[Nethra K Putti]

MAYA/N CIVILIZATION
WRITINGS FOUND IN GUATEMALA

Evidence of Maya writing that dates to 2300 years ago has turned up in a pyramidal structure in guatemala. Researchers excavating the site, ruins at San Bartolo in the North-eastern part of the country, say the finding could be among the earliest Maya written material ever found.

Currently the oldest known written system in all of Central & south America dates to about 400 b.c. & is from cultures based in what is now Oaxaca, Mexico. The story of script invention in Mesoamerica is likely to get more & more complicated in the near future as more early texts from excavation in the Maya area come to light.

The researchers did radiocarbon dating on five charcoal samples from deposites found in three layers of the site. Samples from the area where the writing was found dated to approximately 400 to 200 b.c. Taken together with other radiocarbon dates from the site, the authors have concluded that the text was written between 300 & 200 b.c. placing writing among Maya much closer to the earliest known writing system. The newly found San Bartolo text is the earliest example of Maya writing with firm, scientific dating.

There are ten hieroglyphs on the column, & the writing apperas to be the end of a text began above it. Whoever wrote the text was very careful as the scribe first painted a thin pinkish-orange outline before laying on a thick black line. The meaning as with all Mayan writing, is difficult to decipher. There is one character that clearly means "lord" or "ruler" that probably was part of a phrase referring to a specific person or mythological character. Other wise the writing consists of abstract shapes.While the exact meaning remains abscure, the scientists believe the text provides a look at the form of Mayan of its earliest stages.

[Shalini]

can u tell me the mysteries of maya?