Colgate anthropology professor Allan Maca and a team of researchers have found a previously unknown tomb in Copán, Honduras, dating back to the 7th century A.D. that contained the skeleton of an elite member of ancient Maya society in the city.
The unusual characteristics of the tomb’s construction, the human remains, and the artifacts found near the body, according to Maca, paint a picture of an urban state that was more politically complex and culturally diverse than was previously thought.
As reported this month by National Geographic News and the Honduran press, Maca and his group — which includes Kristin Landau, who graduated this May from Colgate — discovered the tomb in 2005 in Copán, an ancient city near the western edge of Honduras where the country borders Guatemala.
Over the past two years, they have excavated and studied the tomb and its contents, with funding support from the National Geographic Society and Colgate.
“Combined with other characteristics, it is becoming clear that this discovery provides unprecedented evidence for political complexity and cultural diversity at Copán during the early part of the Late Classic period [A.D. 600 to 750],” said Maca.
For more, see the Colgate University website.
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