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reasonsforhope · 10 months

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"Beneath 1,350 square miles of dense jungle in northern Guatemala, scientists have discovered 417 cities that date back to circa 1000 B.C. and that are connected by nearly 110 miles of “superhighways” — a network of what researchers called “the first freeway system in the world.”

Scientist say this extensive road-and-city network, along with sophisticated ceremonial complexes, hydraulic systems and agricultural infrastructure, suggests that the ancient Maya civilization, which stretched through what is now Central America, was far more advanced than previously thought.

Mapping the area since 2015 using lidar technology — an advanced type of radar that reveals things hidden by dense vegetation and the tree canopy — researchers have found what they say is evidence of a well-organized economic, political and social system operating some two millennia ago.

The discovery is sparking a rethinking of the accepted idea that the people of the mid- to late-Preclassic Maya civilization (1000 B.C. to A.D. 250) would have been only hunter-gatherers, “roving bands of nomads, planting corn,” says Richard Hansen, the lead author of a study about the finding that was published in January and an affiliate research professor of archaeology at the University of Idaho.

“We now know that the Preclassic period was one of extraordinary complexity and architectural sophistication, with some of the largest buildings in world history being constructed during this time,” says Hansen, president of the Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies, a nonprofit scientific research institution that focuses on ancient Maya history.

These findings in the El Mirador jungle region are a “game changer” in thinking about the history of the Americas, Hansen said. The lidar findings have unveiled “a whole volume of human history that we’ve never known” because of the scarcity of artifacts from that period, which were probably buried by later construction by the Maya and then covered by jungle.

Lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging, works via an aerial transmitter that bounces millions of infrared laser pulses off the ground, essentially sketching 3D images of structures hidden by the jungle. It has become a vital tool for archaeologists who previously relied on hand-drawings of where they estimated areas of note might be and, by the late 1980s, the first 3D maps.

When scientists digitally removed ceiba and sapodilla trees that cloak the area, the lidar images revealed ancient dams, reservoirs, pyramids and ball courts. El Mirador has long been considered the “cradle of the Maya civilization,” but the proof of a complex society already being in place circa 1000 B.C. suggests “a whole volume of human history that we’ve never known before,” the study says."

-via The Washington Post, via MSN, because Washington Post links don't work on tumblr for some godawful reason. May 20, 2023.

#maya #mayan #mesoamerica #central america #el mirador #guatemala #indigenous #indigenous history #indigenous peoples #mesoamerican #architecture #ancient history #anti colonialism #fuck racist misconceptions and narratives about indigenous societies and technologies #history #good news #hope

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xochitlcoyote · 1 year

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Quetzalcoatl and Huehuecoyotl

Working on drawing more Aztec gods, probably drawing Coatlicue and Xochiquetzal soon.

#mesoamerican #mexican #mexica #huehuecoyotl #Quetzalcoatl #coyote #gods #aztec #aztec art #aztec gods #ancient gods #illustration

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twodeeweaver · 10 months

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Dragon of Light from Tears of the Kingdom, done in a Mesoamerican inspired style.

#zelda #legend of zelda #loz #totk #tears of the kingdom #art #illustration #dragon #dragon of light #totk fanart #mesoamerican #mayan #aztec #digital art #artists on tumblr #serpent #feathered serpent #coatl

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thegoldenshi-shi · 7 months

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"My name is Death, and the end is here"

Mictlantecuhtli and my OC Meztli.

#mictlantecuhtli #meztli #Xibalba #maya #mesoamerica #mayan #mesoamerican #flowers of xibalba #mesoamerican mythology #mayan mythology #original art #original character #aztec mythology

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nazrigar · 2 years

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Hero With a Thousand Faces

Hey y’all! Remember that post with the Tyannosaurus and its Pop Culture legacy? And how I did it with two more prehistoric creatures (and Sid)? Welp... here’s the latest version, and by far, the biggest of ‘em all.

The motif here is actually simple, from the drawings of a Paleolithic couple (the man’s a Neanderthal, and the lady’s a regular ol’ Homo Sapiens), they, without realizing it, inspired literal thousands upon thousands of years of storytelling, and of the many, MANY concepts of the “hero” figure throughout all of human history.

Guess which ones are which!

Previously:

Triceratops

Pteranodon

Tyrannosaurus

Sid and the Giant Sloths

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gaertan · 6 months

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horseshoecrabman

Latest of my gym sketches, a horseshoe crab-person! i love those lil critters :>

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chaotictoon · 11 months

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Monster Girl Alphabet : Q

Q is for Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl The Feathered Serpent is a prominent supernatural entity or deity, found in many Mesoamerican religions. It is still called Quetzalcoatl among the Aztecs.

#Quetzalcoatl #aztec mythology #maya #dragon #Mesoamerican #Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid #Lucoa #seraph of the end #fate/grand order #monster girls #dragon maid

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savage-kult-of-gorthaur · 2 months

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""THIS IS MY GIFT TO YOU. ITS LEAVES ARE MORE PRECIOUS THAN GREEN PLUMES...""

PIC INFO: Spotlight on the feathered serpent god of Mesoamerican culture, Quetzalcoatl, from Eric Carle's "Dragons, Dragons, and Other Creatures that Never Were" (1988), illustrated by the late, great Eric Carle (1929-2021).

"In the world's young days, Farmer met Quetzalcoatl in a field by one rustling plant. Like the wind, he whispered in Farmer's ear, "This is my gift to you. Its leaves are more precious than green plumes, its heart richer than jade." Farmer asked, "what is its name?" And the serpent whispered, "Maize.""

-- TONY JOHNSTON

Source: www.fairyroom.ru/?p=56315.

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badhistorymemes · 3 months

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Common L for Spanish Conquistadors

#historical memes #history #history memes #meme #memes #historical #maya #Mayan #Mayans #Mayan history #Yucatán #yucatan #yucatec #central american history #central america #mesoamerica #mesoamerican

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varalgus · 1 year

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Tlacochcalcatl

The tlacochcalcatl, meaning “Master of The House of Darts” was the highest ranking title of the Mexica military, the equivalent of a general or commander in modern terminology. He was responsible for all military decisions and planning, and lead the Mexica troops into battle.

The Tlacochcalcatl wore cotton armor for protection and mobility. His helmet resembled a human skull, adorned with hawk and quetzal feathers. In one hand he would wield a lance (tepoztopilli) tipped with sharp obsidian blades, his other brandishing a feathered shield (chimalli). On his back he wore three banners, topped with elaborate feathered decorations.

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pinupcitizen · 4 months

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He's a shy god of Spring (and flaying)

#xipe totec #god of spring #god of grain #aztec #mesoamerican

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rachaelmayo · 4 months

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This is Serpent Star 5 from 2011. I wanted something simple and elegant, relatively speaking.

I made this with watercolor and Prismacolor pencil over an ink drawing. The silver squares in the corners are acrylic tiles. The jaguar stela has an Austrian crystal in its mouth.

#dragon #dragon art #serpent #feathered serpent #feather wings #snake #snek #noodle #mesoamerican #jaguar #stela #stele #traditional art #traditional media #mixed media #prismacolor

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twodeeweaver · 10 months

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Satori from Tears of the Kingdom, done in a Mesoamerican inspired style

#satori #totk #tears of the kingdom #Zelda #legend of Zelda #loz #illustration #art #digital art #Mesoamerican #Mayan #fanart #zelda fanart #satori zelda #lord of the mountain #artists on tumblr #cherry blossom #sakura

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thegoldenshi-shi · 1 year

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“Hay mil colores escondidos en las sombras más oscuras”

There are a thousand colors hidden in the darkest shadows

My annual Tezcatlipoca image.

#I'm sorry to my watchers waiting on more fanart #I haven't drawn in a hot minute #and don't have anything left to offer #tezcatlipoca #mesoamerica #mesoamerican #mayan #aztec #aztec mythology #I question my taste sometimes #I go from fluffy and bright 90% of the time to Aztec mythology of all things

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ancientorigins · 2 months

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As social media is abuzz with who might be cast in the next Batman movie, with concerns that some of the candidates might not be menacing enough to fill those big black boots, it might be time to look again at one of the bat figures that featured as an imposing power in Mesoamerican mythology – Camazotz.

#mesoamerican #mythology

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exiled-prince · 1 year

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On this day, 2 years ago, Onyx Equinox was released on Crunchyroll. Despite not having a massive budget, the show still roared on and was a hit among many. The show deserves much more and the creator is ready to show us what's left to tell. I'm glad to have stumbled onto the show, despite that I came across is almost 2 years later (perhaps I could have known about it if I caught Anime Expo Lite online with my friends in the summer of 2020). Either way, here's to hoping that a second season comes out soon.

#onyx equinox #onyx equinox season 2 #oequinox #crunchyroll #crunchyroll originals #aztec #mesoamerican #maya #olmec #fan art #clip studio paint #csp

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