MetaFilter posts tagged with archaeology and Maya

New Maya temple discovered in Guatemala

tykky — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 11:37:02 -0800

"Dramatic" New Maya Temple Found, Covered With Giant Faces (SLNatGeo)

The Mayan common class migrated to the southeast United States?

ewagoner — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:02:06 -0800

Massive 1,100+ year old Maya site discovered in Georgia's mountains The archaeological site would have been particularly attractive to Mayas because it contains an apparently dormant volcano fumarole that reaches down into the bowels of the earth. People of One Fire researchers have been aware since 2010 that when the English arrived in the Southeast, there were numerous Native American towns named Itsate in Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and western North Carolina. They were also aware that both the Itza Mayas of Central America and the Hitchiti Creeks of the Southeast actually called themselves Itsate . . . and pronounced the word the same way. The Itsate Creeks used many Maya and Totonac words. Their architecture was identical to that of Maya commoners. The pottery at Ocmulgee National Monument (c 900 AD) in central Georgia is virtually identical to the Maya Plain Red pottery made by Maya Commoners.

Inside they found a tiny Indiana Jones

Horace Rumpole — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:05:31 -0800

Archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History have used a remote-controlled microcamera to explore a 1500-year-old sealed Mayan burial chamber at the Palenque archaeological site in Chiapas, Mexico. Story in English from the Guardian but be sure to click on "Fotos" at the first link.

Everything you wanted to know about pre-Columbian Central America but were afraid to ask lest your heart get ripped out and offered to Quetzalcoatl

Kattullus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:49:00 -0800

The Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies is your one-stop shop for pre-Columbian Central America awesomeness. There are so, so many wondrous things on that site, I don't quite know where to begin. I suppose John Pohl's scholarly introduction is a natural place to start. But maybe you just don't have time to read anything and just want to dive into pretty, pretty pictures. Perhaps the most user-friendly databases are Justin Kerr's photographs Maya Vases (e.g. 1, 2, 3) and Pre-Columbian Portfolio (e.g. 1, 2a, 2b, 3). From there you can delve into the collection of Linda Schele's photographs (e.g. 1, 2) and drawings (e.g. 1, 2, 3). There are more image databases but let me direct you to the collection of old Maya, Aztec and Mixtec books which are simply stunning (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4 [last link pdf]). You can read more about Mayan and Mixtec codices and download high resolution versions of the entire books. There are also Maya dictionaries, glyph guides, linguistic maps and a who's who. There is also classic Mayan and Aztec poetry in translation. I'm telling you, that's not even half of what this amazing site has to offer.

Mayan Ruins Filter: Possible Portal to the Underworld Found in Mexico

grapefruitmoon — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:02:58 -0800

Mayan Ruins Filter: Possible Portal to the Underworld found in Mexico. Included in the underwater tunnels (video) are two underground temples and human bones - possibly the remains of human sacrifices. BBC Look at the underwater tunnels. Previously on MeFi: Mapping Mayan Ruins with Muons The Mayan World Maya Cities Exhibition Site

Mayan Muons and Unmapped Rooms

homunculus — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:34:04 -0800

Ghost Particles & Pyramids: How physicists and archaeologists “see” inside ancient monuments.

The Mayan World

Kattullus — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:14:37 -0800

Mundo Maya Online is chockfull of illustrated articles about various aspects of Mayan history and culture. Learn about the Mayan calendar, read Mayan legends, explore Mayan history, archaeology and the natural environment they thrived in. Mundo Maya also has articles about the daily life of the modern Mayans and the handicrafts they make.

Mayan Suburbia

daveadams — Thu, 21 Dec 2000 11:27:26 -0800

Mayan Suburbia
Did the Mayans follow modern city development patterns 1500 years ago? Maybe, say some archaeologists who recently uncovered ancient suburbs, complete with subdivisions on artificial lakes, big private lawns, and strip malls.
[ from Rebecca's Pocket ]