Burnt human remains and thousands of beautiful but destroyed ornaments. Such a sight came to archaeologists in Guatemala when they uncovered what remained of a Mayan royal city. It could be direct and rare evidence of how the political regime changed more than a millennium ago, according to a study published in the journal Antiquity.
Twilight of a mighty civilization
A strange discovery at the archaeological site of Ucanal, in the heart of a lowland kingdom called by its inhabitants K’anwitznal, suggests that the city was the site of a public ceremony in the early 9th century AD, where desecrated tomb of previous rulers including their corpses. The bones and other “remains” were subsequently used to build a new pyramid.
The event coincides with the arrival of a new ruler named Papmalil, who appears to have enjoyed a prosperous reign at a time when many other Maya kingdoms were in crisis – a period called the collapse of Maya civilization. “We are talking about the time that was the twilight of a once mighty people, which was the hegemon in the region. All the Mayan dynasties gradually disintegrated,” Dalibor Moravec explained to Čtidoma.cz.
They had reached a point of no return
It would be difficult for an inexperienced eye to find anything interesting at the site of the find. The site is located under buried limestone blocks. “The most interesting thing is that everything is basically thrown around without order or storage. As if someone just used it as filler to build their own temple, which is not the custom of the Maya. It was short about destruction and an attempt to completely eradicate the past“ stated Moravec, saying that even attempts to “erase” people’s memory were responsible for the collapse of the entire civilization.
The historian found a number of common elements with today’s world. “Look at how, for example, Islamic terrorists destroy monuments. How to Putin is trying to interpret his version of history in Russia etc. The resemblance is unbelievable. And we must not forget that in the case of the Mayans it was a point of no return. I must say that we are not far from him.’
Incredibly valuable treasures
Archaeologists in Guatemala have found the remains of four bodies that scientists believe were members of the royal family buried in the same tomb over the course of a century or more. More than 1,500 fragments of jade pendants, plaques, mosaics and pieces of obsidian were also discovered. And more than 10,000 burnt beads made from sea shells – an extraordinary treasure, but typical of the burial grounds of Mayan kings. It is also interesting that experts have not yet found the tomb where the bodies came from.
The evidence points to oh-i k’ak’ tu-muk-il in the Classic Maya language, meaning “fire entered his/her tomb”. “For them, burning was a way to get to another world, something like cleansing the body. It was also about honoring the dead. However, in the case of the K’anwitznal ceremony, it was most likely indeed desecration.” Moravec added for Čtidoma.cz.
Source: author’s article
WHERE NOW: Goldilocks Jorga Kotrbová was left alone with three children. In the end, she became fabulously rich.
Tags: discovery Mayan temple revealed civilization ended approaching point today
