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This is reported by National Geographic, Carol Kaufmann, December 2003. Saturno is a curator of Maya hieroglyphs at the Peabody museum and a senior lecturer in anthropology at Harvard. Already in March 2001, Saturno found a small part of the mural in San Bartolo, Guatemala, while seeking shade in a looters' trench dug into an unexcavated pyramid. The four-foot-long (one-meter-long) fragment showed the advanced ornaments and muscled thighs of the corn god, a mythic Maya figure. Since Saturno believed that he could found more paintings lay behind rubble that filled the dark room, he returned to the mysterious ancient place (called "Sistine Chapel of the early Maya" by the National Geographic). In 2002 Saturno mapped the site, and in March this year he began excavation.
Carved monuments
Until now, Saturno said, examples of Maya artistry from about A.D. 100 have been limited to ceramic pieces, stone monuments, and architectural sculptures, especially large stucco masks that adorned the facades of buildings. Archaeologists have found traces of other early Maya wall paintings at Tikal and Uaxactûn in Guatemala. According to Maya experts, the San Bartolo mural, is far better worked out and preserved than the other mentioned paintings. This is really big art, and can't definitely be compared with today's graffiti on the walls, which is not always popular (look at the photos of the incredible Maya mural at National Geographic website www.NationalGeographic.com and magazine, December 2003).
Photo (by Travel Explorations): A pyramid in Tikal, Guatemala - with many hidden secrets as for example tunnels and chambers with wall paintings?
The find of mural in San Bartolo, Guatemala, shows that the Mayans were very skilful in arts. It's assumed that the Mayans were trying to portray the origin of maize and people. Precise brushstrokes, perfectly formed geometric shapes, and life like figures, leads Saturno to believe that Maya art also began to develop much earlier than A.D. 100. The researchers continue the work to reveal more of the Mayans masterpieces and their early life. Hopefully Saturno and his team find more creatures and faces of a lost world on the walls.
Additional information
Read more about great discoveries around the world on Travel Explorations` website and related information sources.
For more comprehensive information about the research work of Maya art, you can read the National Geographic magazine.
Web links advised by National Geographic:
San Bartolo Maya Mural Project:
www.sanbartolo.org/
Learn about the special technology used in the excavation along with the process of conserving the mural once it is uncovered.
Harvard University Peabody Museum:
www.peabody.harvard.edu/SanBartolo.htm
View more pictures of the mural and explanations of the characters on it at this Harvard University website.
Bonampak:
www.peabody.yale.edu/exhibits/bonampak/
Another significant Maya mural site, Mexico's Bonampak is discussed on this Yale University website.
National Geographic News:
news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0312_0314_mayamurals.html
Read more about Saturno's discovery of the mural, and what other Maya experts are saying about it.
Bibliography:
Coe, Michael D. The Maya (Ancient Peoples and Places). Thames and Hudson, 1999.
Freidel, David, and Linda Schele. A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. Quill, reprint edition, 1992.
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