Mayans & Incas

Archaeologists have uncovered carved stucco panels depicting cosmic monsters, gods and serpents in Guatemala's northern jungle. They are the oldest known depictions of a famous Mayan creation myth.

The 26ft long panels were created around 300 BC and show scenes from the core Mayan mythology, the Popol Vuh. It took investigators three months to uncover the carvings while excavating El Mirador, the biggest ancient Mayan city in the world, the site's head researcher, Richard Hansen said.

The Maya built soaring temples and elaborate palaces in Central America and southern Mexico, dominating the region for some 2,000 years, before mysteriously abandoning their cities around 900 AD.

The El Mirador basin was deserted much earlier with the large urban population leaving a complex network of roads and waterways and a massive pyramid now covered under thick vegetation.

The earliest written version of the Popol Vuh was discovered in the early 1700s by a Spanish colonial priest and the panels are the first known sculptural depictions of the main characters in the myth - two hero twins, Hansen said.

'This is pre-Christian, it has tremendous antiquity and shows again the remarkable resilience of an ideology that's existed for thousands of years,' Mr Hansen from Idaho State University said.

On one panel, the twins are depicted surrounded by cosmic monsters and above them is a bird deity with outstretched wings. On the other, there is a Mayan corn god framed by an undulating serpent, said Mr Hansen who worked as a consultant for Mel Gibson's 2006 movie about the Maya, "Apocalypto."

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A new Mayan archaeological discovery of a 2,200 year old carving was found at El Mirador, Guatemala. The archaeological site El Mirador continues to astound the world. A team of archaeologists, mostly Guatemalans, under the coordination of Richard Hansen made the discovery of a carving of the Mayan Pre-Classic Period which dates from 200 BC. This new finding was presented by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Jeronimo Lancerio and businessmen who support the project. Vice- President Rafael Espada and important members of the Guatemalan Press where also present."This finding is impressive as finding the Mona Lisa. It is an impressive example of Mayanart", Hansen stated.

The carving is in a structures that was used to store water and shows a Mayan mythological passage, where the twin heroes Ixbalanque and Hunacpú leave the underworld carrying the head of their father, Hun Hunapú.The archaeological site "El Mirador" is being developed to be the crown jewel within the Park "Cuatro Balam". This is a development project which aims to create the largest archaeological park in the world, containing over four thousand Mayan pyramids. The project started under President Berger and is now being continued by President Alvaro Colom and a group of entrepreneurs. As a fantastic and very impressive experience described Dr. Rafael Espada his visit to the Mirador, Petén, where he arrived accompanied by a working committee to assess options for protecting the natural and archaeological reserves in thecountry. Vice-President Dr. Rafael Espada is the coordinator of the Socio- Environmental cabinet, as such he expressed his support for the project and the need to establish the legal framework to protect El Mirador. "We have to protect this cultural heritage which preserves important elements of Mayan culture. This jungle which has existed for thousands of years also needs our protection. We need to take the necessary steps to provide legislation for the protection of the area and to respect this sacred land" said the Vice President Espada. The project will benefit local communities, protect the tropical forests of the Basin "El Mirador", and will generate tourism and development for the department of Petén.

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Archaeologists are excavating ancient human remains of at least seven people discovered during construction of the Aztec wastewater treatment plant. Studying pottery and other artifacts found near the graves, scientists estimate the skeletons are at least 700 years old, and potentially older.Further research likely will confirm the genders and ages of the dead and potentially a cause of death for some. Following the archaeological assessment, the remains and artifacts will return to a descendant tribe for reburial.The remains first were found last week while construction crews were grading and removing dirt, although a preconstructionarchaeological assessment of the site showed no indication of a burial ground.

Crews noticed the bones while a dump truck was emptying its load. The Aztec Police Department and state Office of the Medical Examiner initially treated the site as a crime scene before confirming the remains were ancient. Following the discovery, the site was turned over to the New Mexico Historic Preservation Office, which works with developers to ensure the burial ground is properly excavated. "Basically when the construction people realized they had human remains, they stopped construction and protected them, and they went through the process that's specified by state law," said Historic Preservation Officer Jan Biella, the acting state archaeologist. The find required construction crews to stop work in thearea of the burial ground, instead shifting work to other areas of the developing site of the wastewater treatment plant while scientists ensure all human remains are removed. "Our goal was not to disturb anymore," Biella said. Although crews immediately stopped digging, recognizing the significance of the find, some damage was done to the site. Without being able to study the remains as they were found in the ground, research on the nature of the burial site itself will be limited. "Unfortunately we haven't got any of the original context left. This is where things become more complicated," said Dr. Peter Cater, president and owner of Aztec Archaeological Consultants, the company hired by the city of Aztec to study the site. "Not knowing where they were, how they were laying, what kind of gravethe......

Archaeologists have found a mass grave in Mexico that may hold the skeletal remains of the Aztecs who fought conquistador Hernan Cortes. The unusual burial was found in a ruined pyramid in downtown Mexico City. It holds the carefully arrayed skeletons of at least 49 adult Indians who were buried in the remains of a pyramid razed by the Spaniards during the 1521 conquest of the Aztec capital. The pyramid complex, in the city's Tlatelolco square, was the site of the last Indian resistance to the Spaniards during the months-long battle for the city. Archaeologist Salvador Guilliem, the leader of the excavation for Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, said the Indians might have been killed during Cortes' war or during one of the uprisings that continued after the conquest. Mr Guilliem said many burials have been found at the site with the remains of Indians who died during epidemics that swept the Aztec capital in the years after the conquest and killed off much of the Indian population. But those burials were mostly hurried, haphazard affairs in which remains were jumbled together in pits regardless of age or gender. The latest reported burial is different. The dead had many of the characteristics of warriors: All but four were young men, most were tall and several showed broken bones that had mended. The men also were carefully buried Christian-style, lying on their backs with arms crossed over their chests, though many appear to have been wrapped up in large maguey cactus leaves, rather than placed in European coffins. The mass grave contained evidence of an Aztec-like ritual in which offerings such as incense and animals were set alight in an incense burner, but Spanish elements including buttons and a bit of glass also were present. Susan Gillespie, an archaeologist at the University of Florida, said the grave was unusual, both because it was unlikely the Spanish would have bothered with such careful burial of Aztec warriors, and because the Indians themselves would have been more likely to cremate any honored dead. But Gillespie, who was not involved in the excavation, also noted that little is known about the period.