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Archaeologist Probably Discovered The Earliest Unequivocal Evidence Of Maya Sacred Calendar
Archaeologist Probably Discovered The Earliest Unequivocal Evidence Of Maya Sacred Calendar
Highlights
- Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered the oldest definite evidence of a Maya holy calendar among the shards of an ancient Mesoamerican mural.
- The discovery is a very uncommon example of a distinct hieroglyphic day of the year inscribed sometime between 200 and 300 BCE.
Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered the oldest definite evidence of a Maya holy calendar among the shards of an ancient Mesoamerican mural.
Traces of an animal's head may be detected beneath a black dot and solid line on one tiny part of a painting that originally graced the temple wall - marks denoting '7 Deer,' one of the 260 days in the calendar.
Other historic documents of this sacred calendar have been discovered in Central America before, but dating them has been challenging.
As per radiocarbon study, the discovery is a very uncommon example of a distinct hieroglyphic day of the year inscribed sometime between 200 and 300 BCE.
Additional calendar hieroglyphs discovered elsewhere in Guatemala are over a thousand years old. Researchers believe the calendar was in existence long before this one date was put down, based on how'mature' the script appeared.
Hundreds of additional shards of the 7 Deer date were discovered in the foundations of the Las Pinturas pyramid at San Bartolo, Guatemala. This pyramid contains numerous layers of Maya history, each layered on top of the other and dating from around 800 BCE.
The pyramid was the site's most recent structure, and it's known for its painted murals illustrating Maya mythology.
Several more constructions that once existed in its place can be found beneath the pyramid. Excavations beneath the fifth layer of construction discovered the remains of plaster walls with hieroglyphs painted on them in 2005.
Following excavations in the same layer, archaeologists have discovered what may be the oldest indication of a hieroglyphic calendar.
The unexpected discovery only adds to calls for the San Bartolo painted murals to be designated as Cultural Heritage. The painted plaster fragments were most likely previously part of a wall mural, with some areas painted in mixed colours and others delineated by black lines. For instance, the 7 Deer date is written in a black line style.
The Maya employed a 260-day sacred calendar, which is being maintained by some indigenous people today. Individual days on this calendar are called in a certain order, from 1 to 20, and they reoccur 13 times a year.
Other hieroglyph of unknown meaning can be seen directly beneath the calendar in the bottom portion. The date above appears to be working as a caption for what follows, based on the vertical alignment.
Maya were frequently named after calendar events, therefore the deer might also represent a name. Meanwhile, researchers believe it is more than likely a date.
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