Guatemala (AFP)
A carved stele from around 2,000 years old, discovered in Guatemala, gives indications of the birth of writing in the Mayan culture which dominated southern Mexico and part of Central America, a team of researchers.
The stele, referenced under number 87, was discovered in September 2018 at the Tak'alik Ab'aj archaeological site, in the commune of El Asintal, 125 km southwest of the capital Guatemala. It dates from around 100 BC
"The great importance of stele 87 is that it is an early example of the development of writing in Mesoamerica," explained the German epigraph Nikolai Grube from Mexico City, in a videoconference broadcast at the National Palace of Culture. , in the presence of the Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.
Even if it was not possible to arrive at a "linguistic reading" of the characters, the researcher explained that the figure on the stele of a leader with his name and titles highlights "an early Mayan text ".
Tak'alik Ab'aj was a city inhabited by the Olmecs (1,500 BC - 100 AD) and by the Mayans (800 to 300 BC). The Olmecs then disappeared and the Mayans continued their cultural development.
Guatemalan archaeologist Christa Schieber, site coordinator, believes that Tak'alik Ab'aj played a "laboratory" role for writing "experiences" which then evolved.
In 2012, Guatemalan archaeologists announced the discovery at Tak'alik Ab'aj of the tomb of a king who could have favored the cultural transition between Olmecs and Mayas, between 700 and 400 BC
The Mayan civilization knew its apogee at the time known as classic (250-900 AD) in Mesoamerica, region which includes the south of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize.
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