GUATEMALA

Around the World November 1, 2010

An Early Classic Maya tomb in the city of El Zotz had been so well sealed that it still smelled of decay when it was opened 1,600 years later.
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GUATEMALA: An Early Classic Maya tomb in the city of El Zotz had been so well sealed that it still smelled of decay when it was opened 1,600 years later. Its primary occupant, dressed in the costume of a ritual dancer and buried with a variety of ceramics and textiles, was most likely a king, maybe the founder of a dynasty. The newly discovered tomb also held the remains of six children, perhaps sacrifice victims, and bowls buried outside it contained human fingers and teeth, which might have been symbolic food offerings. 

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