Uncovering of Ruler鈥檚 Tomb Dates to 350聽B.C.
Summer 2011 · Comment ·
A UT Arlington archaeologist is gaining international recognition for his role in research that revealed the oldest known tomb of an ancient Maya ruler. Michael Callaghan, an adjunct assistant professor in the , worked on a team led by University of Kansas research associate John Tomasic, who found the burial site in 2008 at K鈥檕, Guatemala. Archaeologists unearthed the body of a man believed to be in his 50s and in seemingly good health at the time of his death. They also found an incense burner with the image of a jester god headdress, along with vessels, jars, and plates. 鈥淥ne pot had a little crown with a three-pronged headdress on it, and that鈥檚 known to be only associated with kingship,鈥� says Dr. Callaghan, who analyzed the ceramics. 鈥淭he work was supported by radiocarbon analysis, which gave us a date of 350 B.C.鈥� Until now, the earliest known royal burial of a Maya ruler was from San Bartolo, Guatemala. It was discovered in 2005 and dated to 100 B.C. Both burial sites were found beneath homes. Callaghan presented the team鈥檚 research for the first time publicly at the 76th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in April. Since then, news of the findings has appeared in USA Today, the London Daily Mail, and Tehran鈥檚 Cultural Heritage News Agency, among other media outlets. Callaghan says the Maya are fascinating. 鈥淕rowing up, we learn about Mesopotamia and Egypt, but the Maya are so different in the way they looked at ideology, their religious focus, and art.鈥� He plans to research more about the Maya civilization, with a focus on how social hierarchies started and why people created social divisions.