indigo, copal and palygorskite over a fire, the Maya produced the unique pigment, he reported at the time. But at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Denver on April 25, Arnold presented his discovery of a second method for creating Maya blue. The new research has been published in Arnold's book " Maya Blue " (University Press of Colorado, 2024). Related: Strange altar found at Tikal wasn't made by the Maya — and it has at least 4 people buried inside it After closely examining a dozen Maya bowls found at Chichén Itzá, Arnold realized that white residue in the vessels was probably palygorskite that was ground when wet, which would have left traces in the tiny fractures that grinding tools left in the pots. Microscopic examination of the 12 bowls further revealed tiny, burnt plant stems, and the bases of the bowls showed that they were heated from below, his detective work showed. "Consequently, the observations of these bowls provide evidence that the ancient Maya used this method as a second way to create Maya blue," Arnold said in the presentation. But Maya blue was not just a pretty paint, Arnold told Live Science. It's also part of Maya cultural heritage. "This is a genius discovery that they made, and apparently the knowledge of it was limited to specialists like priests," he said. RELATED STORIES —'Stunning' discovery reveals how the Maya rose up 4,000 years ago —Lasers reveal Maya city, including thousands of structures, hidden in Mexico —Mysterious Maya underground structure unearthed in Mexico Arnold thinks Maya blue was particularly important in sacrifices made to the Maya rain god Chaak (also spelled Chaac and Chac) during periods of drought. The result of mixing indigo, palygorskite and copal, Arnold said, "is also perhaps an incarnation of the rain god Chaak in this bowl after you heat it." The question of how the Maya made this blue pigment is still not completely solved, however. Arnold said future research will include a microscopic study of the plant remains found in the bowls to see if the genus and species that produced the blue color can be determined.
