Guatemala: 'Extraordinary' Mayan frieze found

[Judi Lynn]

Guatemala: 'Extraordinary' Mayan frieze found
By SONIA PEREZ D. Associated Press
Posted: 08/07/2013 06:57:08 PM PDT | Updated: about 3 hours ago


[font size=1]
In this June 2013 photo released by Proyecto Arqueologico Holmul,
archaeologist Anya Shetler cleans an inscription below a high-relief stucco
sculpture recently discovered in the Mayan city of Holmul in the northern
province of Peten, Guatemala. The frieze was found at this Mayan pyramid
that dates to A.D. 600. It includes three main characters wearing rich
ornaments of quetzal feathers and jade sitting on monsters heads.
(Message textAP Photo/Proyecto Arqueologico Holmul, Francisco Estrada-Belli) [/font]


[font size=1]
This June 2013 photo released by Proyecto Arqueologico Holmul shows a detail
of a high-relief stucco sculpture recently discovered in the Mayan city of
Holmul in the northern province of Peten, Guatemala. The frieze was found at
this Mayan pyramid that dates to A.D. 600. A statement issued Wednesday,
Aug. 7, 2013 says the frieze was found by archaeologist Francisco Estrada-
Belli, a professor at Tulane University's Anthropology Department and his team
in the northern Province of Peten, home to other big classic ruin sites.
((AP Photo/Proyecto Arqueologico Holmul, Francisco Estrada-Belli))[/font]

GUATEMALA CITY—Archaeologists have found an "extraordinary" Mayan frieze richly decorated with images of deities and rulers and a long dedicatory inscription, the Guatemalan government said Wednesday.

The frieze was discovered by Guatemalan archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli, a professor at Tulane University's Anthropology Department, and his team in the northern Province of Peten, the government said in a joint statement with Estrada-Belli.

"This is an extraordinary finding that occurs only once in the life of an archaeologist," Estrada-Belli said.

The archaeologists were exploring a Mayan pyramid that dates to A.D. 600 in an area that is home to other classic ruin sites when they came upon the frieze.

More:
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_23818195/guatemala-extraordinary-mayan-frieze-found

[NYC_SKP]

1. Recommended. nt

[Judi Lynn]

2. Stunning Maya sculpture unearthed from buried pyramid

Stunning Maya sculpture unearthed from buried pyramid
Dan Vergano, USA TODAY 5:05 p.m. EDT August 7, 2013

Maya archaeologists report a stunning discovery, a well-preserved stucco sculpture outside a buried tomb depicting the crowning of a Maya ruler.



An international archaeology team on Wednesday reported the discovery of a "stunning" stucco wall sculpture, its colors intact, unearthed in Guatemala beneath a Maya pyramid.

Guatemalan antiquity officials announced the discovery of the stucco frieze, some 30 feet long and 6 feet tall, unearthed on the inside of a pyramid at the Maya city site of Holmul.

"It is one of the most fabulous things I have ever seen," says archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli of the Holmul Archaeological Project. "The preservation is wonderful because it was very carefully packed with dirt before they started building over it."

The frieze was on one side of a staircase tomb that was inside a pyramid built by the later rulers of the site. Painted red, with details in blue, yellow and green, it depicts three men wearing bird headdresses and jade jewels seated cross-legged over the head of a mountain spirit. It is likely a depiction of the crowning of a new ruler at the site around the year 590, according to Estrada-Belli, whose team's effort was supported by National Geographic Society grants. "We did not have the details of the ceremonies to install a new king as we have here, until now," he says.



More:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2013/08/07/maya-frieze-holmul/2625201/

[Judi Lynn]

3. The enormous Mayan mythical carving discovered inside an ancient pyramid that hints at a power strug

The enormous Mayan mythical carving discovered inside an ancient pyramid that hints at a power struggle between the Snake Kingdom and the Tikal rulers

• An ancient frieze found in a 20 metre tall pyramid in Guatemala, shows the battle of superpowers in 6th Century Central America
  
  
• The Holmul Archaeological Project discovered the carving of figures in a mythological setting, while a Harvard scholar deciphered the glyphs
  
  
• The carving shows three human figures wearing elaborate bird headdresses and jade jewels seated cross-legged
  

By Sarah Griffiths
PUBLISHED: 06:56 EST, 8 August 2013 | UPDATED: 11:33 EST, 8 August 2013

A huge stone carving crafted by the ancient Mayan civilisation that has been hidden inside a pyramid in Guatemala for centuries, shows a battle of superpowers in 6th Century Central America, archaeologists have said.

The giant frieze featuring inscriptions and brightly coloured painting was discovered last month at a dig in the north east Peten region of the country at the Holmul archaeological dig.

The archaeologists believe evidence suggests that the rulers of the region were embroiled in a political clash of the titans between the kings of Kaanul - the Snake Kingdom - and the kings of Tikal.

The frieze, which is eight metres wide and two metres tall and stands along the exterior of a multi-roomed rectangular building, was found in a 20 metre high pyramid built in the 8th Century, in a style typical of the Maya.

Much of the building still remains encased under the rubble of the later 20m-high structure. The carving is painted in red, with details in blue, green and yellow.

More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2386763/Mayan-frieze-mythical-carving-discovered-inside-ancient-Guatemalan-pyramid.html#ixzz2bPpUEJmg

[theHandpuppet]

4. Amazing and beautiful

Thanks for posting this. I'm going to explore the links.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Ancient Maya pyramid yields new treasures

Ancient Maya pyramid yields new treasures
By Brad Balukjian
August 8, 2013, 4:27 p.m.


“The Storm God enters the sky.”

That’s the translation of Och Chan Yopaat, the name of an ancient Maya ruler whose likeness dominates a remarkable carving discovered last month in a Guatemala pyramid.

The carving, which depicts the ruler atop a mountain spirit, provides important clues about changes in power as Maya groups warred against each other, said Francisco Estrada-Belli, an archaeologist at Tulane and Boston universities.

Estrada-Belli stumbled upon the wall art while exploring the innards of a pyramid that was encased within another pyramid.

The carving dates to the ‘90s — the 590s, that is — and is located in the town of Holmul in the Peten region of Guatemala, part of the ancient Maya lowlands. Maya civilization thrived from around 800 BC to 850 AD in Holmul, which was the site of ongoing strife between warring groups, such as the Kanul and the people of Tikal.

Estrada-Belli, a Guatemalan who grew up in Italy, has been interested in uncovering the region’s history ever since he visited Tikal, a major Maya archaeological site, with his parents at age 7.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-maya-stucco-carving-20130808,0,2984742.story