U.S. Archeologist Helps Reclaim Stolen Maya Altar

[emad]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a true-life tale that sounds more like a movie script, a Tennessee archeologist helped Guatemalan villagers and government undercover agents recover a stolen Maya altar from drug traffickers. "We've recovered a real masterpiece of Mayan art," archeologist Arthur Demarest told reporters on Wednesday. "And this is the first time that an entire looters' ring, up to the dealers, have been arrested." The elaborately carved 600-pound (270 kg) stone altar at the heart of the story dates from the year 796, when it was placed on the royal ball court at Cancuen, site of one of the largest royal palaces ever found.

Kings would play on the ball court in an exercise that was more ritual than sport, Demarest said in a telephone news conference. Altars like the one he helped recover commemorated matches, but also celebrated state visits and cemented royal alliances, and often had the force of treaties, he said. Demarest learned of the altar's existence more than six months ago, as he worked on a project to encourage sustainable tourism in Guatemala that is supported by Vanderbilt University of Nashville, Tennessee, National Geographic and the humanitarian organization Counterpart International.

While working near the ruins at Cancuen, Demarest said four Maya elders showed up at his camp and told him that a woman had been beaten by men in ski masks. The elders said the masked men were seeking a great altar that had been looted from the area.

"The collecting of these things is at great cost, it's almost like the drug traffic and it's tied to it," Demarest said. "There's blood on these monuments at the level of the villages." Continued ... 1| 2| 3 Next

<snip>
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=3719338

[SlavesandBulldozers]

1. i spent a summer

doing excavations at a Maya site in the central Yucatan. The lead archaeologist has hypothesized that emassaries and traders from Teotihuacan established an enclave within the central Yucatan. I actually unearthed a Maya burial, preserved underneath a marvelous stucco floor. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life.