Partial reprint from https://www.sciencealert.com/an-ancient-maya-civilisation-had-surprisingly-effective-water-filtration-system Several ancient civilisations, including the Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans, filtered their water. Sanskrit writings dating back to 2,000 BCE also mention water treatment methods. Now, archaeologists have discovered the Maya of Central America did too – and their water filtration system was incredibly effective. In a reservoir in what was once the major…
Category: MesoAmericas
Mayan Civilization ‘Grossly Underestimated’
Repost from https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/maya-laser-lidar-guatemala-pacunam/ In what’s being hailed as a “major breakthrough” in Maya archaeology, researchers have identified the ruins of more than 60,000 houses, palaces, elevated highways, and other human-made features that have been hidden for centuries under the jungles of northern Guatemala. Using a revolutionary technology known as LiDAR (short for “Light Detection And Ranging”),…
Mesoamerican Ballgame
1,300-year-old Belizean Stone Panels Depicting Mayan Ballplayers Two 1,300-year-old stone panels show Mayans playing with nine-handspan balls while carrying fancy fans. The panels were discovered at the archaeological site of Tipan Chen Uitz in Belize in 2015, dating from about 700 AD. They are the first panels relating to ballplayers found in Belize. The images…
NEW MAYAN TOMB DISCOVERED IN BELIZE LARGEST EVER
The ancient Mayan archaeological site known as Xunantunich, about 80 miles to the west of Belize City, is the site of the largest Mayan tomb in Belize. Researchers found the tomb as they excavated a central stairway of a large structure: within were the remains of a male adult, somewhere between 20 and 30 years…
Mayan Death Mask
A funerary mask from the ancient city of Calakmul in Campeche, Mexico Photograph: Ignacio Guevara/Museo de Cultura Maya
Mysterious Maya Calendar & Mural Uncovered
Researchers have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved Maya mural and calendar markings that add perspective on Maya thinking.
Maya Pyramids of Chichen Itza
Why did the Maya abandon their magnificent city of Chichen Itza?
Mayan Underworld Observatory
Giant Maya Carvings in Guatemala
Recently found in the Maya city of Holmul in the northeastern Petén Basin region in Guatemala, near the modern-day border with Belize, is an enormous frieze—which measures 26 feet by nearly 7 feet (8 meters by 2 meters)—depicts human figures in a mythological setting, was discovered in July 2013 in the buried foundations of a rectangular pyramid…
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus is a 2005 non-fiction book by American author and science writer Charles C. Mann about the pre-Columbian Americas. The book argues that a combination of recent findings in different fields of research suggests that human populations in the Western Hemisphere—that is, the indigenous peoples of the Americas—were…