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Definition
Tikal
Tikal, located in the north of the Petén region of Guatemala, was a major Maya city which flourished between 300 and 850 CE. The city, known to the Maya themselves as Mutul, is one of the grandest in Mesoamerica. Amongst the first...
Definition
Easter
Easter is the Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth three days after he died from crucifixion by the Roman magistrate Pontius Pilate (c. 30 CE). Easter Sunday is the culmination of the week-long events that...
Article
Stone Age Tools
As the Stone Age covers around 99% of our human technological history, it would seem there is a lot to talk about when looking at the development of tools in this period. Despite our reliance on the sometimes scarce archaeological record...
Video
What Montezuma's Aztec Sounded Like - and how we know
The Aztecs didn't call him Montezuma. Nor Moctezuma. They didn't call chocolate "chocolate". Heck, they didn't even call themselves Aztec! Though they were an oral culture, we have an idea of what their language really sounded like. Here's...
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Maya Spouted Jar
This spouted vessel is one of the most elegantly sculpted stone containers in the corpus of Maya art. Its form with the vertical spout parallel to the central axis of the main chamber is known from the late 1st millennium B.C. and is especially...
Video
Aztec and Mayan Are Totally Different Languages. Sort of
Ancient Mexico was a hotbed of language mixing. Aztecs and Maya spoke completely unrelated languages, but a Mesoamerican linguistic mindmeld tied them together in surprising ways. Here's the grammar. I'll start with the things that stood...
Video
How to read a Maya glyph
Learn the basics for how to read ancient Maya, and learn to read the glyph for chocolate: cacao!
Video
Uncorking the Past: Ancient Ales, Wines, and Extreme Beverages (Clip 1)
June 4, 2011, The Getty Villa Clip 1: A Fermented Mixed Drink with the "Midas Touch" In three highlight clips from this public lecture, Patrick McGovern, scientific director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory at the University...
Video
Uncorking the Past: Ancient Ales, Wines, and Extreme Beverages (Clip 2)
June 4, 2011, The Getty Villa Clip 2: The World's Earliest Alcoholic Beverage from Jiahu, China In three highlight clips from this public lecture, Patrick McGovern, scientific director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory at the...
