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XULTUNT, Guatemala — According to the Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012, is the date for a major world cataclysm, perhaps, even the end of the world. But a newly reported discovery may soon eclipse that dire prediction.
In the northeast corner of Guatemala in 2010, a Boston University archeology student, Maxwell Chamberlin, was quietly eating his lunch when something caught his eye. It appeared to be a faint paint mark on a looter's trench at the remote lowland rainforest site where he was participating in an excavation expedition. He immediately informed his expedition leader William A. Saturno. The team refocused their excavation effort and made a remarkable discovery: An even more ancient Mayan calendar that goes 4,000 years past where the "doomsday" calendar stops.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Saturno said of the discovery, “This is our first real look at this kind of writing and this kind of space in a Mayan city. The state of preservation was remarkable.” Fellow archeologist David Stuart of the University of Texas at Austin excitedly said, “We have never seen anything like it.”
The discovery was initially reported in the journal Science and will appear later this month in the May 29 edition of National Geographic.
It is probably the most important Mayan ruin discovery in several decades. The room contained a more ancient version of a Mayan calendar and mathematical tables including a 260 day ceremonial calendar, a 365 day solar calendar, a 585 day trajectory for Venus and a 780 day trajectory for Mars. The new calendar and another found nearby contain 17 baktuns — 400 year periods — and continues for an additional 4,000 years beyond the 21st century.
Additionally, on the north wall of the room there was a mural in a rounded niche depicting a Mayan king holding a white scepter and wearing a red fathered crown and headdress trailing to the ground and courtiers or servants peeking out from behind him. A bone curtain rod would have allowed the occupant to draw a drape to obscure the mural.
On an adjacent wall was another mural depicting a man holding a stylus with brilliant orange and jade bracelets. The figure was labeled “Younger brother Obsidian” or “Junior Obsidian” depending on your linguistic predilection.
Ironically, the site was initially discovered in 1915 and archeologists only recently excavated portions of the site because of its remoteness and inaccessibility.
What makes this discovery so unusual is the state of preservation. The site is located in the lower rainforest where preservation of artifacts is normally poor because of the heat, moisture and humidity.
Additionally, the Mayans collapsed roofs when they abandoned a structure, but at this structure they just built over the top of it.
Archeologists are now busily trying to decipher the writing, which predates the Dresden Codex, a bark paper book that is dated from the 11th or 12th century.
Researchers are excited because the new discovery may yield previously unknown information about how the Dresden Codex was put together and how it was prepared. Hopefully, the new findings will unlock many new secrets about the Classic Mayan Period of civilization.
Another unusual feature is that the structure is dated at 813 AD and is the first incident of these types of murals and artifacts to be discovered outside a palace. Archeologists theorize this was the home or workshop of a very important artisan scribe.
On the west wall was an artistic depiction of three identically dressed black painted individuals wearing simple loincloths and white medallions. They also wore a black headdress of feathers with a single red feather. This type of headdress has been previously unknown.
On the east wall were rough sketches of people holding tablets with columns of numbers and calculations written in red or black paint and inscribed in plaster.
See photos of the actual murals
Mel Borup Chandler lives in California. He writes about science-related topics, technological breakthroughs and medicine. His email address is mbccomentator@roadrunner.com.
