Mayan Ruins

I know my posting has become less frequent lately but that is primarily because Mark and I have been trudging through the nitty-gritty of the data we've been given as we prepare to begin writing our long anticipated report. Today as well as last Saturday, however, were much needed breaks from our work that afforded us the opportunity to visit some of the nearby sites of Mayan ruins. These various structures are officially the oldest man-made objects I have seen thus far.

Last Saturday we visited Casa Blanca with Delmy (the Financial and Administrative Manager of our office) and two of her children. Casa Blanca is well known for its indigo. They process/produce the natural dye and use it on site to make some amazing works of art on fabric. The intricacy of some of the designs is astounding. After watching a demonstration on the process of dying fabric we walked back to the pyramid ruins on the grounds. They were not well excavated, which is an ongoing process, but that didn't stop us from being in awe. Unfortunately the site hasn't been developed for tourism yet so there weren't signs to help give us any information. It was a beautiful day, though, and a wonderful introduction to the many structures the Mayans left behind.

Today Mark and I went with Ricardo (the resident mediator in the office) to a string of sites. First we visited Joya de Ceren, which is the Central American Pompeii. This city was buried in 14 layers of volcanic ash, perfectly preserving it. Like Pompeii, it was a residential area but fortunately the eruption was not as catastrophic so the people were able to evacuate the city. Still, their homes were preserved just as they left them. Any structural damage to the buildings can be attributed to the earthquakes that accompanied the eruption. Corn, beans and seeds were preserved in the ash and the voids they left in the ash are amazingly detailed. The buildings themselves are very interesting. The kitchen/eating areas were always in a separate structure from the bedrooms/storerooms. The bedrooms consisted of raised plaster platforms that they would cover with cushions. All of the houses that have been uncovered only has one bedroom meaning everyone in the family slept together in a single room. Remains of the fences used to confine animals as well as the remains of their gardens have been found giving a very complete picture of a relatively simple agrarian lifestyle. So far, only a very small area has been excavated and it is believed there are many more houses buried nearby.

Only a few kilometers away is the San Andrés archaeological site. This was the economic/political/religious center for the people who lived at Joya de Ceren. The original Mayan name of this site has been lost so it is referred to by its colonial name. This is a large complex of pyramids with a large communal plaza. The two main pyramids are the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. Surrounding the Temple of the Sun are several smaller pyramids creating the acropolis complex. This site has not been well excavated and the majority of the pyramids (60-70%) remain buried. The cool thing is you literally can climb to the top of several of the smaller pyramids that are still completely buried and get a bird's-eye view of the site. As a funny side note, after climbing up the pyramids we looked down into what would have been the acropolis courtyard to see 6 or 7 sheep just wandering around eating the grass. Ricardo spoke with a man leading another sheep away from the pyramids and confirmed that the sheep are there purposefully. They keep the grass short and save the people the trouble of needing to maintain the grass. Mayan lawnmowers. This site also has a large and ancient complex for processing indigo. Ricardo pointed out that the plant used to make the dye quite literally grows as a weed in the area even now. They certainly wouldn't have had too much of a problem with their supply of the plant.

Finally, we visited a site called Tazumal. Here we saw the most complete pyramid of the day. Fully excavated and well preserved, this pyramid seemed huge after the other sites. The revelation we learned here was the fact that the Mayans actually built on top of their own pyramids over time. The pyramids at Tazumal are the result of of 3-4 building phases. This is actually fairly new information for the archaeologists who had been studying the site. An earthquake a few years ago knocked loose part of one of the structures revealing an earlier structure below. It was a fascinating day.

I've also updated my photobucket album with a ton of pictures taken over the past month. Here's a new link to it so you can check out all the lovely ruins and beaches I have visited since the beginning of July.

Safe travels to all my friends as they begin to head back to the States. I look forward to seeing everyone again in about 22 days. Yes, I'm keeping track.