Latest Mayan languages Stories

Mexico's archaeology institute is downplaying theories that the ancient Mayans predicted the world would be ending in 2012, but it did acknowledge that the date exists on a fragment at a southern Mexico ruin site. Experts had cited only one surviving reference to the date in Mayan glyphs, which is a stone tablet from Tortuguero site in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. However, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said that there is another apparent reference to the date at...

Does understanding emotions depend on the language we speak, or is our perception the same regardless of language and culture? According to a new study by researchers from the MPI for Psycholinguistics and the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology, you don't need to have words for emotions to understand them. The results of the study were published online on October 17 in "Emotion", a journal of the American Psychological Association. The study provides new evidence that the perception of...

Cultural tourism predicted to increase to about 35 percent of Mexico's total tourism revenue over the next eight years MEXICO CITY, July 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced the launch of "Mundo Maya 2012" (Mayan World 2012), a program to increase tourism and promote the Mayan Culture Legacy in Mexico through 2012. "Today we are the 10th power for tourism in the world, and we are working hard to be in the top five," Calderon said at the...

The Maya have taken center stage because many fear the supposed end date of their calendar marks the end of the world. Most of this information comes from non-Mayans and it is not accurate. Because of this the National Council of Elders Mayas, Xinca and Garifuna recently addressed the world. Their message is simple: "Our actions have created a world out of balance that must be rebalanced immediately in order for us to avoid more suffering"¦for humans and for all life." The elders...

A new, detailed record of rainfall fluctuations in ancient Mexico that spans more than twelve centuries promises to improve our understanding of the role drought played in the rise and fall of pre-Hispanic civilizations.Prior evidence has indicated that droughts could have been key factors in the fates of major cultures in ancient Mexico and Central America (Mesoamerica). But there have been many gaps in the paleoclimate record, such as the exact timing and geographic extension of some...

A team of archaeologists led by Stephen Houston has discovered a royal tomb in Guatemala, filled with materials that have been preserved for approximately 1,600 years A well-preserved tomb of an ancient Mayan king has been discovered in Guatemala by a team of archaeologists led by Brown University's Stephen Houston. The tomb is packed with of carvings, ceramics, textiles, and the bones of six children, who may have been sacrificed at the time of the king's death. The team uncovered the...

An 1,100 year old Mayan tomb, discovered by Mexican archaeologists during maintenance work last December, may shed light on what happened to the Mayan civilization, according to an Associated Press report. The tomb, which had ceramics from another culture inside of it, may help archaeologists determine who occupied the Mayan site of Tonina after the ancient civilization began fading. There is speculation of either internal warfare between Mayan cities or environmental degradation being the...

In Guatemala, archeologists have discovered a Mayan sculpture head that could prove that the little-known site in the Peten region may have once been a city, according to a recent Reuters report. The stucco sculpture, which stands 11.5 feet tall and is 10 feet wide, was buried close to the border with Belize for centuries at the Chilonche ruins.This discovery could mean that the site is much older than previously thought because Mayans constructed new buildings by using older ones as...

The first Mayan hieroglyphic script dealing with the life of a high priest is now being studied by experts. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said that the blood sacrifices and acts of penance are among the topics being studied. The text of the script contains 260 glyphs carved into multiple seashell earrings and manta ray stingers found inside a burial urn. The urn also contained the remains of an important Mayan priest wrapped in bright red cloth. The urn was uncovered...

BOCA RATON, Fla., Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- While the hit film 2012 chills and horrifies filmgoers worldwide, its apocalyptic premise is completely false, according to author Bob Waxman in his new book 2012: The Ultimate Meaning, to be published by Paragon House and released on December 21, 2009 - exactly 3 years before the infamous date (www.2012TheUltimateMeaning.com). And Waxman is so concerned he has retained the international public relations firm TransMedia Group...