Family Renovating Their Kitchen Uncovers Hidden Markings Beneath The Paint
Even in something as ordinary as a home renovation, history hides all around us, waiting to be found. The Ramírez family was stripping old paint from their kitchen walls, only to find some strange markings underneath. Further inspection showed that they'd stumbled upon evidence of a lost era.
A Historical Village
The man who made the historic discovery while fixing up his own home was Lucas Asicona Ramirez. He and is family live in Chajul, a Guatemalan mountain village surrounded by rich history. Within just miles of the humble town lay endless attractions.
Relics of the Past
All around Chajul are ancient ruins, colorful cemeteries, bustling flea markets, and so much more. To make a new discovery in such a historic hub of Central America is impressive feat. Once Lucas told the world what he’d found, news crews came running.
Scraping Away
Lucas had torn away at the layers of paint on the centuries-old wall. Yes, centuries. Look inside their 300-year-old home and you’ll notice the aged foundation, well-used stove, and recently-installed wood and piping. The Ramirez family mistakenly thought their house was typical for their impoverished village.
A Sight to Behold
Once Lucas reached the final layer, he knew his home was special. At first, he thought he’d found some old damage covered with layers of plaster. But as he explored along the wall, Lucas realized that these markings were intentional.
The Figures Underneath
There were colors, lines, shapes, figures… it was an image! Lucas kept chipping until more of the hidden picture was revealed. He saw figures with patterned cloaks, heeled shoes, and strange instruments in their hands. He stopped in fear of causing damage to his amazing discovery!
News Gets Around
Lucas ran to tell his family about the images, and they gathered around to see. Word quickly spread, prompting the arrival of professional archaeologists to finish off the excavation. It took them weeks to uncover the entirety of the hidden imagery! And it wasn’t just the kitchen.
Uncovering More
Painted throughout the Ramirez family’s home was an epic mural. It depicted the people of an ancient Ixil Mayan civilization that once ruled Mesoamerica. That meant the piece was hundreds of years old! However, as historians examined the figures’ clothing, they noticed something strange.
Strange Garments
While some of the people in the paintings were sporting traditional Mayan garb, there were many dressed in very uncommon clothing. At least, uncommon to the region. And yet, the clay used to paint the scenes was indigenous to the area. Who could’ve painted it?
Artists' Identities
As far as execution, all signs pointed to the Mayans. The artwork’s lines and distinctive shapes had that traditional Mayan flare, which chemical analysis later confirmed. Whoever created the work was tasked not only with capturing the fashion of the time, but also the dance moves.
Lost Dances
The paintings depicted men and women shaking around in a blend of dance styles. Some wore feathers and performed traditional moves while others with long beards banged on drums. Historians quickly realized what they were seeing.
A Dark Chapter
The mural depicted the Mayans interacting with the Spaniards who were brutally colonizing the Americas in the early 1500s. The indigenous people were swiftly enslaved and the original name of the country, Cuautehmallan, was reinterpreted as “Guatemala.” So then… why all the dancing?
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Spaniards Take Over
You don’t just go into a country, conquer it, and wipe your hands of responsibility. People will fight back if you don’t convince them to join your side. With this in mind, Christian missionaries from Spain attempted to convert the indigenous population using a language they’d understand.
Culture Clash
The Spanish missionaries learned the traditional dances of the region and adapted them as tools for conversion, successfully shifting the local belief system to Christianity. Some of the dances in Lucas's home were long-lost Mayan traditions. Others were just blatant propaganda from Spanish missionaries.
Propaganda Paintings
There was the Dance of the Conquest, depicting the Spanish invasion of the local Mayans. And then, there was the Dance of the Moors and the Christians, where Spain was shown conquering Muslim kingdoms. But why would local Mayans paint these propagandist murals in the Ramirez family’s home?
Striking Back
It wasn’t long before the indigenous people fought back against Spain. Despite conversion attempts, the Europeans found the Mayans to be “infidels” who needed to be put down by force. This terrible insult to the cultural and mathematical brilliance of Mayan culture sparked a rebellion.
A Secret Society
In an interview with Ruptly, Lucas explained what his family had been told by researchers. One of his great-grandfathers was a key member of a secret group known as the cofradías, or “brotherhood.” They were responsible for organizing religious meetings with an inspiring message that no one could resist.
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Preserving the Past
The cofradías sought to capture every event in their lives, including the dances and traditions of both Mayan and Spanish culture. With the rebellion well underway, many residents were eager to bring back the influence of their indigenous past. Since Lucas's discovery, similar murals have popped up in other parts of Guatemala!
Discoveries Everywhere
Throughout Chajul and the surrounding area, people began hacking away at their walls in hopes of making similar discoveries as the Ramirez family. Many had enormous success! Ivonne Putzeys, an archaeologist from the University of Guatemala in San Carlos, explained why these finds were so incredible.
Unlocking the Murals' Secrets
“We consider these murals to be very unique,” says Ivonne. “It’s tangible heritage that represent[s] real scenes from history.” To work out the entire history, experts needed to communicate with the people who could help them most: the Ixil.
Keeping History Alive
Without the local Ixil people, researchers never would have never been able to identify the key components of these murals. As the paintings now fade from light exposure, photographs are all we have left to remember this chapter of Mayan history. Meanwhile, experts are desperate to uncover other evidence from the region.
Guillermo de Anda
When archeologist Guillermo de Anda and his crew arrived in the ancient city of Chichén Itzá on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, their original mission was to better understand the ancient Maya civilization.
Searching for Cenotes
More specifically, they wanted to access and study what is called a cenote, a sinkhole the ancient tribes believed were portals of access to the underworld. The cenote they sought was allegedly beneath the Temple of Kukulka.
The Cave of the Jaguar God
Their plans changed, however, when a local told them about "The Cave of the Jaguar God." Besides a totally awesome name, the cave was steeped in a history Guillermo couldn't ignore.
Sealed
See, archeologist Víctor Segovia Pinto had visited the cave in 1966 and, in an apparently unspecific report, noted "extensive amounts of archeological material" hidden inside. Instead of excavating it, however, he curiously ordered the cave sealed up.
A Second Chance
Over the next 50 years, most locals of the former-Mayan settlement forgot about Jaguar God. So Guillermo and his crew were delighted by the opportunity to find what Víctor had ignored. They knew what caves meant to the Mayans.
Underworld Connections
As Mayan expert Holley Moyes said, because of their believed connection to the underworld, "Caves and cenotes... represent some of the most sacred spaces for the Maya, ones that also influenced site planning and social organization."
Purified
So, refocusing their energies on the potential of Jaguar God, Guillermo and his crew recruited a Mayan priest to conduct a 6-hour purification ritual. This would ensure their safe journey into the potential holy hot spot.
Offerings
Their offering to the cave guardians was modest: honey, a fermented drink called pozole, and even tobacco, but it got the job done. Officially protected in the eyes of Maya, they entered the long-sealed cave.
Crawl Space
Inside was a claustrophobic's worst nightmare: for well over an hour, Guillermo crawled on his stomach through narrow, twisting tunnels, only a headlamp illuminating the pathway.
An Ancient Presence
Guillermo didn't seem to mind. "I've analyzed human remains in [Chichén Itzá’s] Sacred Cenote," he said. "But nothing compares to the sensation I had entering, alone, for the first time in that cave. You almost feel the presence of the Maya."
"I Started To Cry"
After an hour-and-half of painstakingly slow crawling, his helmet finally illuminated something curious." I couldn't speak," Guillermo recalled of the moment he finally understood what he saw. "I started to cry."
It Belongs In a Museum
It wasn't that he'd finally reached a chamber with enough room to stand up in that made him cry, either. Rather, he'd stumbled upon the archeological equivalent of a winning lotto ticket.
Artifacts
Piles of ancient artifacts lay before him: grinding stones, decorated plates, and more, all in "an excellent state of preservation," despite looking like they were caked in a few billion years' worth of mud.
Preservation
Impressively, thanks to centuries of dripping water, stalactites formed around some of the ancient artifacts and ritual objects, like this incense burner. All in all, there were about 150 well-preserved items in that cave!
Importance
"Thinking about Maya in ancient times going there, through those passageways, crawling with a big incense burner and a torch," Guillermo said, "you see how important these caves were for them."
Information Provided
Along with giving Guillermo newfound respect for the Maya, the cave and the items inside, he knew, would provide invaluable information on the tribe's rituals — and more.
Beginnings and Ends
"Jaguar God can tell us not only the moment of collapse of Chichén Itzá," Guillermo surmised. "It can also probably tell us the moment of its beginning."
Chichén Itzá
"Now we have a sealed context," he continued, "with a great quantity of information, including usable organic matter, that we can use to understand the development of Chichén Itzá."
Climate
More than that, though, experts believe further study of the area will shed some light on the region's climate, and how disastrous droughts possibly led to the Maya's mysterious first demise.
...For the Future
"By studying these caves and cenotes," National Geographic archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert said, "it's possible to learn some lessons for how to best use the environment today, in terms of sustainability for the future."
For this reason, Guillermo believed his work in archeology was truly saving the world. By studying Maya, he said, "we can understand the footprints of humankind's past, and what was happening on Earth during one of the most dramatic moments in history."
But Guillermo's profession was noble for reasons beyond that which he listed. Thousands of miles from Jaguar God, for instance, archeologists used science to answer a 14,000-year-old question about some of our earliest ancestors.
Specifically, the Heiltsuk people, the First Nation indigenous to British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest, have laid claim to the remote Triquet Island for nearly 5,000 years. But archaeologists dismissed their claim of ownership at first for one glaring reason.
The continental glacier that formed over Canada during the last Ice Age would've also covered Triquet Island, making it uninhabitable. But even with the facts stacked against the Heiltsuk, a small group of researchers took it upon themselves to uncover the truth once and for all.
The archaeologists began an extensive excavation of the remote island in the hope of discovering traces of a past civilization. What they found there not only shocked the entire archaeological community, but it also changed history forever.
Beneath several layers of earth, they found remnants of an ancient, wood-burning hearth. But how could this be? According to researchers, it would've been impossible for humans to dig their way through the glacial ice to get to the soil below.
As they continued digging, researchers unearthed additional artifacts, including tools and weapons. This discovery stumped the team as the Heiltsuk people traditionally didn't use tools of this kind.
The Heiltsuk people had derived their food source from fishing and smoking salmon, utilizing small, precise tools to harvest the fish. The tools and weapons found were much larger and likely would've been used to hunt large sea mammals, such as seals, sea lions, and walruses.
What's more, the team also uncovered shards of obsidian, a glass-like rock only found in areas of heavy volcanic activity. This discovery also puzzled the archaeologists, as there were no known volcanoes near that part of British Columbia. So, how did this rock -- and these people -- get there?
The historians deduced that whoever left these artifacts must have traversed the land bridge that existed between Siberia and Alaska during prehistoric times. Yet researchers still needed cold-hard facts...
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