Micro-camera explores Maya tomb!

Micro-camera explores Maya tomb!

photoblog.msnbc.msn.com

A tiny remote-controlled camera is providing remarkable photographic views of an apparently intact 1,500-year-old Maya tomb that's thought to hold a ruler's remains.

The 2-inch-long camera was lowered into a vault inside a pyramid at the Palenque archaeological site, in the hills of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. Archaeologists have known about the vault since 1999, but the only access to the room was through a small shaft in the pyramid — just big enough to fit the micro-camera through.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Check out the amazing pictures. There was so much to that civilization. It is the Egypt of south america. Nice pictures. When I saw the weird blood red paintings, I actually thought it was blood for a second. Reminds me of parts of that Mel Gibson movie Apocalypto, didn't see the whole thing.




photoblog.msnbc.msn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I'm sure the Catholic Church has their own vault of knowledge from the Maya. Shame they slaughtered so many people and eliminated their history.

Super cool! Thanks for posting. S&F and all that high-five stuff.

I love seeing things that nobody has seen for almost forever. Can't wait to see more.

MM

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


Great stuff. I do love the Mayan civilisation and the temples and cities they created.
I hope this exploration discovers another untold story from these amazing people.

Thanks for posting this professional

Is that cinnabar all over those walls?

Thanks for the link - very cool stuff.

reply to post by Mr Mask

I love seeing things that nobody has seen for almost forever. Can't wait to see more.

How about a politician with a brain, no one on earth has ever seen one of those.

Interestingly, thats the area where that tomb cover looks like a Mayan in a rocketship...

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


It's amazing the red colour has stayed so vivid.

I'm going to Mexico in July, Chichen Itza is one of the ruins I'll be lucky enough to see.

reply to post by JonoEnglish


wow youre sooo lucky!!!!!!!

reply to post by HomerinNC


I know, I can't wait. All inclusive for two weeks...sun, warm sea and a free bar!!!!,.....whhooohooo

Gotta post that vid from the site. Some great footage. Can't understand it but the pictures are well worth it.

Thanks for the Thread. Great stuff. SnF


Found this interesting as well. Not uncommon but a rarity as it seems to be the tomb of a female ruler.
www.msnbc.msn.com...

The images had circulated among researchers and been posted on the Internet, and Stuart said that some evidence suggests the tomb "is the burial of a noted female ruler of Palenque named Ix Yohl Ik'nal, based on the date and on the identities of ancestral figures painted on the walls."

And this may explain the red pigment on the walls:

It would not be the first tomb of a female noble found at Palenque; in 1994 archaeologists found the tomb of a woman dubbed The Red Queen because of the red pigment covering her tomb. But it has never been established that she was a ruler of Palenque, and her tomb dates from a later period, between 600 and 700.

is it just me or does anyone else see the lizard infront of what appears to be a door?

reply to post by JonoEnglish


awesome! you'll have an amazing time. go to tulum also,it is worth it. Also it will be hothothothothot and humidhumidhumid.
peace

reply to post by hadriana


I thought the same so I went lookin' and found this article. ambergriscaye.com...

It seems it is most likely from a tree

Here is the coolest part of the article talking about how the saying "red-handed" came from.

Now I know you are going to find this hard to believe, but most of the Spaniards in the New World did not want to pay their taxes to the Spanish Crown. There was a twenty percent tax of New 'Raid products going back to spat, (you thought do VAT was Oil! 0 and the Spanish devised numerous ways to smuggle gold and silver to dodge the "quinta royale." No of the move clever schemes was to cast the gold and silver into pieshaped wedges and place them in the bottom of the barrels that contained dye materials. When me MAN arrived in Spain the custom agents would poke around in me dyestuff to make sure nothing was hidden in the barrels, never realizing that the bottom of the barrel was filled with pie-shaped wedges of precious nods. Eventually, however, someone followed the barrels to the owners warehouse and observed do workers reaching into me barrels to reOwe do gold and. silver from the bottom. The moisture on the arm of the mates mixed with me dye. Thereafter, all the customs agents had to do was enter the warehouse and arrest those with red dye on their arm. Yes, folks, they were "caught red handed"!!!

cool thread

Sweet! I've been to Palenque, Tulum, Coba, Chitzen Itza (sp?) and I highly recommend anyone who loves history and archaeology to check these places out. I was a kid, 16 at the time, so I was more interested in chasing tail, and I wished I would have paid more attention to our tour guides. These places were amazing.

Originally posted by JonoEnglish
reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

 

It's amazing the red colour has stayed so vivid.

I'm going to Mexico in July, Chichen Itza is one of the ruins I'll be lucky enough to see.

I was lucky enough to be able to climb the pyramid at Chichen Itza some years ago but sadly I think it's no longer allowed

Originally posted by JonoEnglish
reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

 

It's amazing the red colour has stayed so vivid.

I'm going to Mexico in July, Chichen Itza is one of the ruins I'll be lucky enough to see.

Also I'm guessing you are staying at either Playacar or Cancun? Try and take a fatcat tour, day long catamaran trip which is fantastic, but expect to get wet! Talking of getting wet, July can be a rainy month over there