What's hidden inside the ancient Maya pyramids?

What did the ancient Maya place inside these monumental structures?

In this image, we see Chichén Itzá at dusk. (Image credit: Theodore Van Pelt / EyeEm via Getty Images)

The ancient Maya constructed hundreds of pyramids throughout Mesoamerica, from about 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1500, placing a wide variety of artifacts inside of them. 

But what exactly did they put inside of them?

It turns out that, like the pyramids of ancient Egypt, those built by the Maya contained rich treasures and burials. But they also often contained something weirder — smaller pyramids inside the larger ones, experts told Live Science.

For example, the pyramid of "El Castillo," at the site of Chichén Itzá in the Yucatán Peninsula, contains a pyramid within a pyramid within a pyramid, like a Russian nesting doll.  

"The ancient inhabitants of the Yucatán Peninsula, when they arrived at a previously inhabited and abandoned site, did not destroy the old structures," Andrés Tejero-Andrade, a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) who has studied and written about El Castillo, told Live Science in an email. "Rather a new one was built on top of those already present, and so on," he said, noting that this is why El Castillo has this nesting doll structure.

This practice was not unique to El Castillo; other Maya and non-Maya pyramids have this arrangement, Denisse Lorenia Argote Espino, a researcher at Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), told Live Science in an email.

Espino noted that building a pyramid on top of another pyramid "was a common practice in pre-Hispanic [before the Spanish arrived] times" and that "the main structures in long settlements [sites that were inhabited for a long time] usually have several constructive phases."

Here, we see the Jaguar Throne inside the "Templo de Kukulkán" (El Castillo) pyramid. The Temple of Kukulcan, is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichén Itzá archaeological site. Built by the pre-Hispanic Maya civilization sometime between the 9th and 12th centuries A.D., El Castillo served as a temple to the god Kukulkan, the Yucatec Maya feathered serpent deity closely related to the god Quetzalcoatl known to the Aztecs. (Image credit: Photo by Thierry Tronnel/Corbis via Getty Images)

Still, such pyramid stacks aren't the most common things archaeologists find in Maya pyramids. While some Maya temples were used for rituals, others served as tombs for rulers or other elite individuals. 

These burials contained artifacts such as jade masks (for the deceased), jade beads, obsidian blades and stingray spines, which were a symbol of self-sacrifice for the ancient Maya, according to Michael Coe's book "The Maya(opens in new tab)" (Thames & Hudson, 2011).

Stingray spines were associated with self-sacrifice because sometimes they were placed "through ears, cheeks, lips, tongue, and the penis, the blood being spattered on paper used to [anoint] idols," Coe wrote in his book. 

The ancient Maya prized objects made of jade. One of the most famous examples is a jaguar throne found in the El Castillo pyramid.

"The Classic Maya esteemed jadeite not only for its preciousness and beauty but also as stone of great symbolic import," wrote Karl Taube, an anthropology professor at the University of California, Riverside, in a 2005 article published in the journal Ancient Mesoamerica(opens in new tab). For example, the Maya associated jade with maize, rulership and the wind itself, Taube wrote. "Jade was an important component of funerary rites and the ritual conjuring of gods and ancestors," he added.

More Maya artifacts

Maya pyramids contained many other remarkable artifacts. For instance, a pyramid at the site of San Bartolo, in northern Guatemala, contains a fragment of what may be the earliest Maya calendar ever found, dating back more than 2,200 years. 

A pyramid at Copan, in Honduras, has a massive inscription containing more than 2,000 Maya glyphs inscribed on its staircase. The inscription tells the history of Copan's rulers, according to a 2006 Getty Conservation Institute report(opens in new tab). The Maya used a writing system that is sometimes called "Mayan hieroglyphic." This writing system has glyphs that represent sounds which form words that scholars can read and translate.

Source: livescience

Who Built The 'Chankillo' Archaeoastronomical Complex?

BY UNESCO

The Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex is a prehistoric site (250-200 BC), located on the north-central coast of Peru, in the Casma Valley, comprising a set of constructions in a desert landscape that, together with natural features, functioned as a calendrical instrument, using the sun to define dates throughout the year.

The property includes a triple-walled hilltop complex, known as the Fortified Temple, two building complexes called Observatory and Administrative Centre, a line of thirteen cuboidal towers stretching along the ridge of a hill, and the Cerro Mucho Malo that complements the Thirteen Towers as a natural marker.

Aerial view of the Administrative complex Author: Ivan Ghezzi Copyright: © IDARQ

Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex is an outstanding example of ancient landscape timekeeping, a practice of ancient civilizations worldwide, which used visible natural or cultural features. Incorporated in the Thirteen Towers, it permitted the time of year to be accurately determined not just on one date but throughout the seasonal year. Unlike architectural alignments upon a single astronomical target found at many ancient sites around the world, the line of towers spans the entire annual solar rising and setting arcs as viewed, respectively, from two distinct observation points, one of which is still clearly visible above ground. The astronomical facilities at Chankillo represent a masterpiece of human creative genius.

Chankillo was in use for a relatively brief period of time between 250 and 200 BC, during a late phase of the Early Horizon Period (500-200 BC) of Peruvian prehistory, after which it was destroyed and abandoned. The Chankillo Complex is a very particular type of building representing an early stage in the development of native astronomy in the Americas. It shows great innovation by using the solar cycle and an artificial horizon to mark the solstices, the equinoxes, and every other date within the year with a precision of 1-2 days. The solar observatory at Chankillo is thus a testimony of the culmination of a long historical evolution of astronomical practices in the Casma Valley.

The Thirteen Towers Author: Ivan Ghezzi Copyright: © lDARQ

Integrity

All the elements necessary to express the Outstanding Universal Value of Chankillo Complex centred on calendrical observations of the sun are included within the property boundaries. Chankillo and the wider setting of related monuments that form the property take advantage of built and natural horizon markers to track the progressive passage of the sun along the horizon throughout the entire year. The natural environment and climatic conditions, that are the basis of the good visibility needed for astronomical observations at the site, are maintained to a large extent. The viewsheds that contain the main astronomical sightlines are generally unobstructed, but their preservation has to be monitored closely. Also, the visual integrity of the general setting of the property has to be maintained. Any infringement on the property by urban development or expansion of agricultural areas has to be avoided.

The advancing collapse of structural elements, with the loss of clear edges (e.g. at the tower buildings and the observatories), jeopardises the exactness of the astronomical observations. The conservation of monumental elements is fragile and needs to be closely monitored in the future. In case the information from future research indicates relationships of the central monuments with other elements of the property and beyond, a boundary adjustment should be considered.

View from inside the South Keep Author: Sergio Anchi Copyright: © IDARQ

Authenticity

The position of the Western and Eastern Observation Points in relation to the Thirteen Towers at Chankillo, identified by archaeological excavation and geophysical survey, and supported by archaeoastronomical data, suggests that the primary purpose of all these structures was to act together as a calendrical instrument. Since the 3rd century BC the sun has shifted slightly at and around the solstices, less at other times in the year. This small change has a negligible effect on the solar and possibly lunar alignments around the site but does not affect the ability of a present-day spectator to observe and understand the way in which the Chankillo functioned. Some aspects of the archaeoastronomical interpretations of the property may need further discussion. Since no invasive conservation and reconstruction campaigns have changed the material substance of the property, the conditions of authenticity in terms of material and form, are met.

Mysterious Skull Implanted With Strange Metallic Object Divides Experts

Ancient surgical implant or modern-day fake? Peru skull leaves mystery.

By Owen Jarus 

If authenticated, the skull would represent a unique discovery in the Andes.

This skull from Peru has a metal implant. If it is authentic then it would be a potentially unique find from the ancient Andes. (Image credit: Photo courtesy Museum of Osteology)

An elongated, cone-shaped skull with a possible metal implant could represent some of the earliest evidence from Peru of an ancient surgical implant. Or it could be a modern-day fake. 

The fact that the skull, which was donated to the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, has a cone shape is nothing too unusual, as Peruvians during ancient times were known to squeeze children's heads with bands during development to achieve the distinctive shape. 

However, the metal implant in this skull is highly unusual and, if authentic, would potentially be a unique find from the ancient Andean world. 

In addition to this potential implant, the skull has a hole beneath the metal that was possibly created through trepanation. Trepanation is when a hole is inserted into a person's skull in an attempt to treat an injury or medical condition, and it was a common practice in the ancient world. 

The Museum of Osteology, which has posted several pictures of this skull on its Facebook page, said its experts are not able to verify the authenticity of the metal implant at this time. A museum representative told Live Science that no carbon dating has been done and an archaeologist has yet to examine it up close.

Tests need to be conducted to determine if the metal implant is authentic scientists told Live Science. (Image credit: Photo courtesy Museum of Osteology)

Is the implant authentic?

Live Science talked to several scholars not affiliated with the museum to get their take on the implant's authenticity, and overall their opinion was mixed. Some were skeptical and suggested the implant is a forgery, while others suspect the implant could be the real deal. Either way, several scientific tests will need to be done before a final determination can be made as to whether the implant is authentic, the scholars said. 

"I'm quite dubious that this is anything authentic," John Verano, an anthropology professor at Tulane University in Louisiana, told Live Science in an email, referring to the metal implant possibly being a modern-day forgery even if the skull is legit. "In a few words, I think this is something fabricated to make the skull a more valuable collectible," Verano said. This metal implant could have been inserted many decades ago, before either the museum or the donor owned it. 

Verano has examined several Andean skulls that allegedly have metal implants and published a paper on the topic in 2010 in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. In the paper, Verano describes skulls that supposedly held metal implants, but they were either forgeries, or the metal was not a surgical implant at all but instead was used as a grave offering. 

Other scholars told Live Science that  it’s possible the metal implant could be real, but it's too early to say for certain until further tests have been carried out. "I've never seen anything like this before. Based on the pictures, it looks like the metal piece was thinly hammered into shape," Danielle Kurin, an anthropology professor at University of California, Santa Barbara, told Live Science in an email. 

"Based on the fracture patterns, this individual — [who] looks to be an older male — suffered a massive blunt-force trauma to the right side of the head. The fact that the radiating and concentric fracture lines show signs of healing suggests this individual survived at least several weeks to months," Kurin added. 

Since metallurgical technology varied across the Andes at the time, tests on the metal in the skull could help to shed light on where it was made, Kurin said. "It would also be helpful to have the skull X-rayed to determine if the piece of metal is covering a trepanation hole and/or an open cranial fracture."

There are a few cases from past discoveries where, after a trepanation, a piece of the person's bone or a gourd was placed in the hole that was cut out, Kurin said. Additionally, in a 2013 American Journal of Physical Anthropology article, Kurin reported on a case where a person who lived in Peru about 800 years ago wore a tight-fitting skull cap that had a metal cap stitched onto it. They wore the cap like a helmet, providing protection for the area carved out by  trepanation. 

Kent Johnson, an anthropology professor at SUNY Cortland, also said that the metal implant could be authentic but again said that tests need to be done. However, regardless of whether or not the implant is real, the person it was placed on did survive an awful injury. 

"It is fair to describe this individual as a survivor. There is extensive trauma to the right side of the cranium affecting the frontal, temporal and right parietal bones," Johnson told Live Science in an email, noting that the person seems to have survived for a time after these injuries. "There is evidence of healing where the edges of the fractured bones had sufficient time to grow back together."

It's not clear at the moment when tests on the skull will take place. 

Originally published on Live Science.

The 'Badlands Guardian': A Geomorphic Feature or an Ancient Geoglyph?

In beautiful Canada, located near Medicine Hat in the southeast corner of Alberta, there is a geomorphological feature called The Badlands Guardian.

Viewed from the air, the feature has been said to resemble a human head wearing a full Indigenous type of headdress, facing directly westward. Additional man-made structures have been said to resemble a pair of earphones worn by the figure. The apparent earphones are a road and an oil well, which were installed recently and are expected to disappear once the project is abandoned. Its scale is much larger than the figures of Mount Rushmore.

The head is a drainage feature created through erosion of soft, clay-rich soil by the action of wind and water. The arid badlands are typified by infrequent but intense rain-showers, sparse vegetation and soft sediments. The 'head' may have been created during a short period of fast erosion immediately following intense rainfall. Although the image appears to be a convex feature, it is actually concave – that is, a valley, which is formed by erosion on a stratum of clay, and is an instance of the Hollow-Face illusion. Its age is estimated to be in the hundreds of years at a minimum.

The feature was discovered in 2005 by Lynn Hickox during the Google Earth project when they used satellite imagery and reproduced them in 3-D which led to the identification of the natural world. The Guardian is regarded as one of Google Earth’s most remarkable finds. The precise location of the Badlands Guardian on Google Earth is at the coordinates (50° 0'38.20"N, 110° 06' 48.32"W). The area covered by the Badlands Guardian is an arid land. It receives little but intense showers of rain. It has sparse vegetation and soft, clay soil.

The Guardian of the Badlands as seen from Google Earth

In 2006 suitable names were canvassed by CBC Radio One program As It Happens. Out of 50 names submitted, seven were suggested to the Cypress County Council. They altered the suggested 'Guardian of the Badlands' to become Badlands Guardian. It is listed as the seventh of the top ten Google Earth finds by Time magazine.

The Badlands’ Guardian is near Medicine Hat in the south-east of Alberta and not far from the border with the USA. The location of the geological wonder is very remote, in an area that has been traditionally the home of the Siska First Nation People, often known as the Blackfoot tribes. The Badlands are desolate terrain of gullies, chasms, sinkholes, and hills. They were formed during the end of the last Ice Age when glacial meltwater created valleys and steeps slopes out of the sedimentary rock and clay soil. The effect of wind and water on these landscapes means that they are constantly changing. Winds and heavy rains carve channels in the rocks relatively quickly. The constant erosion of the light sedimentary soil and clay means that there are many unique and strange geomorphic features and topographies which have intrigued people since the arrival of the First Nations. Badlands are found in several areas of North America.

Canadian Badlands

Although the Badlands Guardian could be a favorite tourist destination for many people, there is little tourism with regards to it. According to Mr. Lutz Perschon, Cypress County Manager, the image has a limited tourism potential since viewers can only see it from the air. On the ground, it is challenging to recognize anything unique about the place. Most tourists have become “online tourists” who read about Badlands Guardian’s story and are amazed by it. They can stare the images on the internet and can explore Google Earth to see the image for themselves. However, it is difficult to go further because a real tour of the area is not practical. Furthermore, there is no public access to the site which is a property owned by a family of ranchers.

'Las Posadas': A Christian Folk Holiday with Pagan Elements

Las Posadas is a novenario (an extended devotional prayer). It is celebrated chiefly in Latin America, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Spain, and by Hispanics in the United States. It is typically celebrated each year between December 16 and December 24.

Las Posadas derives from the Spanish word posada (lodging, or accommodation) which, in this case, refers to the inn from the Nativity story. It uses the plural form as the celebration lasts for a nine-day interval (called the novena) during the Christmas season, which represents the nine-month pregnancy of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

Children in Oaxaca, Mexico celebrate Las Posadas by breaking a Piñata.

This celebration has been a Mexican tradition for over 400 years, starting in 1586. Many Mexican holidays include dramatizations of original events, a tradition which has its roots in the ritual of Bible plays used to teach religious doctrine to a largely illiterate population in 10th- and 11th-century Europe. The plays lost favor with the Church and were eventually banned as they became popular through the addition of folk music and other non-religious elements; they were reintroduced in the 16th century by two Spanish saints[who?] as the Christmas pageant — a new kind of religious ceremony to accompany the Christmas holiday.

In Mexico, the winter solstice festival was one of the most important celebrations of the year that came on December 12 according to the Julian calendar used by the Spanish until 1582. According to the Aztec calendar, Tonantzin Guadalupe (the mother of the gods) was celebrated on the winter solstice, and she is still feted on December 12, while their most important deity, the sun god Huitzilopochtli, was born during the month of December (panquetzaliztli). The parallel in time between this native celebration and the celebration of Christmas lent itself to an almost-seamless merging of the two holidays. Seeing the opportunity to proselytize, Spanish missionaries brought the reinvented religious pageant to Mexico where they used it to teach the story of Jesus' birth. In 1586, Friar Diego de Soria obtained a Papal bull from Pope Sixtus V, stating that a Christmas mass should be observed throughout Mexico on the nine days preceding Christmas Day.

While its roots are in Catholicism, Protestant Latinos also follow the tradition.

Aztec Αltar with Ηuman Αshes uncovered in Mexico City

Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered an altar dating back to the 16th Century near Plaza Garibaldi, the square in Mexico City famed for its mariachi musicians.

The altar dates back to the time after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán.

Experts say it was located in a courtyard inside a home of an Aztec family, who would have used it to honour their dead.

It contains a pot with human ashes.

The pot containing human ashes was one of the items found at the altar

The original discovery was made in August but only announced by Mexico's National Institute for Anthropology and History (Inah) on Tuesday, after archaeologists had spent three months studying the site.

The altar dates is thought to date back to the period between 1521, when Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlán, and 1610.

The battle of Tenochtitlán is seen as the beginning of the end of the Aztec empire, which in its heyday ruled over the central Mexican highlands.

The archaeologists behind the discovery say that the inhabitants of the house would have held a ritual "to bear witness to the ending of a cycle of their lives and of their civilisation" at the altar.

Anthropomorphic figures were also among the items uncovered

Archaeologist Mara Becerra says that the altar was found four metres (13ft) below ground, underneath several layers of adobe mud.

According to Ms Becerra, the inhabitants of the house wanted to hide it from the prying eyes of the Spanish conquistadors.

She believes they were Mexica, the indigenous people who lived in the Valley of Mexico and who founded the Aztec empire.

The altar contained a pot with human ashes and 13 intricately decorated incense burners.

The incense burners found at the altar would have been used during rituals

The house surrounding the altar was made up of a large room which was connected by a corridor to five smaller rooms, one of which is believed to be a kitchen.

'Huaca Huallamarca': A Beautiful Restored Adobe Pyramid in Lima, Peru

The Huaca Huallamarca, formerly called Pan de Azúcar, is a pre-Hispanic construction in the shape of a truncated pyramid, located in the middle of the residential area of the San Isidro district, in Lima, Peru .

It was one of the main settlements of the Pinazo cultural tradition of the Peruvian central coast and its construction dates from approximately 200 BC. It became a cemetery in 300 AD, having burials corresponding to the Lima, Huaura (Tricolor-Geometric), Sicán, Chincha and Ychsma cultures .

In the 1950s it was rebuilt by the work of Arturo Jiménez Borja.

The name 

Huallamarca was the name given to it by the Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello in the 1930s . He called the entire area between the current districts of Lince and Miraflores "Wallamarka" or "Huallamarca" (town of the hualla in Quechua) since colonial chroniclers of the 16th century (published by Víctor Barriga) mention the existence of some "gualla lands" near where Huaca Pucllana is now in Miraflores. However, the name "Gualla" seems limited only to that site, so the name "Huallamarca" for the sanisidrina pyramid could be different. Until the beginning of the 20th century it was publicly known as "Sugar Loaf" from the shape of its adobes, which resemble a sweet known in Lima at that time.

History 

The first information on Huallamarca corresponds to 1873, when Thomas Hutchinson, a businessman interested in culture, published his book Two years in Peru: with exploration of its antiquities . In which it presents the engraving of the archaeological site, being a stepped building on two levels with complete walls and a steep slope all around.

The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1942 and were in charge of Julio C. Tello . The Peruvian archaeologist states that the Huaca Pan de Azúcar is part of the archaeological group called Wallamarca, which includes the Huaca Juliana, Lima-tambo and Santa Beatriz, as well as being within the limits of the Hacienda Pan de Azúcar (Tello 1999 (1942): 69).

In 1958, Arturo Jiménez Borja, together with Jorge Zegarra Galdós, excavated the top of the pyramid where a cemetery is located from which 48 funerary bundles were extracted, and which promoted the creation of the site museum, one of the first existing in Peru. Thanks to this, the Municipality of San Isidro managed to carry out conservation work with the intention of preserving the area from urban growth in the area.

In the field notebooks, Zegarra describes a large quantity of conical adobitos (corn grain) placed in disorderly rows around the huaca , showing that in the sectors where the conical adobitos courses are missing, the interior has been filled with gravel (Zegarra, 1958: 8). It should be noted that the use of amorphous adobes in its construction is typical of the Pinazo cultural tradition (years 100 BC to 200 AD) which were made by hand, keeping the imprint of the palms of the hands of Their creators. This detail allows us to establish that it was built before the Lima culture. It was developed in the valley (100-700 AD), the same that imposed another style of construction. Huallamarca was contemporary with other important Peruvian cultures such as the Vicus, Salinar, Topará (Paracas Necropolis ) culture , the Pucará culture , etc. The pyramid was later abandoned and was used extensively as a cemetery, until Inca times.

Between 1991 and 1992, three seasons of archaeological excavations were carried out by Lic. Clide Valladolid, within the framework of the Agreement for Research, Conservation and Enhancement of the Site, between the Municipality of San Isidro, the Museum of the Nation and the National Institute of Culture.

Restoration 

In the 19th century it was visited by many travelers, as it was famous for its burials rich in ceramic and metal objects. According to ancient references, it was 125 m long by 76 m wide and its shape was conical, which is why it was called "Sugar Loaf".

In the 1920s a large cut was made in the flanks to enable a path to its top, which was leveled. In 1941 the municipality of San Isidro began its demolition, which was paralyzed due to the intervention of the National Archeology Board. In the 1950s, the Ministry of Development and Public Works authorized its demolition in order to erect a public park in its place, but as such disgrace did not prosper, the House of Culture of Peru began the revaluation and reconstruction of the pyramid, with the patronage of Carlos Neuhaus Rizo Patron, then mayor of the district. The restoration work was entrusted to Arturo Jiménez Borja, a doctor fond of archeology, who had already done similar work in Puruchuco . In 1960 The work was completed with the installation of a site museum that shelters the remains rescued in the place.

This huaca originally had the shape of a stepped pyramid. It is assumed that the enthusiasm of Jimenez Borja in the midst of the predicament of saving this ruin led to a creative restoration. Those who were present at the work usually affirm that on many occasions Dr. Jimenez Borja made excessive assumptions about the characteristics of the building.

Starting in 1991, Neuhaus Rizo Patrón, occupying the district's mayor's office for the second time, led to new investigations and cleaning works at the site, which were conducted by the archaeologist Clide María Valladolid.

Chanchan: The World's Largest Adobe City

Chan Chan, the biggest adobe city in the Americas, is found on Peru's northern coast, in the Trujillo Province, in the Department of La Libertad. It is a World Heritage Site owing to its immense historic value and significance, and it has become a major tourist destination for national and international visitors.

It was the capital of the Chimú culture, which flourished on the northern coast of Peru between 850 and 1470 AD. In that period, Chan Chan managed to achieve a high level of economic, social and urban development. It was later conquered by the Incas, and then raided by the Spanish. 

The central area of Chan Chan comprises ten extravagant walled citadels. Its walls are decorated in high relief with geometric motifs and shapes of fish and birds. What's more, spectacular architectural designs can be seen, such as working class districts, city walls, sidewalks, canals and cemeteries.

Thanks to its exceptional universal values and its unique testimony to a vanished civilization, the Chan Chan Archaeological Zone was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1986.

Chan Chan is estimated to have had a population of between 20 and 30 thousand inhabitants.  Its buildings, which are architectural masterpieces, served as warehouses, residences, mausoleums, administrative centers and temples.

The Nik An palace (previously known as Tschudi) has undergone the most restoration work and is the only building open to visitors. This palace is characterized by its thick 10-meter-high walls - architecture specially designed to withstand earthquakes. In addition, and despite being built in one of the driest climates in Peru, crops and gardens were fertilized using an advanced irrigation system.

Etymology

The name is probably derived from the Quingnam "Jiang" or "Chang" which means Sun, from which Chan-Chan would be literally: Sun-Sun. It is hypothesized that its true meaning would be: Great sun, resplendent Sun, splendid sun or refulgent sun (since a typical feature of the Quingnam language is that the reduplication of a word acquires a new meaning). Another theory says that the name would derive from the term: Shian or Sian. The "Shi" voice translates as Moon and "An" as a house, meaning House of the Moon, making known that the Moon was the main deity.

Conservation plan

In 1998, The "Master Plan for Conservation and Management of the Chan Chan Archeological Complex" was drawn up by the Freedom National Culture Institute of Peru with contributions from the World Heritage Foundation – WHR, ICCROM, and GCI. The plan was approved by the Peruvian Government. Methods of conservation include reinforcement and stabilization of structures of main buildings and around the Tschudi Palace, using a blend of traditional and modern engineering techniques. Chan Chan currently has 46 points of critical damage, though the site's total damage far exceeds these points. The regional government of La Libertad is funding conservation efforts at these points.

The 'Muisca raft': A pre-Columbian Gold Votive that Refers to the Ceremony of El Dorado's Legend!

The Muisca raft (Balsa Muisca in Spanish), sometimes referred to as the El Dorado Raft, is an artistic figure of pre-Columbian gold votive, drafted by the Muisca who established one of the four grand civilisations in the Americas on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The piece is exhibited at the Gold Museum in Bogota. It is estimated that the figure was drawn between 600 and 1600 AD by lost-wax casting in gold with a small amount of copper.

The figure refers to the ceremony of the legend of El Dorado. It represents the ceremony of investiture of the Muisca chief, which used to take place at Lake Guatavita. During this ritual, the heir to the chieftainship (zipa) covered his body with gold dust and jumped into the lake along with gold offerings and emeralds to the gods. The piece has a base in the shape of a log boat with dimensions of 19.5 cm x 10.1 cm and various figures on the raft, the largest figure that stands in the middle apparently represents the chief, which is adorned with headdresses, nose rings and earrings, measuring 10.2 cm and is surrounded by his soldiers who carry banners.

The raft was found by three farmers in early 1969 in a cave in the village of Lázaro Fonte in the municipality of Pasca (Cundinamarca), Colombia, in a ceramic pot, adorned with a human figure whose face has sharp teeth. The priest of the municipality protected the piece until it was acquired by Bogota's Gold Museum and where it has become one of its major exhibition pieces. It has never left Colombia.

El Dorado, the mythical city of gold

El Dorado, originally El Hombre Dorado ("The Golden Man") or El Rey Dorado ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (zipa) of the Muisca people, an indigenous people of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense of Colombia, who, as an initiation rite, covered himself with gold dust and submerged in Lake Guatavita. The legends surrounding El Dorado changed over time, as it went from being a man, to a city, to a kingdom, and then finally to an empire.

A second location for El Dorado was inferred from rumors, which inspired several unsuccessful expeditions in the late 1500s in search of a city called Manoa on the shores of Lake Parime or Parima. Two of the most famous of these expeditions were led by Sir Walter Raleigh. In pursuit of the legend, Spanish conquistadors and numerous others searched what is today Colombia, Venezuela, and parts of Guyana and northern Brazil, for the city and its fabulous king. In the course of these explorations, much of northern South America, including the Amazon River, was mapped. By the beginning of the 19th century, most people dismissed the existence of the city as a myth.

Fichier: 1656, Sanson Map of Guiana, Venezuela, and El Dorado.

The legend of the Seven Cities of Gold (Seven Cities of Cibola) led to Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's expedition of 1540 across the New Mexico territory. This became mixed with the stories of El Dorado, which was sometimes said to be one of the seven cities.

Several literary works have used the name in their titles, sometimes as "El Dorado", and other times as "Eldorado".

Who were the Muisca people?

The Muisca occupied the highlands of Cundinamarca and Boyacá departments of Colombia in two migrations from outlying lowland areas, one starting c. 1270 BCE, and a second between 800 BCE and 500 BCE. At those times, other more ancient civilizations also flourished in the highlands. The Muisca Confederation was as advanced as the Aztec, Maya and Inca civilizations.

In the mythology of the Muisca, Mnya the Gold or golden color, represents the energy contained in the trinity of Chiminigagua, which constitutes the creative power of everything that exists. Chiminigagua is related to Bachué, Cuza, Chibchacum, Bochica, and Nencatacoa.

'Chinampas': The Ancient Aztec Floating Gardens that hold promise for Future Urban Agriculture

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By Dimosthenis Vasiloudis

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In the face of rapid urbanization and growing global population, modern societies are increasingly grappling with the urgent need for sustainable food production solutions. One such solution lies in the ancient Aztec agricultural technique known as 'chinampas', or floating gardens. This ingenious practice holds significant promise for addressing the challenges of urban agriculture and food security in the 21st century.

The Mesoamerican agriculture method known as chinampa (Nahuatl languages: chināmitl [tʃiˈnaːmitɬ]) relies on small, rectangular plots of fertile arable ground to cultivate crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico. They are constructed for agricultural use on freshwater swamps or lake wetlands, and their proportions guarantee the best moisture retention.

The History of Chinampas

The chinampas were developed by the Aztecs around the 14th century in the Valley of Mexico, primarily in the shallow lakes of Xochimilco and Chalco. This region, now part of Mexico City, provided a fertile ground for the growth of the Aztec civilization. The chinampas were created by building small, rectangular plots of land on shallow lake beds, made from layers of mud, decaying vegetation, and other organic matter. These plots were surrounded by canals, allowing for easy transportation and irrigation.

Although the Post-classic and Colonial periods in the basin used various technologies, chinampas have highlighted many concerns about agricultural production and political growth. One of the earliest methods of imperial expansion after the formation of the Aztec Triple Alliance was the conquest of city-states in the southern basin, such as Xochimilco. Prior to this, farmers in the freshwater lakes of Xochimilco and Chalco maintained modest chinampas close to their homes and villages.

The Aztec culture is credited with creating chinampas. Chinampas, often known as "floating gardens," are man-made islands that were built by braiding reeds with stakes below the water's surface to form underwater fences. These "fences" would accumulate soil and aquatic vegetation up until the top soil layer was exposed on the water's surface. Because of the illusion they created, these agricultural regions were given this moniker. The canals encircled the chinampa plots, giving the impression that the areas of land were "floating" on the water.

Agricultural Innovation

The chinampas proved to be highly productive and sustainable agricultural systems. Due to the nutrient-rich materials used to construct them, they provided fertile soil that could support diverse crops such as maize, beans, squash, tomatoes, chili peppers, and even flowers. The water surrounding the chinampas provided a natural irrigation system, reducing the need for artificial irrigation methods. Moreover, the canals between chinampas were home to fish and aquatic birds, creating a balanced ecosystem that supported both plant and animal life.

The lake system within the Valley of Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest, showing distribution of the chinampas.

As part of the construction process for chinampas, a drainage system was also created. This drainage system had multiple functions. To facilitate the movement of water and sediments, maybe even night soil, a canal was made. The ditch would gradually fill with mud over time. The obstruction would then be removed by digging up some of this mud and spreading it across the chinampas. Because the dirt at the lake's bottom was so nutrient-rich, it served as an efficient and effective fertilizer for the chinampas.

Rich crops were made possible by adding lost nutrients to the topsoil. Embarcadero-Jiménez and associates investigated the relationship between soil bacterial diversity and environmental factors. A wide variety of bacteria may have an impact on the nutrients in the soil, according to theory. The findings showed that cultivated soils have higher levels of bacterial diversity than non-cultivated soils. Also, "the organization of the bacterial communities indicated an unusual link of the S-cycle and iron-oxidizing bacteria with the rhizosphere of plants cultivated in the chinampa soil and showed that the chinampas constitute a transition system between sediment and soil."

Chinampas were likely enumerated in groups of seven and measured in matl (1 matl = 1.67 meters), according to evidence from Nahuatl wills from late seventeenth-century Pueblo Culhuacán. One researcher used the Codex Vergara as a source to determine the size of chinampas. They were made by marking the small lake bed with stakes and enclosing it with a wattle fence. Later, layers of muck, lake sediment, and decomposing plants were added to the fence-lined area, raising it over the lake's level. To protect the chinampa, trees like huextl (Salix bonplandiana), a willow, and huhutl (Taxodium mucronatum), a cypress, were frequently placed at the corners.

The lengthy raised beds were sometimes interspersed with ditches, which provided plants with constant access to water and made the crops planted there independent of rainfall. Channels big enough for a canoe to pass between Chinampas. With up to 7 harvests each year, these elevated, well-watered beds produced extremely high crop yields. Prior to European colonization, Chinampas were widely utilized throughout Mexico and Central America. There is proof that the earliest chinampas were built in C.E. 1100 at the Nahua village of Culhuacan, which was located on the southern tip of the Ixtapalapa peninsula, which separated Lake Texcoco from Lake Xochimilco.

Aztec maize agriculture as depicted in the Florentine Codex with the cultivator using a digging stick

Relevance for Modern Urban Agriculture

As urban populations continue to expand, traditional agricultural practices are becoming increasingly unsustainable due to land scarcity and environmental concerns. The chinampas system offers several benefits that could help address these challenges:

1. Space Efficiency: Chinampas maximize the use of limited space in urban environments, enabling food production in areas that might otherwise be unsuitable for agriculture. By creating floating gardens on bodies of water, chinampas allow for the productive use of urban waterways.

2. Biodiversity: The chinampas system promotes biodiversity by creating a rich, interconnected ecosystem that supports both plant and animal life. This leads to healthier and more resilient crops, reducing the need for chemical inputs.

3. Sustainable Water Management: The chinampas' natural irrigation system conserves water and reduces the need for energy-intensive pumping and distribution systems.

4. Carbon Sequestration: The organic matter used in chinampas construction, combined with the plant life it supports, helps capture and store carbon, mitigating the effects of climate change.

5. Community Engagement: Chinampas can foster social cohesion and promote urban greening by engaging local communities in food production and providing green spaces for recreation and relaxation.

Modern Chinampas around the world

The potential of chinampas has not gone unnoticed. Various projects around the world have been inspired by this ancient technique, including the Floating Gardens of Bangladesh, the Green Float project in Osaka Bay, Japan, and the Urban Rivers project in Chicago, USA. These projects showcase the versatility and adaptability of chinampas in addressing food security, environmental sustainability, and urbanization challenges.

In addition to San Luis, Tlahuac, and Mixquic, chinampas are still extant at San Gregorio, a small village east of Xochimilco, as of 1998. Several of these land parcels still exist and are in use, despite the fact that many of these floating gardens were built and meticulously maintained from the Postclassic Period through the Spanish conquest.

Several of these chinampas have been permitted to overgrow by modern farmers.

While others choose to utilize kayaks for farming, more and more people are relying on wheelbarrows and bicycles for transportation.

Some fields have been purposefully filled in, including ones in the San Gregorio and San Luis areas.

Some of the fields are organically connected together when the canals dry up. Although not used for their original purpose, they are commonly used for cattle feed.

An example of a modern-day chinampa.

Other fields, both dried and surrounded by canals, produce foods such as lettuce, cilantro, spinach, chard, squash, parsley, coriander, cauliflower, celery, mint, chives, rosemary, corn, and radishes. The young leaves of quelites and quintoniles, which are often mistaken for weeds, are grown and harvested as ingredients of sauces. Flowers also continue to be grown on these plots. Some chinampa fields are even used as tourist sites.

From La Chinampa a Tu Mesa, which translates to "From the Floating Isle to Your Table," serves as both. Chinampas, many of which can be found on the canals of Xochimilco, are used by his company in collaboration with local farmers to revive traditional agriculture. Rodriguez has combined conventional production methods with cutting-edge technologies in an effort to preserve the effective and long-standing chinampa agricultural method. Consumers can register on his website to have fresh vegetables picked collected in the chinampas delivered to their homes.

We (De La Chinampa a Tu Mesa) help generate demand, which motivates them (chinampa farmers) to keep farming. And this helps restore the chinampas. The market is starting to recognize the value of the chinampas.

— Ricardo Rodriguez

Despite the fact that many townspeople and farmers are pleased to be returning to their agricultural heritage, they nonetheless confront a number of difficulties. Many of the lakes were drained as part of the Spanish conquest. Sadly, this reduced the lakes' ability to support agriculture, including the lake at Xochimilco. Moreover, an earthquake that occurred in 1985 further harmed a number of the canals. Additional issues include the scarcity of water, the usage of pesticides, climate change, urban development, and water pollution from toxic waste and untreated sewage.

The ancient Aztec chinampas system, with its unique combination of sustainability, space efficiency, and biodiversity, offers a promising solution to the challenges of modern urban agriculture. By embracing this time-tested technique, cities around the world can address food security concerns, promote environmental stewardship, and enhance the well-being of urban residents.

USA: Silver Coins Unearthed, May Be Loot from One of the Greatest Pirate Crimes

Henry Every was one of the most famous pirates to ever live.

A handful of Arabian silver coins found in New England may be the last surviving relics of history's most notorious act of piracy — and perhaps one of the most famous pirates who ever lived.

Evidence suggests the distinctive coins were spent as common silver in the American colonies in the late 1690s by the fugitive pirate crew of Henry Every, also known as John Avery, who had fled there after plundering the Mughal treasure ship Ganj-i-sawai as it was returning pilgrims from the Muslim Hajj.

Researchers aren't certain that the coins are from the Ganj-i-sawai, but their origin, their dates and their discovery in such a distant region suggest they were seized by the pirates and spent in the Americas. 

The coins may have been handled by Every himself, who disappeared a few years later but who came to be portrayed as an almost heroic figure from what some have called the "Golden Age of Piracy."

The 1693 Yemeni silver coin found in 2014 in Rhode Island. Similar similar coins have since been unearthed at American colonial sites. (Image credit: Jim Bailey)

Their discovery has also cast new light on Every's whereabouts shortly before he vanished with his loot. "We can prove beyond a doubt that he actually was in the mainland American colonies," Rhode Island metal detectorist Jim Bailey told Live Science. 

Bailey found one of the first of the Arabian silver coins, called a comassee, in 2014 at the site of a colonial settlement on Aquidneck Island, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Providence. 

More than a dozen similar coins thought to be from the pirate raid on the Ganj-i-sawai have now been discovered by metal detectorists and archaeologists elsewhere in Rhode Island, and in Massachusetts, Connecticut and North Carolina — maybe the last evidence of one of the greatest crimes in history. 

Pirate attack

In 1695, Every and his cutthroat crew on board their ship Fancy joined a pirate raid on a convoy in the Red Sea that was returning to India from Mecca.

Every's ship chased and caught the convoy's flagship, the Ganj-i-sawai, which belonged to the Grand Mughal Aurangzeb, the Muslim emperor of what is now India and Pakistan. Reports say the pirates tortured and killed its crew and 600 passengers, before making off with gold and silver, including thousands of coins, said to be worth between 200,000 and 600,000 British pounds — the equivalent of between $40 million and $130 million in today's money.

Captain Henry Every and his crew take one of the Great Mogul's ships in this illustration. (Image credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

After an outcry led by the British East India Company, whose profits on the riches of India were threatened by the raid, Britain's King William III ordered what is regarded as the first international manhunt to capture Every and the other pirates.

By this time, however, Every and his crew had escaped to the New World. They lived for several months in the Bahamas, possibly with the collusion of the British governor of the islands; but they fled in late 1696 as the Royal Navy closed in. 

Some of Every's crew went to live in the mainland colonies, where they were eventually tried and acquitted, possibly as a result of bribery; but there were no further sightings of Every. Later reports suggested he had sailed to Ireland while still on the run and that he died there, impoverished, a few years later. Since his loot from the Ganj-i-sawai was never accounted for, rumors long persisted that the treasure had been buried somewhere in secret.

Arabian silver

Bailey is an amateur archaeologist who worked on the recovery of the wreck of the Whydah, a pirate ship discovered off Cape Cod in 1984.

In 2014, his metal detector picked up the first of the mysterious coins in a meadow on Aquidneck Island that was once the site of a colonial township.

"You never field-clean a coin, because you could damage it," he said. "I had to run to my car and get a big bottle of water… the mud came off, and I saw this Arabic script on the coin and I was amazed, because I knew exactly where it'd come from," he said. "I was aware that the American colonies had been bases of operation for piracy in the late 17th century."

Arabian coin (American Numismatic Society)

Studies of the Arabic writing on the coin showed it had been minted in Yemen in southern Arabia in 1693, just a few years before the pirate attack on the Ganj-i-sawai. Another 13 have been found, mostly by metal detectorists, but the latest in 2018 by archaeologists in Connecticut; two Ottoman Turkish silver coins thought to be from the same hoard have also been unearthed in the region. 

Bailey has carefully studied each of the discoveries, while researching historical sources about the pirates who might have brought the coins to the Americas; and in 2017, some of his work was published in the Colonial Newsletter, a research journal published by the American Numismatic Society. 

Several of the coins show the year they were minted, while some are marked with the names of rulers at the time, which can be used to date them. "None of the coins date after 1695, when the Ganj-i-sawai was captured," Bailey said.

Pirate treasure

Every is thought to have sailed directly to Ireland after his time in the Bahamas, but Bailey's research suggests Every first spent several weeks on the American mainland, trading in African slaves he had bought with the loot from the Ganj-i-sawai. 

Historical records relate that a ship Every had acquired in the Bahamas, Sea Flower, sold dozens of slaves on the mainland, and Bailey's research suggests that Every was on board, he said.

Bailey thinks Every probably died in Ireland eventually, as described by some chroniclers. But others portrayed him as a swashbuckling "king" who ruled for years over a fictional pirate utopia in Madagascar.

here's no way to know if Every handled the New England coins himself, but Bailey thinks they were almost certainly part of the hoard looted from the Mughal ship (Some coin specialists, however, are not convinced by his theory.) 

Bailey unearthed other metallic objects from the same period, including these bit-bosses from a horse's bridle, a buckle for a spur and part of a spur itself. (Image credit: Jim Bailey)

While most of the loot was probably melted down to hide the origins, "what we're finding basically are the coins that were being used by the pirates when they were on the run: coins for lodgings, coins for meals, coins for drinking," he said. 

Astonishingly, the coins may also have been referred to in the manhunt proclamation by King William, which stated that Every and the other fugitives had looted many "Indian and Persian" gold and silver coins from the captured ship. 

"How often do you find a coin that's mentioned in the proclamation for the capture of a pirate and the subject of the first worldwide manhunt?" Bailey said. "It's just fantastic."

Originally published on Live Science.

Archaeologists Discover Mysterious Monument Hidden In Plain Sight

New find pries open an enduring question: why two ancient superpowers abruptly turned from diplomacy to brutality.

Excavations at Tikal, an ancient Maya metropolis in northern Guatemala, have yielded new insights into the relationship between two of Mesoamerica’s great civilizations.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SHUTTERSTOCK, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

To the naked eye—and on archeologists’ maps—it looked like just another hill amid the undulating landscape of Tikal, the ancient Maya city-state in the lowlands of northern Guatemala. But when researchers zoomed in on an aerial image made with laser scanning equipment called LiDAR (short for “Light Detection And Ranging”), they could clearly see the shape of a human-made structure hidden under centuries of accumulated soil and vegetation.

The building—a pyramid, it turned out—was part of an ancient neighborhood that included a large enclosed courtyard fringed with smaller buildings. But these structures were different from any others known to exist at Tikal. They had the distinct shape, orientation, and other features of architecture typically found in Teotihuacan, the ancient superpower near what is now Mexico City, more than 800 miles to the west of Tikal. On closer examination, the complex appeared to be a half-size replica of an enormous square at Teotihuacan known as the Citadel, which includes the six-level Feathered Serpent Pyramid.

“The similarity of the details was stunning,” says Brown University archaeologist Stephen Houston, who first noticed the features.

A new discovery of a major monument in the heart of Tikal—among the most extensively excavated and studied archaeological sites on Earth—underlines the extent that LiDAR is revolutionizing archaeology in Central America, where thick jungles usually make satellite imagery useless. It also raises a tantalizing question: What would an enclave of distant Teotihuacan be doing in the core of this Maya capital?

Teotihuacan includes a complex of pyramids known as the Citadel. Archaeologists working at Tikal have uncovered what appears to be a half-size replica of the complex.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DEAGOSTINI, GETTY IMAGES

Guided by the LiDAR images, Edwin Román-Ramírez, the director of the South Tikal Archaeological Project, began a series of excavations last summer. Tunneling into the ruins, his team discovered construction and burial practices, ceramics, and weaponry typical of early fourth-century Teotihuacan. From an incense burner decorated with an image of the Teotihuacan rain god to darts made from green obsidian from central Mexico, the artifacts suggest that the site could have been a quasi-autonomous settlement at the center of Tikal, tied to the distant imperial capital.

“We knew that the Teotihuacanos had at least some presence and influence in Tikal and nearby Maya areas prior to the year 378,” says Román-Ramírez. “But it wasn’t clear whether the Maya were just emulating aspects of the region’s most powerful kingdom. Now there’s evidence that the relationship was much more than that.”

Thomas Garrison, a geographer at the University of Texas-Austin who specializes in using digital technology for archaeological research, says that the findings demonstrate how, in some ways, the ancient cities of the Americas may not have been so different from cosmopolitan cities today. “There was a melting pot of cultures and people with different backgrounds and languages co-existing, retaining their identities.”

The research is sponsored by the PACUNAM LiDAR Initiative, which produced breakthrough findings in 2018 revealing a vast, interconnected network of ancient cities in the Maya lowlands that was home to millions more people than previously thought.

A stone monument from Tikal commemorates the arrival of a military leader known as Born of Fire in 378—the year the powerful Teotihuacan dynasty overthrew Tikal.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KENNETH GARRETT, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Román-Ramírez cautions that the findings do not definitively prove that the people who built the complex were from Teotihuacan. “But what we’ve found suggests that for more than a century people who were at least very familiar with Teotihuacan culture and traditions were living there in their own colony, a sector distinct in identity and practicing the religion of Teotihuacan.” A pending isotopic analysis of bones found in a burial chamber may provide more certainty by pinpointing where the deceased lived at different times during their lifetime.

Based on ceramic styles found in the ruins, the team estimates that construction at the site commenced at least 100 years before 378, a pivotal date in Maya history. According to Maya inscriptions, Teotihuacan’s king sent a general known as Born of Fire to topple Tikal’s king, Jaguar Paw, and installed his young son as its new ruler. Born of Fire arrived at Tikal on January 16, 378, the same day that Jaguar Paw “entered the water”—a Mayan metaphor for death.

After the takeover, Tikal flourished for several centuries, conquering and pacifying nearby city-states and spreading its culture and influence throughout the lowlands. Tikal’s hegemony during this period is well-documented, but what remains unknown is why, after decades of friendly coexistence, Teotihuacan turned against its former ally.

Famed for its imposing pyramids, mighty Teotihuacan in central Mexico—once the largest city in the Americas—spread its power and influence far andwide.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MAX SHEN, GETTY IMAGES

Further excavation at Tikal may generate more insight, but a recent discovery in Teotihuacan suggests that some sort of cultural collision may have sparked the fatal falling-out. A team led by Nawa Sugiyama, an archaeologist at the University of California, Riverside, uncovered a “Maya barrio” at Teotihuacan that mirrors the Teotihuacan outpost at Tikal. The collection of luxurious buildings was decorated with lavish Maya murals, suggesting that the residents may have been elite diplomats or noble families.

But just before the conquest of Tikal in 378, the murals were smashed to pieces and buried. That, and a nearby pit filled with shattered human skeletons, imply an abrupt turn from diplomacy to brutality.

“What went wrong in that relationship that you have a bunch of elite Maya residents being slaughtered, their palaces smashed, all their stuff removed, and then their homeland invaded and taken over by a child king?” asks Francisco Estrada-Belli, a Tulane University archaeologist. “Clearly we’re zeroing in on some really important turn of events in the Maya-Teotihuacan story—and one of the grand mysteries of Central America is a few steps closer to being solved.”

Source: nationalgeographic

Archaeologists Discover Largest-ever Maya Complex Hiding In Plain Sight

Researchers discover a massive ceremonial structure of the ancient Mayans using lasers.

3D image of the site of Aguada Fenix. Credit: Takeshi Inomata

• Archaeologists used laser-based aerial surveys to discover the oldest and largest Mayan structure ever found.

• The 3,000-year-old complex in the Mexican state of Tabasco was likely used as a ceremonial center.

• Researchers believe the site represents a communal society rather than one based on worshipping elites.

The southern tip of Mexico is hiding a giant Mayan structure from about 3,000 years ago, new research shows. The nearly one mile-long monument may be the oldest and largest ever found from the mysterious civilization. An accomplishment of this magnitude is making scientists rethink what they know about the knowledge of the ancient Mayans.

Aguada Fénix aerial view.

The site, known as Aguada Fénix, was discovered in the state of Tabasco, near the Gulf of Mexico. The complex, likely used as a ceremonial center and a place of gathering, was essentially hiding under the feet of modern-day Mexicans who live above the massive structure. It's 4,600 feet (1,400 meters) long and likely dates to between 1000 and 800 BCE. That time period, specifically, the year 950 BCE, also produced another Mayan site, known as Ceibal, which was previously considered the oldest-ever ceremonial center.

While potentially being even older, Aguada Fénix is also much larger and incomparable to anything else from that time, concluded the archaeologists led by University of Arizona professors Takeshi Inomata and Daniela Triadan.

"To our knowledge, this is the oldest monumental construction ever found in the Maya area and the largest in the entire pre-Hispanic history of the region," the researchers wrote in their study.

High-resolution lidar images of Aguada Fénix and La Carmelita, Source: Article in Nature.

The research uncovered the secret of Aguada Fénix, which looks like a natural landscape above, via aerial surveys using the remote sensing method LIDAR. The analysis, which had laser beams sent from planes through the thick canopy of trees, showed an elevated platform that's almost a mile (1,413 meters) north to south, a quarter-mile (399 meters) east to west, and as much as 33 to 50 feet (15 meters) high. The platform also has nine wide causeways leading away from it, as well as small structures and artificial reservoirs around it.

"Artificial plateaus may be characterised as horizontal monumentality, which contrasts with the vertical dimensions of pyramids," explained the archaeologists. They connect the look of Aguada Fénix with what is known as the Middle Formative Usumacinta (MFU) pattern, distinct for its rectangular shape and rows of low mounds.

Another interesting find relates to the lack of statues shaped like humans in the ancient settlement. The scientists think this points to the fact that the society that lived there had no "clear indicators of marked social inequality, such as sculptures representing high-status individuals." In fact, the only stone sculpture they discovered in the area was of an animal.

This type of social organization, which was possibly less hierarchical and more communal, would be in great difference to other ancient people who inhabited the region like the Olmec from the nearby state of Veracruz. Their culture is known to have produced colossal stone heads.

"This kind of understanding gives us important implications about human capability, and the potential of human groups," Inomata shared, adding "You may not necessarily need a well-organised government to carry out these kinds of huge projects. People can work together to achieve amazing results."

Check out the new paper "Monumental architecture at Aguada Fénix and the rise of Maya civilization" published in Nature.

By Paul Ratner

Guatemala: Laser Mapping Can Uncover Dozens of Ancient Maya Cities

Advanced laser mapping has revealed more than 60,000 ancient Maya structures beneath the jungles of northern Guatemala.

Set across dozens of hidden cities, the discoveries include houses, palaces and a 90-foot-tall pyramid that was previously thought to be a hill.

Made possible through special laser-equipped airplanes that can "see" through dense jungle, the groundbreaking research suggests that Mayan metropolises were far larger and more complex than previously thought.

Evidence of agriculture, irrigation, quarries and defensive fortifications were widespread, and extensive road networks point to initially unknown levels of interconnectivity between settlements.

Game-changing discoveries

The extent of the findings, first reported by National Geographic, may transform our understanding of how Mesoamerican civilization operated, according to one of the study's co-directors, Marcello Canuto from Tulane University in New Orleans.

"We're discovering that there is more of everything, and the scale is much bigger," he said in a phone interview. "In any given area there were more structures, more buildings, more canals and more terraces (than expected).'"

By extrapolating data from the 2,100-square-kilometer (811-square-mile) site, researchers have also revised their population estimates for the region. They now believe that 10 million people lived in the Maya Lowlands (an area covering parts of present-day Guatetmala and Mexico), a number that is "many times larger" than indicated by previous research.

"The general conceit over the last 100 years has been that the tropics were a bad place to have civilizations and that (the climate) is not conducive to sustaining complex societies," said Canuto, who has worked on Mayan archeology for more than 30 years. "There has always been this assumption that Mayan society was less populated and that there wasn't any infrastructure -- that they were small, independent city-states without much interaction.

"But we're finding that this just isn't true. This research shows that, not only were there lots of people, but also lots of ways that they modified the landscape to render it more productive. The defensive structures that we're finding (also suggest) that there were lots of people and lots of resources, which can create lots of competition."

'Revolutionary' aerial mapping

Central America's thick jungle has often made large-scale surveys of historical sites logistically difficult. But recent developments in a technique known as light detection and ranging (or "lidar") are allowing archeologists to see through even dense forest.

The aerial mapping process is carried out by attaching a lidar sensor to the underside of an airplane. Using the same technology found in self-driving cars, the instrument maps the landscape by emitting pulses of laser light and the time taken for them to return.

The resulting data can reveal ground-level contours, pointing researchers toward man-made structures beneath the canopy. For archeologists, the method allows surveys of great detail and unprecedented size, Canuto said.

"This initiative is bigger than anything that has ever been done before. But it's not just big, it's also covering a wide swathe of this area, so it's actually a representative sample.

"For (archeologists) who work in the tropics, this is entirely revolutionizing the way we do everything," he added. "It's as if you were observing the sun and the stars with your naked eye and then someone invents the telescope."

Potential for archeology

Lidar sensors have previously been used to study other Mesoamerican settlements in Belize, as well as temple complexes in Cambodia. The technology may have archeological potential in other tropical areas, such as the Amazon and central Africa.

For now, the method's greatest barrier is the cost of chartering aircraft, Canuto said. His project was only made possible through funding from the Maya Cultural and Natural Heritage (PACUNAM), a Guatemalan non-profit organization that brought together a consortium of archeologists with different areas of expertise.

But as well as making research economically viable, this type of collaboration may provide new insight into the large datasets created.

"Now we're not limited to one site -- we can see everyone's data," Canuto said. "So instead of having 10 scholars working on 10 individual sites, we had 10 scholars working on individual questions across all the sites. That gives you a regional perspective that no one else has."

Moreover, if archeologists collaborate with experts in other fields, such as ecology and environmental science, aerial mapping may become more cost-effective and widely used.

"The data we use shows what's on the ground... but the other 95 percent of the data is providing a vertical profile of the canopy," Canuto said. "We, as archaeologists, want to know what's under there when you remove the trees. But ecologists want to see biomass and other things that archeologists don't care about."

The digital maps will later be used to carry out targeted ground research. Over the next three years, Canuto and his team hope to scan the entire Maya Biosphere Reserve, an 8,341-square-mile site in Guatemala's Petén region.

CNN

Belize: Ancient Maya Ceremonial Pyramid Destroyed By Construction Company

One of the oldest and most famous Mayan pyramids has been destroyed by a construction company in Belize, while digging for crushed rock for a road they were building.

The authorities reported on Monday that the company was using bulldozers and backhoes to carry out the works, chipping away at the pyramid’s sides until barely anything was left. Jaime Awe, the head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, said the construction had been detected the previous week.

The ceremonial center at what is known as the Nohmul complex is estimated to be at least 2,300 years old and is considered to be the most important historical site in northern Belize, on the border with Mexico.

"It's a feeling of Incredible disbelief because of the ignorance and the insensitivity ... they were using this for road fill," Awe told AP. "It's like being punched in the stomach, it's just so horrendous."

The pyramid, which stood 65 feet tall, was built around 250 B.C. with hand-cut limestone bricks. The pyramid probably contained living quarters as well as tombs for local residents.

Nohmul is located in the middle of a privately owned sugar cane field and its structures lacked the tell-tale signs of a restored cultural site – like the evenly trimmed stone borders at the sides. Yet, Awe said this could not possibly have been an explanation for how the workers had managed not to take note of what they were doing. The pyramid is 100 feet (30 meters) tall, while the land around it is flat, so making that kind of mistake is difficult to imagine. 

"These guys knew that this was an ancient structure. It's just bloody laziness", Awe continued. "Just to realize that the ancient Maya acquired all this building material to erect these buildings, using nothing more than stone tools and quarried the stone, and carried this material on their heads, using tump lines," he said. "To think that today we have modern equipment, that you can go and excavate in a quarry anywhere, but that this company would completely disregard that and completely destroyed this building. Why can't these people just go and quarry somewhere that has no cultural significance? It's mind-boggling."

The limestone from which the pyramid is made is prized by local contractors for building and repairing.

An investigation is underway by Belizean police, with criminal charges looking like a possibility. Although the Nohmul complex is situated on private land, the law says that any ruins or monuments of pre-Hispanic origin are exempt from it and are under government protection.

A community organization calling itself the Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action has condemned the demolition of the site as "an obscene example of disrespect for the environment and history."

Hundreds of Mayan ruins remain in Belize, which is largely covered with jungles and counts around 350,000 people among its population. Although this is not the first case that such lack of regard was employed in Belize, Nohmul is among the largest pyramids ruined by such activities.

Many scientists spoke out against what happened. Arlen Chase, chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida, told AP that "Archaeologists are disturbed when such things occur, but there is only a very limited infrastructure in Belize that can be applied to cultural heritage management."

The 70’s and 80’s saw much exploration take place around the Nohmul area, but it is important to understand that more knowledge could still be gained, as scientists say. And such instances of lazy negligence and destruction of Mayan cultural heritage aren’t limited only to Belize. The remnants of the great Mayan nation are under threat in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras as well.   

Francisco Estrada-Belli, a professor of anthropology at Tulane University, said "I don't think I am exaggerating if I say that every day a Maya mound is being destroyed for construction in one of the countries where the Maya lived."

Mayan pyramid, Xunantunich, Belize. (Image from flickr.com / photo by Paul Huber) © Flickr

Hall for human sacrifice found in Peru!

An ancient ceremonial ground used by a Pre-Columbian civilization for human sacrifices has been uncovered on Peru’s northern coast, archaeologists said on Thursday. The discovery appears to reinforce prevailing theories about a ceremony known as “the presentation” that was carried out by the Moche people, an agricultural civilization that flourished between 100 B.C. and 800 A.D.

Moche portrait vessel, Musée du quai Branly, Paris.

Carlos Wester La Torre, director of the Bruning Museum in Peru and a leader of the dig, said the ceremonial site likely hosted ritual killings of prisoners of war. Photographs taken at the site show more than half a dozen skeletons on the floor of the hall.

“There was a great ceremonial hall or passage integrated into the rest of the architecture that establishes the presence of certain figures of the Moche elite and also the practice of complex rituals such as human sacrifice,” Wester told Reuters.

Students clean skeletons from the ancient Moche culture, which is recently excavated and found in a tomb, at the San Jose de Moro Archaeological site in Trujillo.

His team uncovered a 60-meter-long (197-foot-long) corridor opening up to face three equidistant porticos and five thrones on the archaeological site’s main pyramid. The remnants of a mural found within the corridor depict three high priests whose ornamentation confirms the involvement of the culture’s political leadership in the ceremony, he said. Peru is believed to be one of the places in the world where agriculture first developed and has hundreds of ancient archaeological sites, including the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.

Reporting by Emily Schmall; Editing by Terry Wade and Sandra Maler

REUTERS

A map of Moche cultural influence.

What do we call 'Artificial cranial deformation' in archaeology and why did ancient civilizations practised it?

Artificial cranial deformation or modification, head flattening, or head binding is a form of body alteration in which the skull of a human being is deformed intentionally. It is done by distorting the normal growth of a child's skull by applying force. Flat shapes, elongated ones (produced by binding between two pieces of wood), rounded ones (binding in cloth), and conical ones are among those chosen or valued in various cultures. Typically, the shape alteration is carried out on an infant, as the skull is most pliable at this time. In a typical case, headbinding begins approximately a month after birth and continues for about six months.

Elongated skull of a young woman, probably an Alan

Intentional cranial deformation predates written history; it was practiced commonly in a number of cultures that are widely separated geographically and chronologically, and still occurs today in a few areas, including Vanuatu.

The earliest suggested examples were once thought to include Neanderthals and the Proto-Neolithic Homo sapiens component (ninth millennium BC) from Shanidar Cave in Iraq, The view that the Neanderthal skull was artificially deformed, thus representing the oldest example of such practices by tens of thousands of years, has since been argued incorrect by Chech, Grove, Thorne, and Trinkaus, based on new cranial reconstructions in 1999, where the team concluded "we no longer consider that artificial cranial deformation can be inferred for the specimen". It thought elongated skulls found among Neolithic peoples in Southwest Asia were the result of artificial cranial deformation.

The earliest written record of cranial deformation—by Hippocrates, of the Macrocephali or Long-heads, who were named for their practice of cranial modification—dates to 400 BC.

Portrait of Alchon Hun king Khingila, from his coinage, circa 450 AD.

In the Old World, Huns also are known to have practised similar cranial deformation, as were the people known as the Alans. In Late Antiquity (AD 300–600), the East Germanic tribes who were ruled by the Huns, the Gepids, Ostrogoths, Heruli, Rugii, and Burgundians adopted this custom. Among the Lombards, the Burgundians and the Thuringians, this custom seems to have comprised women only. In western Germanic tribes, artificial skull deformations rarely have been found.

The practice of cranial deformation was brought to Bactria and Sogdiana by the Yuezhi, a tribe that created the Kushan Empire. Men with such skulls are depicted in various surviving sculptures and friezes of that time, such as the Kushan prince of Khalchayan.

The Alchon Huns are generally recognized by their elongated skull, a result of artificial skull deformation, which may have represented their "corporate identity". The elongated skulls appears clearly in most of the portaits of rulers in the coinage of the Alkhon Huns, and most visibly on the coinage of Khingila. These elongated skulls, which they obviously displayed with pride, distinguished them from other peoples, such as their predecessors the Kidarites. On their coins, the spectacular skulls came to replace the Sasanian-type crowns which had been current in the coinage of the region.

This practice is also known among other peoples of the steppes, particularly the Huns, as far as Europe.

The Iranian hero Rostam, mythical king of Zabulistan, in his 7th century AD mural at Panjikent. He is represented with an elongated skull, in the fashion of the Alchon Huns.

In the Americas, the Maya, Inca, and certain tribes of North American natives performed the custom. In North America the practice was known, especially among the Chinookan tribes of the Northwest and the Choctaw of the Southeast. The Native American group known as the Flathead Indians, in fact, did not practise head flattening, but were named as such in contrast to other Salishan people who used skull modification to make the head appear rounder. Other tribes, including both Southeastern tribes like the Choctaw and Northwestern tribes like the Chehalis and Nooksack Indians, practiced head flattening by strapping the infant's head to a cradleboard.

The practice of cranial deformation was also practiced by the Lucayan people of the Bahamas and the Taínos of the Caribbean. It was also known among the Aboriginal Australians.

Deformed skulls, Afrasiab, Samarkand, Sogdia, 600-800 AD.

Paracas skulls.

In Africa, the Mangbetu stood out to European explorers because of their elongated heads. Traditionally, babies' heads were wrapped tightly with cloth in order to give them this distinctive appearance. The practice began dying out in the 1950s.

Friedrich Ratzel reported in 1896 that deformation of the skull, both by flattening it behind and elongating it toward the vertex, was found in isolated instances in Tahiti, Samoa, Hawaii, and the Paumotu group, and that it occurred most frequently on Mallicollo in the New Hebrides (today Malakula, Vanuatu), where the skull was squeezed extraordinarily flat.

The custom of binding babies' heads in Europe in the twentieth century, though dying out at the time, was still extant in France, and also found in pockets in western Russia, the Caucasus, and in Scandinavia. The reasons for the shaping of the head varied over time and for different reasons, from aesthetic to pseudoscientific ideas about the brain's ability to hold certain types of thought depending on its shape. In the region of Toulouse (France), these cranial deformations persisted sporadically up until the early twentieth century; however, rather than being intentionally produced as with some earlier European cultures, Toulousian Deformation seemed to have been the unwanted result of an ancient medical practice among the French peasantry known as bandeau, in which a baby's head was tightly wrapped and padded in order to protect it from impact and accident shortly after birth. In fact, many of the early modern observers of the deformation were recorded as pitying these peasant children, whom they believed to have been lowered in intelligence due to the persistence of old European customs.

Deliberate deformity of the skull, "Toulouse deformity", France. The band visible in photograph is used to induce shape change.

Motivations and theories

One modern theory is cranial deformation was likely performed to signify group affiliation, or to demonstrate social status. Such motivations may have played a key role in Maya society, aimed at creating a skull shape that is aesthetically more pleasing or associated with desirable cultural attributes. For example, in the Na'ahai-speaking area of Tomman Island and the south south-western Malakulan (Australasia), a person with an elongated head is thought to be more intelligent, of higher status, and closer to the world of the spirits.

Historically, there have been a number of various theories regarding the motivations for these practices.

It has also been considered possible that the practice of cranial deformation originates from an attempt to emulate those groups of the population in which elongated head shape was a natural condition. The skulls of some Ancient Egyptians are among those identified as often being elongated naturally and macrocephaly may be a familial characteristic. For example, Rivero and Tschudi describe a mummy containing a fetus with an elongated skull, describing it thus:

the same formation [i.e. absence of the signs of artificial pressure] of the head presents itself in children yet unborn; and of this truth we have had convincing proof in the sight of a foetus, enclosed in the womb of a mummy of a pregnant woman, which we found in a cave of Huichay, two leagues from Tarma, and which is, at this moment, in our collection. Professor D'Outrepont, of great Celebrity in the department of obstetrics, has assured us that the foetus is one of seven months' age. It belongs, according to a very clearly defined formation of the cranium, to the tribe of the Huancas. We present the reader with a drawing of this conclusive and interesting proof in opposition to the advocates of mechanical action as the sole and exclusive cause of the phrenological form of the Peruvian race.

P. F. Bellamy makes a similar observation about the two elongated skulls of infants, which were discovered and brought to England by a "Captain Blankley" and handed over to the Museum of the Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society in 1838. According to Bellamy, these skulls belonged to two infants, female and male, "one of which was not more than a few months old, and the other could not be much more than one year." He writes,

It will be manifest from the general contour of these skulls that they are allied to those in the Museum of the College of Surgeons in London, denominated Titicacans. Those adult skulls are very generally considered to be distorted by the effects of pressure; but in opposition to this opinion Dr. Graves has stated that "a careful examination of them has convinced him that their peculiar shape cannot be owing to artificial pressure;" and to corroborate this view, we may remark that the peculiarities are as great in the child as in the adult, and indeed more in the younger than in the elder of the two specimens now produced: and the position is considerably strengthened by the great relative length of the large bones of the cranium; by the direction of the plane of the occipital bone, which is not forced upwards, but occupies a place in the under part of the skull; by the further absence of marks of pressure, there being no elevation of the vertex nor projection of either side; and by the fact of there being no instrument nor mechanical contrivance suited to produce such an alteration of form (as these skulls present) found in connexion with them.