Two Ancient Artefacts Unearthed in Mexico

This has been a great week in Mexican archaeology, as two important artefacts have been uncovered, in different locations in the country.

The first was in the Maya ruins of Tonina, Chiapas. The 5 foot (1.5 meter) figurines depict cross-legged warriors, with their hand tied behind their backs. They are carved from limestone blocks and date from 695 CE. Fortunately, much of the guesswork about their purpose is removed, as the statues include inscriptions. They show prisoners, who are destined to become offerings to deity, alongside fire and incense, on the field of battle.

These findings have provided intriguing evidence that the city of Copan allied with the Maya tribes of Palenque at this time. It is a fact that has been long suspected by historians, as a lot of circumstantial information exists pointing to such a partnership. The aim of these series of battles was control of the powerful Tonina area. It was a prize that was important enough for human sacrifices to be made.

Tonina today exists as ruins. It has a series of pyramids, rising in terraces above a central plaza. The site includes a ballcourt and 100s of carved monuments. The famous stucco sculptures are here. There are also several mysteries; like why a design of statue exists here, dating from the 9th century CE, which hadn't previously been in evidence since the much earlier Olmec people reigned supreme.

Tonina is the central of a huge archaeological project, seeking to shed more light on this vital period in Maya history. This was the Late Classic, when the last widely marked Long Count of their calendar ended. The date is etched into many of the monuments here.

During this time, the Maya people lived in staunchly independent city states; however, the seeds of political and economic unity, across the Maya world as a whole, had been cast. It was also an era of warfare, as each tribe battled for supremacy in the widening social structure; hence the appearance of the statues of the warrior-prisoner sacrificial victims.

However, experts have cautioned against leaping to the conclusion that Copan tribes were involved in the fight for Tonina. The inscriptions, on the newly discovered figurines reference the inauguration of a new ballcourt in the city. They may turn to have nothing to do with these critical wars after all.

The Tonina complex is open to the public. The nearest modern town is Ocosingo, in the state of Chiapas. As well as the impressive structures, there is also a site museum providing a context to its history. A large selection of artefacts, uncovered in Tonina, are on display here.

This week's second artefact discovery is Aztec in origin. It is a sixty tonne monolith, depicting a currently unidentified rain god, which was dug up further west, in the state of Morelos.

Construction workers were preparing land for a shopping center, beside a main highway leading out of Cuautla City, when their diggers uncovered the stone. Work immediately ceased, as the archaeologists moved in to complete the unearthing; and to take steps to preserve the carved artefact for future study. It has been found in the general vicinity of the historical Aztec site of Xochicalco, so may well have been linked to the people there.

Early speculation is that the deity shown, in carved markings on the stone, is a god of corn and water. Amidst the large number of hieroglyphics, there are a lot of symbols relating to agriculture and rain accompanying His image. The known Aztec god, Tlaloc, accompanies the unidentified god on the stone. Tlaloc has been associated with many things. He is the God of rain, fire, fertility, crops, agricultural, storms, thunder and lightning, leprosy and the south.

Raul Gonzalez, an archaeologist called to the monolith, reports, "These signs on the rock are fundamentally associated with agriculture and water. We think it's highly probable that it was used during rituals to ask for rain and it was placed in a position facing Popocatepetl."

Popocatepetl is one of Mexico's active volcanoes. Standing at 17,802 ft (5,426 m) high, it is clearly visible from Mexico City to the north. The popular tourist town of Puebla nestles just below its eastern slopes. This violent volcano has a long history of major eruptions; 15 of them have occurred during the past 500 years, with the latest at the beginning of last month. In 2000, tens of thousands of people were evacuated from residences within its range, as a huge eruption was signalled.

The third and last time it truly blew its top was in 800 CE. This event would have seen a massive Plinian eruption; resulting in an unstoppable pyroclastic lava flow, which would have filled the basins below for miles around.

It is thought that the creation of the monolith, facing Popocatepetl, happened just a century before. The great-grandchildren, of those carving and raising it, would have witnessed that cataclysmic explosion. It seems fitting that their monument as been uncovered, just as the volcano has been building up its greatest displays in 1,200 years. If it transpires that the unknown deity is an Aztec god of volcano appeasement, then the discovery is also lucky. We might just need Him again!

The gigantic Aztec monolith is currently roped off, in situ, though it is clearly visible from the main highway connecting Cuautla and Xochicalco. It's too soon to be certain what the future holds for its care, though the land developers are naturally still hoping for their shopping center on the site.

If the monolith is moved, then it is likely that will be to the the UNESCO listed World Heritage site of Xochicalco. The same people, after all, almost certainty created both it and the structures there, often during the same period of time. This remarkable place of impressive Aztec history is open to the public.

Whatever happens to the artefact, it is sure to increase our knowledge of the ancient Aztec people, as those hieroglyphics start to be translated in their entirety.

2012: The End of the Maya Long Count

When I was about seven or eight years old, I learned in the playground that the end of the world was coming. The news spread like wildfire from child to child, until panic ensued. The teachers tried to reassure us that it was not going to happen. At the school gates, each waiting parent attempted to do the same. But none of us were convinced. The end of the world was coming; and it would happen at 8pm that very night.

This coincided with the closing credits of my mother's favourite television programme. It had been bedtime half an hour before, but my three year old brother and I were in a state of extreme terror. My mother gave up on bedtime and just spent our last half an hour on Earth cuddling her children, while she watched her show. Every now and again, she would repeat the mantra: 'The world's not going to end at 8pm.' I recall, even now, watching the hands on the big clock on the wall count down that final minute. I held my breath, my heart thundering in my chest. My little brother had already burrowed his head right between me and my mother's bodies. As the last minutes expired, I hid my face in my mother's shoulder and held on tightly.

Nothing happened. Nothing continued to happen for a full five minutes, while my mother proclaimed that she was right and it really is bedtime now. The world singularly failed to end from that moment, all the way through the decades, to this. During that time, I've witnessed many 'end of the world' moments, none of which have come to pass. However, we are now living through the biggest.

It seems that the imagination of the world has focussed upon the end of the Maya Long Count. The common statement is that this is also the end of the world. Vacation spots in the Maya world are quickly filling up. Possibly this is due to the fact that people reason that any civilization that can predict it, probably also hid away the secret of surviving it. Any given search engine will produce hundreds of websites, forums, blogs and other media, all staring apprehensively towards December 21st, 2012. Newspapers have devoted miles of print to discussing it. There has even been a Hollywood film dramatizing the alarming events that are believed to be coming on that date.



All over the world, everyone from small children to senior citizens have heard the lore. We are all going to die on December 21st, 2012, because the Maya Long Count will end.

It's time to look at the third of the Maya calendars: the Long Count.

The Long Count

Today's date is 12.19.17.9.14. At least it is according to the Long Count Maya calendar.

Neither of the first two Maya calendars count the years. The third one not only counts years, but does so over a vast period of time. This is the Long Count. Scholars have used the available records to show that the latest cycle of the Long Count began, with day zero, on August 11th, 3114 BCE. (Actually, they're still arguing about it, as some reckon it was August 13th, 3114 BCE.) It will end on December 21st, 2012 CE.

The Long Count, therefore, is a calendar which covers a period of approximately 5,125.36 years. I say 'approximately' because, in order to understand this counting, I'm referring constantly to my own Gregorian calendar. The Maya, of course, didn't. My concept of a year is 365 days, with an extra day slipped into the mix every four years. This is not a calendar that was recognized by the Maya. It didn't even exist back when the Long Count began.

The Maya Long Count didn't start on August 11th or 13th, 3114 BCE. It started on 4 Ajaw, 8 Kumk'u, which is written, in the Long Count, as 13.0.0.0.0. This is illustrated, as a Maya stele, in the picture above. The hieroglyphics, read vertically, say: 13.0.0.0.0, 4 Ajaw, 8 Kumk'u. It is similar carvings, on ancient Maya architecture, that have allowed us to date buildings and historical events.

13.0.0.0.0 (and today's date of 12.19.17.9.14) might look like an IP code, but it's a series of dates clubbed together.

• 0.0.0.0.1 - one day - kin
• 0.0.0.1.0 - 20 days - uinal
• 0.0.1.0.0 - 360 days - tun
• 0.1.0.0.0 - 7,200 days - katun
• 1.0.0.0.0 - 144,000 days - baktun

So today's date is 12 baktun; 19 katun; 17 tun; 9 uinal; and 14 kin. The calendar ends when we reach 13 baktun. That's why the 'start' date of this current calendar begins with 13 baktun. It's because it's not the start of this calendar, it's the end of the last one. On December 21st, 2012, it will happen again. The date will read 13.0.0.0.0; and a new Long Count will begin. December 22nd, 2012, will be 0.0.0.0.1 of the new Long Count.

What Did the Maya Predict Would Happen Then?

I have been hunting in vain for any actual Mayan source that predicts the end of the world. There are many non-Mayan sources whipping people up into a frenzy; but from the Maya themselves there is very little. Most seem to be preparing solely for a huge party, in much the same way as us Gregorian calendar folk do every December 31st.

The very fact that this current Long Count starts with 13 means that there was a previous Long Count. There is nothing in any lore, nor modern day Maya thinking, that suggests that there won't be another.

But Didn't The Maya Look to the Solar System and Predict the End of the World?

Astronomically, the end of the Long Count obviously falls on the date of the Winter Solstice. It also corresponds with the moment when the sun falls into alignment with the Milky Way, as viewed from Earth. This occurs every 26,000 years, marking the end of the Precession of the Equinoxes.



Never heard of the Precession of the Equinoxes? I warrant that you may have heard of the signs of the zodiac. These are based on making a kind of dot-to-dot game amongst constellations of stars that circle around in the night-sky. As we move through the year, we can see the constellation that looks like a ram (Aries), slowly moving along to make room for a constellation that looks like a bull (Taurus). As each month goes by, the Earth continues its journey and the images in the sky pass along; until we've gone an entire year and Aries is once again floating up from the horizon.

This would happen in perfect timing every year, but for one small detail. The Earth wobbles on its axis. We orbit in a bit of an oval, not a circle. This means that, though we see the constellations pass in the same order each year, they are always a tiny fraction later than they were the previous year. After just over 2000 years have passed, they're around a month late. After around 26,000 years, they are 12 months late, so, in effect, we're back to where we started.

While this is the Precession of the Equinoxes, the actual dating tends to note which constellation is in the sky at the time of the Spring Equinox. At the moment, that is Pisces. It is about to change into Aquarius. This will remain the case for roughly 2000 years, before it will change into Capricorn.

One of the major theories about the Long Count is that it was designed to chart the timings between one astrological age to the next (5 x Long Count = 25,626.80 years). If this is true (and it's hotly disputed amongst scholars), then the end of the Long Count will certainly pinpoint the end of the world - but only for the Age of Pisces. It's the coming of the Age of Aquarius.

For ancient star-gazers, these ages were significant enough for rulers and deities to be linked with them. The Age of Pisces has included the growth of Christianity, which is signified by the fish; the age of Aries has included an Egyptian dynasty in which many rams were sculptured and the most famous pharaoh was Ramses (and in trying to wipe these deities out, the Christians made an anti-Christ of the ram); the age of Taurus had gods, such as the Egyptian Apis, depicted with bull's horns - the earliest of these pictured twin bulls, as a nod towards the outgoing Age of Gemini - while future age religions placed great store in slaughtering cows and bull-fighting. Presumably the next age will have political and religious leaders scrambling to carry water around, while eating a lot of fish.

However, if this was definitely the purpose of the Long Count, we might never know. One thing is certain though, the Maya themselves have never said that the world will end.