From the redoubtable PhysOrg site comes this interesting news story about new discoveries in the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul.
No, they haven't dug up a mind-controlling alien crystal skull. And no, it doesn't have anything to do with Roland Emmerich's movie. In fact, it's about entirely ordinary stuff. Within a ruined pyramid, archaeologists discovered ancient murals depicting everyday life among the Mayans.
This is kind of a big deal. The ancient Mayans built palaces and temples of stone, covered with carvings and paintings, but their homes were wood and thatch. In the Central American jungles, an environment rich in insects, scavengers, and micro-organisms, that means the evidence of how normal people lived is pretty scarce. Abandon your hut and a year later it's gone.
We know the names of their kings, we have records of their astronomical observations and statues of gods, but very little information about how the vast majority of the people of ancient Yucatan lived. One can make educated guesses (essentially by subtracting everything post-1500 from the livestyles of modern Maya people) but this is the first good look at how the ancient Mayans did stuff when they weren't performing rituals or celebrating their kings' martial prowess.
We don't have to worry. Future civilizations curious about 21st Century America can dig into landfills and find everything they want to know.
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