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Archeologists discover Maya tomb |
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Written by Xiuhcoatl
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May 10, 2006 at 05:32 PM |
Archeologists discover Maya tomb
Thu May 4, 2006 6:54 AM BST168
By Mica Rosenberg
Source: Reuters
EL PERU WAKA, Guatemala (Reuters) - Archeologists outsmarted tomb
raiders to unearth a major Maya Indian royal burial site in the
Guatemalan jungle, discovering jade jewelry and a jaguar pelt from more
than 1,500 years ago.
The tomb, found by archeologist Hector Escobedo last week, contains a
king of the El Peru Waka city, now in ruins and covered in thick
rainforest teeming with spider monkeys.
He may have been the dynastic founder of the city, on major Mayan trade
routes that could have stretched from the city of Tikal in Guatemala up
through Mexico.
"If this is indeed the founder, then it is a discovery of a lifetime,"
said David Freidel of Southern Methodist University in Texas, who
co-directs the project with Escobedo.
The excavation team were working against the clock, aware that would-be treasures looters were scouting the same area.
Just a day before Escobedo discovered the tomb, looters sneaked into a
tunnel the archeologists dug under the pyramid, clearing out rock and
rubble in a fruitless effort to find booty.
Looters frequently raid Mayan archeological sites in the northern
department of Peten. Known as "guecheros," an expression derived from
the local word for armadillos, because they dig through dirt, they sell
treasure that often finds its way to U.S. museums or private
collections.
"They usually work at night or very fast and do whatever they please," Escobedo said.
El Peru Waka was discovered in the 1960s, but Escobedo and his
team began scientific excavation three years ago. They had to stabilize
the pyramid where he found the tomb after looters opened two tunnels
the size of elevator shafts in it, leaving it close to collapse.
On Tuesday, another team of archeologists found what could be a second
royal grave in a pyramid up the hill from the tomb, this one probably
dating from some 400 years later.
That tomb has yet to be opened, but judging by an elaborate offering of
a dozen miniature figurines of ball players, elegant women, dwarfs and
seated lords found inside the pyramid, the burial site is likely to
contain more royal remains, archeologists said.
At that spot, an archeologist picked up a small disc made of shell and
jade about the size of U.S. nickel coin and flipped it over to reveal
the elaborate profile of a head of what appears to be monkey.
The Mayans dominated southeastern Mexico and much of Central America
for thousands of years until the Spanish conquest 500 years ago. Their
descendants still live in the region. |
Archaeology 