Mayan hieroglyphics discovered dating to 3rd century BC

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2006

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Hieroglyphics discovered in an ancient Mayan temple in Guatemala date to the third century BC, showing Mayan writing developed much earlier than believed, according to research.

The hieroglyphics, found on a block of stone in the Mayan pyramid Las Pinturas in San Bartolo, northeastern Guatemala, were dated to 200 to 300 BC, placing Mayan writing together with the earliest examples of script elsewhere in Mesoamerica, said the study published in the January 6 edition of Science.

Researchers led by anthropologist William Saturno of the University of New Hampshire examined the writings on a fragment of painted block from a room richly decorated with polychrome murals deep inside the pyramid.

The block had ten Mayan hieroglyphs painted in heavy...