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.
GUATEMALA
Around the World November 1, 2010
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2018
Masked Man
Digs & Discoveries March/April 2023
Winter Light
-
Features January/February 2025
Dancing Days of the Maya
In the mountains of Guatemala, murals depict elaborate performances combining Catholic and Indigenous traditions
Photograph by R. Słaboński -
Features November/December 2024
Let the Games Begin
How gladiators in ancient Anatolia lived to entertain the masses
© Tolga İldun -
Features November/December 2024
The Many Faces of the Kingdom of Shu
Thousands of fantastical bronzes are beginning to reveal the secrets of a legendary Chinese dynasty
Courtesy Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology -
Features September/October 2024
Ancient DNA Revolution
How the rapidly evolving field of archaeogenetics is unlocking secrets of the past
AdobeStock/lucaar