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Archaeology & History

Oldest known Mayan book is declared authentic

By T.K. Randall
September 1, 2018 · Comment icon 9 comments

The pages are 900 years old. Image Credit: National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH)
A Mayan pictographic text dating back over 900 years has finally been confirmed as authentic by researchers.
Officially known as the Mexico Maya Codex, the book, which was returned to Mexican authorities by collector Josue Saenz in 1974, was originally created sometime between 1021 and 1154 A.D.

Thought to be the oldest surviving Mayan text in existence, the document has now been declared authentic by scholars at Mexico's National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH).

Its simpler style compared to other known texts, coupled with the fact that it had been previously looted, had lead to years of doubt over whether it was the real deal or a clever forgery.
It turned out that it had been created during a time of relative poverty compared to other similar works.

"For a long time, critics of the codex said the style wasn't Mayan and that it was 'the ugliest' of them in terms of figures and color," said researcher Sofia Martinez del Campo. "But the austerity of the work is explained by its epoch, when things are scarce one uses what one has at hand."



Source: CBC.ca | Comments (9)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by papageorge1 6 years ago
it's about the movement of Venus. I just have to wonder if there aren't significances in that lost to out modern science
Comment icon #2 Posted by skliss 6 years ago
I think I read somewhere once that several early cultures were obsessed with Venus because at the time it was one if the brjggest stars in the sky. I can't remember if they were all close to or below the equator cultures.
Comment icon #3 Posted by pallidin 6 years ago
Great find! Nice to have something to add to our historical record of past cultures.
Comment icon #4 Posted by Setton 6 years ago
Still is. In a clear night you can often see it at the right time of year. 
Comment icon #5 Posted by Tatetopa 6 years ago
Venus is pretty special because of its brightness and its position near the sun.  It has been called both the Morning Star and the Evening Star because during our orbits around the sun, Venus can appear in the morning and later in the year, it appears in the evening.    Its a pretty singular object in the sky.  If you want to see Mercury, you really have to look hard and at the right time.  It is close to the sun, and not very bright.  The outer planets don't have the same behavior as seen from earth.    
Comment icon #6 Posted by Calibeliever 6 years ago
Planets are "special" because they don't move the same way other stars do, which must have been very puzzling to early astronomers. In fact planet literally means wanderer in Greek. Venus is especially so for two reasons: one it is relatively close so it is very bright compared to most other objects, and two, it is inside our orbit around the sun so it is visible much more often than other planets (yes mercury is too but it is usually much dimmer). When it is seen rising or setting with the sun we call it the morning/evening star. 
Comment icon #7 Posted by Calibeliever 6 years ago
Apologies to Tatetopa for nearly duplicating your post. I didn't read far enough down before posting myself.
Comment icon #8 Posted by jaylemurph 6 years ago
Nothing like a little rampant, unsupported speculation. --Jaylemurph
Comment icon #9 Posted by papageorge1 6 years ago
Nothing like the 'Shhh' librarian to any thought outside  the box --PapaG


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