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Yahoo
11-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Strange altar found at Tikal wasn't made by the Maya
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered an altar that holds the burial of a child and adult in the Maya city of Tikal, a finding that could help researchers discern the nature of the city's relationship with one of its neighbors. The altar was likely painted not by a Maya artist, but by an artisan from Teotihuacan, an ancient megalopolis located more than 600 miles (965 kilometers) away, outside present-day Mexico City. The altar suggests an active Teotihuacan presence in Tikal during a time of conflict between the two cities, researchers reported Tuesday (April 8) in the journal Antiquity. "It's increasingly clear that this was an extraordinary period of turbulence at Tikal," study coauthor Stephen Houston, an expert on Maya civilization at Brown University, said in a statement. "What the altar confirms is that wealthy leaders from Teotihuacan came to Tikal and created replicas of ritual facilities that would have existed in their home city. It shows Teotihuacan left a heavy imprint there." Tikal flourished between 600 B.C. and A.D. 900. The city began interacting with Teotihuacan around A.D. 300, but the relationship quickly turned contentious. In the 1960s, researchers uncovered a stone carving from A.D. 378 that described the probable conquest of Tikal by Teotihuacan. Other ruins near the city suggest an extended period of conflict between the two in the following centuries. Related: Copy of famous Teotihuacan structure discovered in Maya city Researchers uncovered the altar, which dates to the fifth century A.D., through a series of excavations beginning in 2019. It was discovered inside a Teotihuacan-style house, suggesting that Teotihuacan elites maintained a presence in Tikal during this period. Image 1 of 3 The buried altar was built around the late 300s A.D. Image 2 of 3 A map made with lidar (light detection and ranging) technology reveals the centuries-old infrastructure of Tikal. Image 3 of 3 Archaeologists discovered the burial altar in a building complex just outside the center of Tikal, a historic place known for its striking limestone temples. Its four decorative panels each depict a figure wearing a nose-bar and a headdress, resembling a deity known as the "Storm God" in central Mexico during that time. The images, rendered in red, orange, yellow and black, closely match techniques seen in Teotihuacan murals. Archaeologists also found multiple human remains within the altar, including a child buried in a seated position and an adult buried alongside a dart point made of green obsidian — both traditions that are distinct to Teotihuacan. RELATED STORIES —Why did the Maya civilization collapse? —Sustainable Tech Saw Ancient Maya Through Drought —Lasers reveal Maya city, including thousands of structures, hidden in Mexico The altar and the surrounding area were intentionally buried between A.D. 550 and 645, around the time of Teotihuacan's decline, and made to look like a natural hill. That could hint at the nature of Tikal's relationship with Teotihuacan, according to study co-author Andrew Scherer, an archaeologist and anthropologist at Brown. "The Maya regularly buried buildings and rebuilt on top of them," Scherer said in the statement. "But here, they buried the altar and surrounding buildings and just left them, even though this would have been prime real estate centuries later. They treated it almost like a memorial or a radioactive zone. It probably speaks to the complicated feelings they had about Teotihuacan."
CNN
11-04-2025
- Science
- CNN
Mysterious altar found in ancient Mayan city contains bodies – and wasn't made by the Maya
Archaeologists working in an ancient Mayan city have unearthed a mysterious 1,700-year-old altar whose bright decorations and grim contents may hold the key to unraveling the complex geopolitics of the time. Despite finding the altar in Tikal, a ruined Mayan city situated in modern Guatemala, archaeologists believe it wasn't decorated by Mayans. Instead, they say it was the work of artists trained 630 miles away in Teotihuacan – a powerful city close to modern-day Mexico City that exerted a strong influence over the region. Before this discovery, which was published on Tuesday in the journal Antiquity, archaeologists already knew that the two cultures interacted, though the nature of the relationship was disputed. But the ornately decorated altar, with two bodies buried beneath, confirms that 'wealthy leaders from Teotihuacan came to Tikal and created replicas of ritual facilities that would have existed in their home city,' said co-author Stephen Houston, a professor at Brown University who specializes in Mayan culture. 'It shows Teotihuacan left a heavy imprint there,' he added in a statement. Houston and his co-authors from the US and Guatemala began excavating the site in 2019, after scans of the area revealed structures under what they previously thought was a natural hill. As they investigated, they discovered this altar, which still bears the faint outlines of a person wearing a feathered headdress on each panel and traces of bright red, black and yellow paints. Such a design resembles other representations of a deity known as the 'Storm God,' more common in Teotihuacan than Mayan art. Two bodies were buried underneath the altar – one probably an adult male and the other a small child aged between 2 and 4 years old, who was buried in a seated position much more commonly seen in Teotihuacan than in Tikal. The bodies of three other infants were discovered around the altar, buried in a similar way to other infant graves in Teotihuacan. The authors didn't specify what caused their deaths. These cultural practices point toward the increasing Teotihuacan influence in Tikal, the researchers said in their paper. And the fact that these buildings were subsequently buried and never built on again 'probably speaks to the complicated feelings (the Maya) had about Teotihuacan,' said co-author Andrew Scherer, a professor of anthropology and archaeology at Brown. 'The Maya regularly buried buildings and rebuilt on top of them,' he said in a statement. 'But here, they buried the altar and surrounding buildings and just left them, even though this would have been prime real estate centuries later. They treated it almost like a memorial or a radioactive zone.' This latest discovery uncovers another layer of the complicated relationship between the two cultures that recent research has revealed. In the 1960s, researchers found a stone bearing an inscription that described a conflict between the Maya and Teotihuacan, and learnt that 'around AD 378, Teotihuacan was essentially decapitating a kingdom,' Houston said. 'They removed the king and replaced him with a quisling, a puppet king who proved a useful local instrument to Teotihuacan.' This altar was probably built at a similar time to the coup, Scherer said, which eventually propelled the Mayan kingdom to its most powerful point, before it declined around 900 AD. The findings of this excavation show 'a tale as old as time,' Houston added, referring to empires sparring and competing for cultural influence. 'Everyone knows what happened to the Aztec civilization after the Spanish arrived … These powers of central Mexico reached into the Maya world because they saw it as a place of extraordinary wealth, of special feathers from tropical birds, jade and chocolate,' he said. 'As far as Teotihuacan was concerned, it was the land of milk and honey.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mysterious altar found in ancient Mayan city contains bodies – and wasn't made by the Maya
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Archaeologists working in an ancient Mayan city have unearthed a mysterious 1,700-year-old altar whose bright decorations and grim contents may hold the key to unraveling the complex geopolitics of the time. Despite finding the altar in Tikal, a ruined Mayan city situated in modern Guatemala, archaeologists believe it wasn't decorated by Mayans. Instead, they say it was the work of artists trained 630 miles away in Teotihuacan – a powerful city close to modern-day Mexico City that exerted a strong influence over the region. Before this discovery, which was published on Tuesday in the journal Antiquity, archaeologists already knew that the two cultures interacted, though the nature of the relationship was disputed. But the ornately decorated altar, with two bodies buried beneath, confirms that 'wealthy leaders from Teotihuacan came to Tikal and created replicas of ritual facilities that would have existed in their home city,' said co-author Stephen Houston, a professor at Brown University who specializes in Mayan culture. 'It shows Teotihuacan left a heavy imprint there,' he added in a statement. Houston and his co-authors from the US and Guatemala began excavating the site in 2019, after scans of the area revealed structures under what they previously thought was a natural hill. As they investigated, they discovered this altar, which still bears the faint outlines of a person wearing a feathered headdress on each panel and traces of bright red, black and yellow paints. Such a design resembles other representations of a deity known as the 'Storm God,' more common in Teotihuacan than Mayan art. Two bodies were buried underneath the altar – one probably an adult male and the other a small child aged between 2 and 4 years old, who was buried in a seated position much more commonly seen in Teotihuacan than in Tikal. The bodies of three other infants were discovered around the altar, buried in a similar way to other infant graves in Teotihuacan. The authors didn't specify what caused their deaths. These cultural practices point toward the increasing Teotihuacan influence in Tikal, the researchers said in their paper. And the fact that these buildings were subsequently buried and never built on again 'probably speaks to the complicated feelings (the Maya) had about Teotihuacan,' said co-author Andrew Scherer, a professor of anthropology and archaeology at Brown. 'The Maya regularly buried buildings and rebuilt on top of them,' he said in a statement. 'But here, they buried the altar and surrounding buildings and just left them, even though this would have been prime real estate centuries later. They treated it almost like a memorial or a radioactive zone.' This latest discovery uncovers another layer of the complicated relationship between the two cultures that recent research has revealed. In the 1960s, researchers found a stone bearing an inscription that described a conflict between the Maya and Teotihuacan, and learnt that 'around AD 378, Teotihuacan was essentially decapitating a kingdom,' Houston said. 'They removed the king and replaced him with a quisling, a puppet king who proved a useful local instrument to Teotihuacan.' This altar was probably built at a similar time to the coup, Scherer said, which eventually propelled the Mayan kingdom to its most powerful point, before it declined around 900 AD. The findings of this excavation show 'a tale as old as time,' Houston added, referring to empires sparring and competing for cultural influence. 'Everyone knows what happened to the Aztec civilization after the Spanish arrived … These powers of central Mexico reached into the Maya world because they saw it as a place of extraordinary wealth, of special feathers from tropical birds, jade and chocolate,' he said. 'As far as Teotihuacan was concerned, it was the land of milk and honey.'
CNN
11-04-2025
- Science
- CNN
Mysterious altar found in ancient Mayan city contains bodies – and wasn't made by the Maya
Archaeologists working in an ancient Mayan city have unearthed a mysterious 1,700-year-old altar whose bright decorations and grim contents may hold the key to unraveling the complex geopolitics of the time. Despite finding the altar in Tikal, a ruined Mayan city situated in modern Guatemala, archaeologists believe it wasn't decorated by Mayans. Instead, they say it was the work of artists trained 630 miles away in Teotihuacan – a powerful city close to modern-day Mexico City that exerted a strong influence over the region. Before this discovery, which was published on Tuesday in the journal Antiquity, archaeologists already knew that the two cultures interacted, though the nature of the relationship was disputed. But the ornately decorated altar, with two bodies buried beneath, confirms that 'wealthy leaders from Teotihuacan came to Tikal and created replicas of ritual facilities that would have existed in their home city,' said co-author Stephen Houston, a professor at Brown University who specializes in Mayan culture. 'It shows Teotihuacan left a heavy imprint there,' he added in a statement. Houston and his co-authors from the US and Guatemala began excavating the site in 2019, after scans of the area revealed structures under what they previously thought was a natural hill. As they investigated, they discovered this altar, which still bears the faint outlines of a person wearing a feathered headdress on each panel and traces of bright red, black and yellow paints. Such a design resembles other representations of a deity known as the 'Storm God,' more common in Teotihuacan than Mayan art. Two bodies were buried underneath the altar – one probably an adult male and the other a small child aged between 2 and 4 years old, who was buried in a seated position much more commonly seen in Teotihuacan than in Tikal. The bodies of three other infants were discovered around the altar, buried in a similar way to other infant graves in Teotihuacan. The authors didn't specify what caused their deaths. These cultural practices point toward the increasing Teotihuacan influence in Tikal, the researchers said in their paper. And the fact that these buildings were subsequently buried and never built on again 'probably speaks to the complicated feelings (the Maya) had about Teotihuacan,' said co-author Andrew Scherer, a professor of anthropology and archaeology at Brown. 'The Maya regularly buried buildings and rebuilt on top of them,' he said in a statement. 'But here, they buried the altar and surrounding buildings and just left them, even though this would have been prime real estate centuries later. They treated it almost like a memorial or a radioactive zone.' This latest discovery uncovers another layer of the complicated relationship between the two cultures that recent research has revealed. In the 1960s, researchers found a stone bearing an inscription that described a conflict between the Maya and Teotihuacan, and learnt that 'around AD 378, Teotihuacan was essentially decapitating a kingdom,' Houston said. 'They removed the king and replaced him with a quisling, a puppet king who proved a useful local instrument to Teotihuacan.' This altar was probably built at a similar time to the coup, Scherer said, which eventually propelled the Mayan kingdom to its most powerful point, before it declined around 900 AD. The findings of this excavation show 'a tale as old as time,' Houston added, referring to empires sparring and competing for cultural influence. 'Everyone knows what happened to the Aztec civilization after the Spanish arrived … These powers of central Mexico reached into the Maya world because they saw it as a place of extraordinary wealth, of special feathers from tropical birds, jade and chocolate,' he said. 'As far as Teotihuacan was concerned, it was the land of milk and honey.'
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Excavating a Maya City Found a 1,700-Year-Old Altar. It Shouldn't Have Been There.
Archaeologists recently made the first discovery of a Teotihuacan-style altar within a Maya city. The find offers early evidence of the intermingling of two cultures, offering insight into tensions that may have existed between the powers. Experts are still trying to parse out the relationship between the ancient cities of Teotihuacan and Tikal. Archeologists have discovered a 1,700-year-old altar that upends what we thought we knew about two distinct cultures: the Maya and the Teotihuacan. In a discovery announced by Guatemala's Culture and Sports Ministry, archaeologists working on a project in Tikal National Park discovered a Maya-era residence—dubbed Group 6D-XV—featuring a distinctly Teotihuacan altar in the center of the home. Tikal is a 2,400-year-old Maya city in the heart of Guatemala—far flung from Mexico's ancient city of Teotihuacan. The presence of this altar implies that the two shared a relationship that spanned the 600-plus miles that separated them. 'The researchers agree that Group 6D-XV was inhabited by individuals with strong ties to or from Teotihuacan, who, in addition to bringing their funeral and architectural traditions, were also free to manifest their own cultural identity and beliefs in a key space within Tikal,' the researchers wrote in a translated statement. 'This confirms the cosmopolitan character of this important Mayan city.' Scholars from Brown University who were part of the research team published their findings in the journal Antiquity, and believe there was more to the 'cosmopolitan character' than just art. The limestone altar measured about 3.5 feet by 6 feet, and stood in the center of the home—a key element of Teotihuacan style. Built around the late 300s A.D., the altar's design featured original murals in red, yellow, and black, depicting a figure that the study notes resembles a deity called the 'Storm God.' The mural further follows the Teotihuacan tradition of altars dedicated to deities instead of rulers—the latter of which was a common practice in Mayan culture. The experts agree it wasn't the work of a Maya artist, but of an artisan trained in Teotihuacan, the power located 630 miles northwest of Tikal (outside modern-day Mexico City). The residence also contained anthropomorphic figures adorned with red-toned tassels—yet more detail from Teotihuacan traditions. 'What the altar confirms is that wealthy leaders from Teotihuacan came to Tikal and created replicas of ritual facilities that would have existed in their home city,' Stephen Houston, one of the authors of the study, said in a statement. 'It shows Teotihuacan left a heavy imprint there.' Experts believe the site had two key construction timeframes—an original build lasting from 300 A.D. to 400 A.D. (which shows Teotihuacan origin) and an expansion of the central altar, which stretched from 400 to 450 A.D. Tikal was founded in 850 B.C. and was originally known as a small city. But it grew into a dynasty around 100 A.D., and its people likely began interacting with residents of Teotihuacan a couple of centuries later. 'It's almost as if Tikal poked the beast and got too much attention from Teotihuacan,' Houston said. 'That's when foreigners started moving into the area.' At one point between 100 B.C. and 750 A.D., Teotihuacan was one of the world's largest cities, home to over 100,000 residents. Evidence began to mount that the two cities were in conflict, and that Teotihuacan's presence in Tikal could have involved an element of occupation or surveillance. 'The Maya regularly buried buildings and rebuilt on top of them,' Andrew Scherer, another author of the study, said in a statement. 'But here, they buried the altar and surrounding buildings and just left them, even though this would have been prime real estate centuries later. They treated it almost like a memorial or a radioactive zone. It probably speaks to the complicated feelings they had about Teotihuacan.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
