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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: 'Extraordinary' ancient artwork unearthed
8/10/2013 1:34:37 AM

Myrna and Dave,

I don't know how I would have felt if I was the discoverer.

I say, if I have been elated just to learn about it, can you imagen how I would feel if I was who unearthed it?

Thanks for showing up and posting,

Miguel.

P.S. See my next post, seems there is more news about the finding.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: 'Extraordinary' ancient artwork unearthed
8/10/2013 1:50:39 AM

To begin with, this is a good video of the finding. By REUTERS


Ancient Mayan Frieze Uncovered in Guatemalan Jungle


Publicado el 09/08/2013

This dense jungle in Guatemala was once the heartland of the Mayans - an ancient civilisation that controlled much of Central America. Now, more than 1000 years after their empire collapsed, archaeologists have made a stunning discovery - this eight-metre-long frieze. The sculpture shows a divine governor who may once have ruled over Holmul - a mysterious city that once stood here. The sculpture sits beside a 1,500 year-old pyramid, but experts haven't said exactly how old the art work is.


"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: 'Extraordinary' ancient artwork unearthed
8/10/2013 2:49:53 AM
This report of the finding by the Huffington Post is pretty more comprehensive than the previous one. It even has a beautiful slide show that you may access at their page here.

Mayan Frieze Discovered In Guatemala Called 'Extraordinary'

By SONIA PEREZ D. 08/08/13 12:43 AM ET EDT AP

Watch video

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.

"It's a great work of art that also gives us a lot of information on the role and significance of the building, which was the focus of our research," Estrada-Belli said.

The high-relief stucco sculpture, which measures 26 feet by 6 feet (8 meters by 2 meters), includes three main characters wearing rich ornaments of quetzal feathers and jade sitting on the heads of monsters.

The frieze, which was found in July, depicts the image of gods and godlike rulers and gives their names.

The dedicatory inscription "opens a window on a very important phase in the history of the classical period," Estrada-Belli said.

The inscription is composed of some 30 glyphs in a band that runs at the base of the structure.

The text, which was difficult to read, was deciphered by Alex Tokovinine, an epigraphist at Harvard University and contributor to the research project at Holmul, the site where the frieze was found.

Tokovinine said the building was commissioned by Ajwosaj, king of the neighboring city-state of Naranjo, and vassal of the powerful Kaanul dynasty, the statement said.

David Stuart, an expert in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin, called Tokovinine's reading of the text "excellent."

But while the government statement called it "the most spectacular frieze seen to date," Stuart was cautious about using superlatives.

"It's really impressive," Stuart said in an email to The Associated Press. But he added, "I certainly wouldn't say this is the `most spectacular' temple facade."

"There are other buildings in Maya archaeology that are just as magnificent, if not more so," Stuart wrote, pointing out the temple called "Rosalila" at Copan, Honduras, and a building excavated starting last year at the ruins of Xultun, Guatemala, which has not yet been uncovered in full.

Also Wednesday, Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina presented the National Geographic Society with the Order of the Quetzal, Guatemala's highest award, for their research on the Mayan civilization.

Perez Molina thanked National Geographic for its support and said the society has "put on high the cultural heritage of the Mayan civilization."

Estrada-Belli is a National Geographic Explorer. His excavations at Holmul were supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala and funded by the National Geographic Society and other Guatemalan and foreign institutions.

___

Associated Press writer Mark Stevenson contributed to this report.

(click on image to enlarge)
Archaeologist William Saturno of Boston University excavates the house in the ruins of the
Maya city of Xultún
. (
Photo by Tyrone Turner © 2012 National)

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Terri Wallace

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RE: 'Extraordinary' ancient artwork unearthed
8/10/2013 5:00:02 AM
This is totally amazing! What a find.
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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: 'Extraordinary' ancient artwork unearthed
8/11/2013 3:16:39 AM

Hi and welcome, Terry. So glad you found your way to this thread. Yes, this is great news and it is amazing. I dare say it will be prominent in the main papers for a good while.

Thanks for showing up and posting,

Miguel

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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