Maya Collection and Travels in Mayaland

LDS Photos sponsored

2011-04-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

See LDS photos including my own on lds photos

Maya artifact replicas I have made from hand-built clay

2010-12-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

Want to share with you some replicas of published artifacts that are now in museums or have been recently published in Archaeological journals or websites.
First is this water jar - I am not trying for exact duplicates, only similar items, so they are not made to look as old as the originals, as a forgery would. Also, here is a picture of the original in the museum.

Then is a replica of a jade or jadeite mask and breastplate in mosaic pieces found in Tak'alik Abaj with a shot of the original.

Also, a wheeled toy animal which is representational of many found in Central America at various sites.

Then a cup found in a US News & World Report from June 1999 with an image of a ballplayer. The glyphs are only stylized as the medium was too difficult to fit the real glyphs into at this scale and with my talent!

Finally a container and lid with a peccary on top = the lid was found in El Zotz, Guatemala and the body of the container was found elsewhere, but had a similar design.

Photography website

2010-05-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

Clay replicas of Maya artifacts

2010-04-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some clay work I have been doing, some of which are replicas of Maya artifacts, or sort of like some that I have seen. Some are unrelated to the Maya.
See my Facebook photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126876&id=570907053&l=8b798606cb
Also, there is another photo album about my trips to the Yucatan and Central America. You might want to look at those shots,too. They are digital shots of my old photographs, so are not the best. Go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97867&id=570907053&l=20287f3f5b

Institute for Maya Studies EXPLORER newsletter

2010-04-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

I am now writing articles on the ancient Maya for the Institute for Maya Studies (IMS) EXPLORER newsletter; the IMS is an affiliate of the Miami Science Museum. As a member you can get this newsletter monthly with color photos and the latest in Maya studies and discoveries. I highly recommend it. My articles have covered the Panti Medicine Trail in Belize (Nov. 2009), Samabaj, an underwater city in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, and Ek Balam, an excavated city in the Yucatan, not far from Chichen Itza, with some amazing full-sized, 3-dimensional sculptures of winged figures. Following is the article on Samabaj with photos:

SAMABAJ, THE UNDERWATER ISLAND IN LAKE ATITLÁN

Laden with a murky history from two millennia ago, the small village of Samabaj, named after one of its discoverers, Robert Samayoa (Sama + baj from abaj, meaning ‘stone’ in Kiche Mayan), lies under 45 to 90 meters of water near the city of Santiago Atitlán on the south shore of Lake Atitlán in the Guatemala highlands. In 1997 I was privileged to peer down through the clear water of Lake Atitlán from the deck of a small boatload of passengers bound to Santiago Atitlán and see some of the structures on the bottom of the lake, shrouded with sediment that is mostly ancient volcanic ash. I am not sure now whether I was looking at Samabaj or another underwater site, Chiutinamit, which has been dated to the late pre-classic period (600 B.C. – 250 A.D.), and was discovered by local fishermen. The discovery of Samabaj has been claimed by more than one person, but it seems that some of them merely re-discovered the site.

Over the past decade, a number of different organizations have come to support research at the site; some are large and well known, others are smaller and more obscure. Among the benefactors are: the Ford Foundation Company Awards for the Environment, attempting to preserve the fragile ecology of this beautiful lake during excavation; the Nicole Reinhart Foundation (California), dedicated to improving public access to cultural archaeological treasures; the Fundacion Albenga para Preservacion del Patrimonio Cultural Subacuatico (Albenga Foundation for the Preservation of the Underwater Cultural Heritage) based in Argentina, part of “Pro Mare” international organization for oceanic exploration; and the Instituto Antropología e Historia or IDAEH (Institute of Anthropology and History), which is the caretaker of archaeological sites, such as Tikal, in Guatemala. All of these are thus far represented mostly by a small museum, the Museo Lacustre Atitlán (Lake Museum in Atitlán), housed in the Hotel Posada de Don Rodrigo in nearby Antigua.

The IDAEH Project Archaeologist, Sonia Medrano, and Eric Ponciano, the Director of Cultural Heritage, have pushed for more research to determine the extent and origins of the ruins. The Revolutionary Armed Forces Officers’ Club has been involved in the evaluation phase of the archaeological survey, providing equipment and divers to assist and accompany the archaeologists on the dive sites. The site was first registered in Solola by Samayoa as an official archaeological site in 1999.

The site’s exact coordinates are North 14®43’11” and West 91®11’36.06” and a planimetric archaeological survey has established at least three groups of structures on the site. Group I is defined by a basement structure for someone of importance. The walls are laid out with well hewn stones in a clearly geometric or rectangular shape. Group II contains eight different structures, that are mostly well-defined, butx remain to be measured. Perhaps this is a residential area. Group III includes a large edifice about 30 feet by 76 feet, which once had a stairway along the side. In front of the building a smooth basaltic stela stands by a large flat altar. This structure appears to have been the administrative center for the community, which may indicate that it was a ‘cacical’ society, a chiefdom, or one run by a ‘cacique’ or chief.

Lake Atitlan with active volcano

Once an island community surrounded by volcanoes, with a stream running through the center, researchers were particularly desirous to discover what caused the site to originally become submerged. Since the structures are so well preserved and they were not badly overturned by the original upwelling or surge of the rising water, it seems that the water level rose in a very short period of time. Another matter of importance being looked at is how the cultural transition between the Pre-classical social structure and the Classical society in the Maya Highlands. These questions were brought up by diver Roberto Samayoa Asmus along with his fellow discoverer, Archeologist Henry Benitez in the XIII Simposio de Investigaciones Archaeological Sites in Guatemala, 1999, the paper entitled ‘2000 Samabaj and the Underwater Archeology of Lake Atitlan’ and more recently at a presentation by Archeologist Sonia Medrano in her presentation 24 September 2009 at the Popul Vuh Museum in the Francisco Marroquin University. Many large pots and other artifacts are now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Lake Atitlan in Panajachel, Guatemala.

The underwater island village of Samabaj is part of the history of this picturesque area of Guatemala, and the first underwater site to be investigated in this country covered with ancient ruins, including the nearby above ground ruins of Chukumuk and Cerro de Oro (Golden Hill). Lake Atitlan, at least one of the candidates for the most beautiful lake in the world, is set in the midst of volcanoes, the larger ones being Atitlan Toliman and San Pedro. With a geologic setting along the tectonic plates below the Sierra Madre mountain range, the terrain has changed much over the time since the earth was first formed, and more such underwater sites will no doubt be found. It is said that other ruins lie under the waters of another lake in Guatemala, Lake Amatitlan by another volcano, Pacaya, near Guatemala City – perhaps the subject a future article when it is official recognized and exploration is undertaken.

Illustration from Sonia Medrano’s presentation – 2009.

Stela and altar at Group III of Samabaj site.

Una vasija de Samabaj (A vase from Samabaj)

Visits to other sites in Mayaland

2009-07-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

PALENQUE -
One of the most interesting and beautiful archaeological sites in Mexico, in my opinion, is Palenque in Chiapas. In the photo on the left I am shown standing at the top of the stairs of the famous Temple of Inscriptions where the tomb of the great ahau Pacal was found down a buried stairway and in a sarcophagus covered with a huge nine foot long carved stone lid. I will show the illustration found on this lid of Pacal ascending from Xibalba (the 'jaws of the beast of hell', so to speak) toward the top of the tree of life or heaven of the Maya. Some of the guides tell of the belief of some that he is driving a spaceship, but I am not very impressed with that theory (probably Von Daniken's). Also, is shown a picture of me standing under a corbel arch at the top of the stairway to the tomb.
Next is a picture of the Temple from ground level and then of the Palace, as it is called, taken from the top of the Temple. I brought home a couple of souveneirs from Palenque. One is the leather rectangle with the picture of the sarcophagus lid drawn on it in sepia (shown above) and the other is a small bow and arrows set sold to me by the Lacandon Indians there at the entrance to the site, shown below.

I regret that we were not able to stay a couple of days at this site, because I would liked to have seen more of the area, including the stream going along its perimeter, because this ancient city plays an important role in my 7th century novel, IXTAN AND THE MARK OF THE JAGUAR, which I am finishing up at this time. What an amazing place this was! There were many things to see there, including the stucco portrayal of Maya life and religion, as in the Temple of the Foliated Cross, and the many glyphs in the Temple of Inscriptions. One of those glyphs was the simple 'utchi' glyph (see below), which means, "And it came to pass." A meaningful glyph to me, due to the ubiquitous nature of that phrase in the text of the Book of Mormon.

Well, I hope all who see this are inspired to go visit Palenque themselves! It is a worthwhile trip, and lots more can be seen in an internet search about the area, including a place to stay near the site, I believe.

The 'UTCHI' glyph --------------------------------------------------

Maya Collection and Travels in Mayaland: Journeys to the Maya world

2009-06-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Maya Collection and Travels in Mayaland: Journeys to the Maya world

Journeys to the Maya world

2009-04-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

I want to also share some of my travel shots to the ruins (las ruinas) in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. Thanks to my daughter, Jarnli, working for the airlines, I was able to afford four or five trips down there in the mid-nineties, one of them with Jarnli to Mexico City and Teotihuacan. Other trips were a BYU tour to all of those countries, and a tour with some Las Vegas Mormons to Mexico from Cancun to Teotihuacan. This is a picture from the trip with Jarnli taken at the Temple of Quetzacoatl. Jarnli stayed in the cool of the visitors center since we had already climbed the Temple of the Moon and walked down the Avenue of the Dead past the huge Temple of the Sun and she was pretty worn out. In fact, I will never forget what she said to me, "Dad, I want you to know that I am really enjoying being here with you, but I think I've seen enough carved rock to last me a lifetime!" Anyway, thanks to her I was able to make the trip! On that same Temple of Q. there is a depiction of the goggle-eyed rain god, Chaac, although that is the Mayan name and the ancient residents of Teotihuacan probably had another name for him.

Another trip was with Sally to Cozumel for our thirtieth wedding anniversary, although it was in February and our anniversary was the following July. We traveled by ferry to the mainland, rented a VW bug and drove down the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan to Tulum. There we were able to enjoy a view of the crystalline two-tone azure sea while visiting the ruins of this beautiful ancient site. Here is a view of the 'Temple to the Descending God' through a stone arch (left), a closer view (right) and a closeup view (center) of the rudimentary stucco image paying homage to this deity. Read more about this image in my section on my artifact collection!