Oldest Known Mayan Royal Tomb Unearthed In Guatemala
This illustration above shows a cut-out view of the vegetation-covered pyramid complex at San Bartolo in Guatemala with the mural room located at the base (bottom center) of pyramid.
The rooms recently excavated west wall, adorned with the earliest preserved Maya mural, abuts the edge of the pyramid. Archaeologists believe the vividly painted room, dating from around 100 B.C. and chronicling the mythology of kings and the birth of the Maya cosmos, could have been a preparation area for ceremonies that took place on the courtyard in front of the pyramid.
December 13, 2005—Archaeologists today revealed the final section of the earliest known Maya mural ever found, saying that the find upends everything they thought they knew about the origins of Maya art, writing, and rule.
The painting was the last wall of a room-size mural to be excavated. The site was discovered in 2001 at the ancient Maya city of San Bartolo in the lowlands of northeastern Guatemala.
"It is really breathtaking how beautiful this is," said William Saturno, an archaeologist with the University of New Hampshire and the Harvard Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
The mural tells the story of creation, the mythology of kingship, and the divine right of a king, according to Saturno, who made the find and leads the excavation.
The painting dates to 100 B.C., proving that stories of creation and kings—and the use of elaborate art and writing to tell them—were well established more than 2,000 years ago, 700 years earlier than previously believed.
"In that way it really is like you didn't know the Renaissance ever happened—you have no knowledge that anyone ever painted anything in Florence in the 16th century, then all of sudden you see a Michelangelo," Saturno said.
A worker holds a green stone figurine found with other artefacts in the oldest known Maya royal tomb, dating from about 150 B.C., in San Bartolo, Guatemala. A 30-foot (9-meter) by 3-foot (90-cm) western wall of the underground tomb depicts the creation myth and the coronation of a Mayan king, with more colors and elaborate brush work than has ever been seen. Anthropologist William Saturno, of the University of New Hampshire, first discovered the sacred mural in the ruins in 2001 but this year excavated the 'crown jewel' of the painting.
Guatemalan archaeologist Monica Pellecer Alecio (R) and project director William Saturno excavate a green stone figurine from the oldest known Maya royal tomb, dating from 150 B.C., found in San Bartolo, Guatemala, in this undated handout released December 13, 2005. (Handout/National Geographic/Kenneth Garrett/Reuters)
