High-Tech Tools Reveal Early Maya Calendrical Writing

CAMPECHE, MEXICO—Mexico News Daily reports that a digital reconstruction of a charcoal mural discovered inside a cave-like, arched vault at the Maya site of Calakmul has revealed early examples of calendrical writing. Daniel Salazar Lama of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said that the mural shows Juun Ajaw, one of the mythical Maya hero twins, hunting a creature in water. A symbol corresponding to a day marker in the 260-day Maya ritual calendar cycle is shown next to Juun Ajaw. Salazar said that the date appears to have been added to the main scene at a later time. The mural may represent an episode in the life of Juun Ajaw, or a renewal ritual, and the date may have been added to commemorate the event, he explained. The construction of the building where the mural was found had previously been dated to between 400 and 390 B.C., but the style of the drawing and the date it contains suggest that the building could have been constructed between 400 and 200 B.C. For more, go to "The Maya Sense of Time."