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Tomb of ancient Mayan king discovered
Crypt packed with carvings, ceramics, textiles and bones of six children.

You can read the full article at: Tomb Of Ancient Mayan King

This is such an interesting find. I am anxious to read more about their discoveries in the tomb.

What an exciting discovery! I can't wait to see the goodies they've discovered.

It is a wonder when these discoveries are made. What an insight in to early civilizations. So many of these early people were alike - it causes one to think that they all knew each other or had traveled freely between nations - I guess when the continents were closer together, it was easier to get around.

It amazes me how well traveled the Ancients were. Mass spec analysis on King Tut's mummy showed traces of nicotine and cocaine. From South American? With this tomb being so old and intact, it will be interesting to see if it contains any Egyptian connections.

Great article. I haven't studied Mayan history so the sacrificing was a bit to digest. It will be interesting to hear more though.

As I was typing this I wonder if the disappearing of the civilization didn't have to do with social unrest? That doesn't have much to do with the article, it just popped into my head.

There is still much speculation as to what happened to the Mayan Empire and why it was all abandoned. Many scholars believe it was natural occurances, diseases, or famine, or all of the above. There are still decendants of the Mayans in the area, but they live in the towns and cities. The ruins of the ancient civilization are just sitting under centuries of jungle growth.

Patrick DuPree, a French archaeologist digging in the jungle surrounding Tikal (the "flower of the Mayan empire") in 2001, remarked that over 90 percent of the Mayan ruins at Tikal have not yet been uncovered.

The Mayans of today apparently do not believe, as most others do, that the end of the world is coming in 2012 -- they believe it will be the end of the "materialistic needs era" and the beginning (or return) of a more spiritual consciousness throughout the world.

There is also speculation that the ancient Mayans were decendants of the Lemurians and therefore had a connection to Atlantis. I tend to believe this, for the Mayans were far more technologically advanced than other societies at that time and their technology and mathematical genius astounds scientists and scholars of today.

As with the ancient Anasazi civilization, no one really knows for sure why they left their homes, their great achievements and blended in with other peoples.

Great show on National Geographic Channel last night, "America Before Columbus" Highlighted the demise of the NA ways of life...

Discussed the cross-oceanic influences of both cultures o eah other; i.e., diseases, plant foods, animals, etc.

Looks like it replays on the 26th. I caught the last half o the 1st showing & DVR'd the 11pm replay.

From the little I know, I tend to agree with the theory the Mayans exhausted their natural resources. Their technical advances may have caused a population increase which was not sustainable. Depletion of resources would have logically lead to warfare, famine and disease. There is also ongoing research into climate changes around the time of their social collapse.

One has to wonder how many times must we humans repeat this before we learn not to be extravagant and wasteful. I do agree with the theory of the Mayans obtaining knowledge from outside sources. Not sure what those sources may have been, survivors from a previous civilization we have yet to discover, or perhaps from elsewhere. This in no way diminishes the mental prowess of the Ancient Maya. They were smart and highly skilled.

But it is confusing. One would think knowledge received from an advanced culture would include the mandate for careful management of natural resources. Perhaps it was, and was ignored. Again, How many times.......

I am sure you are right, lcp. Exhausting their resources must have been a major part of why they abandoned their empire.

It is similar to what happened during the great depression. Farmers all abandoned their homes and lands because it was just not sustainable. They all left and headed west.