May 2012

New information holds clues to Mayan collapse

One of the greatest archaeological mysteries of our time involves the collapse of the once-great Mayan civilization.  Though European powers would eventually reach the shores of Central America and destroy much of what remained of this culture, the true collapse came hundreds of years earlier.  Unfortunately, the Spanish also burned many of the Mayan books in their efforts to purge pagan beliefs, so historical records are extremely limited on the subject.  Scholars have spent decades speculating on what might have caused the collapse, developing theories that included warfare, political breakdown and environmental collapse.  No doubt all theories are in some way correct and that no one thing caused the collapse.  Recently, more clues have been found relating to shifts in Mayan trading patterns.  These discoveries may add one more piece to this intriguing puzzle.

Tomb Robbing in Ancient Times

Archaeologists and historians may be worried about the effects that tomb robbers have on the practice of their trade today, though this phenomenon has been going on for much longer than most might think.  Ever since ancient times, when things got hard it was often the habit of the desperate and poor to target the tombs of the better-off as a source of income.  During particularly rough periods, the ruling governments would have few resources to devote toward maintaining their customary guard over these sites and consequently there would be little to stand in the way of thieves.

Sorry, Doomsday People - Mayan Calendar Keeps Going for Several Thousand Years Beyond 2012

The year 2012 has been filled with the screams and cries of the paranoid and the uneducated as they make their claims that the end of the Mayan calendar marks the end of the world.  December 2012 is supposedly the date, seeing as how a cycle that was important to the Mayans comes to a close.  Unfortunately for these doomsday lovers, new archaeological finds are showing that what was thought to be the end of the Mayan calendar by many is, in fact, not even close.

An excavation in Xultun, Guatemala has unearthed some rather interesting Mayan murals.  The site has been known of since the early 20th century and a few attempts have been made to clear the remains, but one little house went undiscovered until recently.  Within this house, thought to be a scribe’s chambers, archaeologists found the oldest known records of Mayan astrological tables to date.  These markings are from the early 9th century, which put them ahead of other known Mayan calendars by centuries.

Using nature to help find the past

The discovery and preservation of the past is a subject hotly debated by those seeking to unearth the remains of history.  One camp prefers to leave things beneath the earth until technologies are improved to a point where preservation can be done properly.  Others prefer to dig up these remains and begin preservation now with whatever methods are currently available.  This has led to some sites being protected by law to the point where archaeologists are not allowed to touch them.  But these investigators are not content to just sit and wait, so they’ve gotten a bit creative.  The latest out-of-the-box method?  They’re using moles to do the excavations for them.

The Riding Clans

Of the Anglo-Scottish borders

When most people think of Scottish clans, they think of the Gaelic Highlanders such as the MacDonalds and Camerons and MacGregors. But there was an entirely separate clan system outside of the Highlands, and it was not Gaelic at all. The “riding clans” or “Border reivers” were tribes of thieves and raiders along both sides of the Anglo-Scottish Border from around the years 1300-1600.