Page 1 of 2
Pre-classic "Maya"
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:24 am
by Frank Harrist
Did anyone happen to catch the National Geographic program on PBS last night about the Maya murel which was recently discovered? It was very interesting and the discovery, among others, pushes back the dates for pre-classic Maya civilization. It seems there was a very developed civilization there at least a few centuries BC. I am woefully under-informed about the Maya and their predecessors so this was all news to me. Lots of people doing lots of work there now. There was a link here somewhere about the murel. Anybody know where that is?
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:05 am
by MichelleH
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:11 am
by Frank Harrist
Thanks, Michelle!
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:06 pm
by Minimalist
Will this cause the academics to push the dates back for earlier Meso-American cultures?
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:13 pm
by Frank Harrist
Minimalist wrote:Will this cause the academics to push the dates back for earlier Meso-American cultures?
Probably not, but it's a start. It does push back the dates for the Maya/pre-maya culture. Last night on the program they were calling them something else I think, but I don't remember what it was.
murals
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 1:08 pm
by stan
These "oldest" murals appear to rendered in a fully-realized pre-columbian artistic STYLE and TECHNIQUE (painting with a brush and various pigments on plaster), which
remained amazingly consistent up through Aztecs.
It would an extraordinary genius to invent such things out of whole cloth. Even in this "first" mural and in the overall site where it was found,
we can infer a hierarchial, structured society, with large population centers and established ceremonial practices.
The person or persons who executed these earliest Pre-C murals
was an accomplished artist who had mastered a style and technique which
he probably learned from another master...so that automatically pushes the cultural beginnings back a couple of generations, but who knows how far?
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 3:11 pm
by Frank Harrist
They were saying last night on the program that it pushed back Maya history a thousand years. Their words, not mine.
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:02 pm
by Minimalist
Well, that thousand years has to go somewhere, I guess.
Re: murals
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 4:15 am
by Rokcet Scientist
stan wrote:These "oldest" murals appear to rendered in a fully-realized pre-columbian artistic STYLE and TECHNIQUE (painting with a brush and various pigments on plaster), which remained amazingly consistent up through Aztecs.
Ipso facto:
meso-American pre-Columbian art did not change in 2,000 years.
Not a sign of a civilisation that was going anywhere...
(to avoid the term 'backward'; OOPS... I said it, didn't I...)
going anywhere?
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:36 am
by stan
Hey, rokcet, what do you mean?
Where would you like them to go?
(BTW, you could say the same thing about many of the ancient civilizations...they were stable for long periods...so what?)
reply
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 11:05 am
by Guest
Stability doesn't necessarily mean 'lack of progress'.
Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:35 pm
by Starflower
I have been reading up on all the old threads, a few at a time. Trying not to post something you've already beaten to death, ya know. Found this thread and this link:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/20 ... ajesty.php
and decided they ought to be together(even though the name of the thread is pre-classic Maya). So there you have it.
Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:43 pm
by Beagle
I've known women like that.
Seriously, I have never heard of this lady. That's not good but maybe not surprising either. Pretty nice article Starflower.
That really is getting back in the archives.
Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:11 pm
by Guest
Women played a prominent role at court, and in a few rare cases ruled their city-states
again discovery channel had a show on about women and the maya. it was called: 'Mayan red queen' but it has been so long since i have watched it i can't give you the details, sorry.
Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:55 pm
by Starflower
archaeologist wrote:Women played a prominent role at court, and in a few rare cases ruled their city-states
again discovery channel had a show on about women and the maya. it was called: 'Mayan red queen' but it has been so long since i have watched it i can't give you the details, sorry.
I remember seeing the same show some time ago. I found this link at the discovery channel site:
http://www.discoverychannelasia.com/may ... red_queen/
Once I figured out how to navigate the site I enjoyed the read. There are also other Maya tidbits listed on the side.