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Ancient Burial

Photograph courtesy Jesus Lopez

Estrada-Belli carefully brushes debris from an adult male skeleton of a member of the ruling class of Holmul. The body was buried in a tomb beneath the steps leading to the building that contained the frieze.
The Maya routinely built newer structures upon the remains of older ones, both as a way to save time—since the foundations were already in place—and to preserve a sense of continuity of purpose, Canuto explained.
"Buildings were places where things happened—where people were buried and rituals were conducted—so they gained a sense of sacredness that was special and had to be preserved," he said. "So subsequent buildings might have been later expressions of those same rituals."
The skeleton and his associated ceramic offering were preserved by large limestone slabs that kept the tomb free of debris. His incisor and canine teeth had been drilled and filled with jade beads. The decayed remains of a wooden mask were found on his chest.
"While we can't be certain of the identity of this individual, the frieze and inscription provide many possible names and a ton of historical information associated with him," Estrada-Belli said.
Published August 7, 2013
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/08/pictures/130807-maya-frieze-discovered-holmul-guatemala-archaeology/?utm_source=NatGeocom&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=inside_20130815&utm_campaign=Content#/new-maya-frieze-found-archaeologist_70150_600x450.jpg