- A group of scientists unearthed a large piece of carved mayan jade pendant inscribed with a historical text describing its first owner.
- The pendant once belonged to an ancient Maya king.
- The T-shaped pendant is remarkable for being the second largest Mayan jade found in Belize to date.
- The mayan jade pendant measures 7.4 inches in width, 4.1 inches in height and 0.3 inches in thickness.
- The pendant is the only one known to be inscribed with a historical text. On the back of the pendant, 30 hieroglyphs about its first owner are carved.
- The front of the pendant is carved with a T. It is the Mayan glyph “ik” which stands for “wind and breath.
- The pendant was buried in a T-shaped platform.
- A vessel with a beaked face, probably a Maya god of wind, was also unearthed with the pendant.
- Researchers estimated that the pendant was buried as a dedication to the wind god.
Mayan Civilization: Know More
- The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya people.
- The civilization is noted for its hieroglyphic script, which is the only discovered fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas.
- The civilization is also noted for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar and astronomical system. The Maya civilization grew in an area that covers southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador.
- The Preclassic period (2000 BC to 250 AD) saw the beginning of the first complex societies in the Maya region.
- The first Maya cities developed around 750 BC. These cities possessed extensive architecture by 500 BC.