In Mexico, ancient Maya cave reveals mysterious painted hand prints
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Saturday
August 13, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022
In Mexico, ancient Maya cave reveals mysterious painted hand prints

World+Biz

Reuters
02 May, 2021, 11:20 am
Last modified: 02 May, 2021, 11:25 am

Related News

  • Cuba fire rages at fuel storage port; Mexico, Venezuela sending help
  • Mexico arrests drug lord Caro Quintero, wanted for killing US agent
  • Mexico president doubles down on Hitler comparison with Jewish analyst after protest
  • Mexican govt empowers citizens with REVE chatbot
  • Death toll from migrants found in truck in Texas reaches 50, Mexico says

In Mexico, ancient Maya cave reveals mysterious painted hand prints

The 137 prints, mostly made by the hands of children, are more than 1,200 years old

Reuters
02 May, 2021, 11:20 am
Last modified: 02 May, 2021, 11:25 am
Hand prints, reportedly 1,200 years old, are seen on the cave walls, in Merida, Mexico April 2021, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. SERGIO GROSJEAN/Handout via REUTERS
Hand prints, reportedly 1,200 years old, are seen on the cave walls, in Merida, Mexico April 2021, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. SERGIO GROSJEAN/Handout via REUTERS

Dozens of black and red hand prints cover the walls of a cave in Mexico, believed to be associated with a coming-of-age ritual of the ancient Maya, according to an archaeologist who has explored and studied the subterranean cavern.

The 137 prints, mostly made by the hands of children, are more than 1,200 years old, which would date them near the end of the ancient Maya's classical zenith, when major cities across present-day southern Mexico and Central America thrived amid major human achievements in math and art.

The cave is located near the northern tip of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, where the towering pyramids of urban centres like Uxmal and Chichen Itza still stand, and lies some 33 feet (10 meters) below a large ceiba tree, which the Maya consider sacred.

Archaeologist Sergio Grosjean argues that the hand prints were likely made by children as they entered puberty, due to an analysis of their size, with the colours providing a clue to their meaning.

"They imprinted their hands on the walls in black... which symbolized death, but that didn't mean they were going to be killed, but rather death from a ritual perspective," he said.

"Afterwards, these children imprinted their hands in red, which was a reference to war or life," he added.

Other Mayan artifacts found in the cave include a carved face and six painted relief sculptures, which date from between 800-1,000 A.D., a time when severe drought struck the region and may have contributed to the classical Maya's sudden abandonment of major cities.

While the first Mayan settlements date back nearly 4,000 years, there were still large centres when Spanish conquerors arrived in the early 1500s.

Several million Maya continue to live in communities scattered across southeastern Mexican states like Chiapas and Campeche, in addition to Guatemala and Belize.

Mexico / Maya / cave / mysterious / hand prints

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Ctg megaprojects get costlier from rising dollar, faulty plan
    Ctg megaprojects get costlier from rising dollar, faulty plan
  • Salman Rushdie. Photo: BBC
    Salman Rushdie may lose eye, is on ventilator, his agent says
  • Roundtable: Global energy crisis and challenges of Bangladesh
    Roundtable: Global energy crisis and challenges of Bangladesh

MOST VIEWED

  • British author Salman Rushdie listens during an interview with Reuters in London April 15, 2008. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo
    Reactions to the attack on writer Salman Rushdie
  • Photo: Collected
    Taliban fighters swap arms for books as hundreds return to school
  • Pedestrians walk across Nevsky Avenue in central Saint Petersburg, Russia May 28, 2022. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
    Russian economy shrinks 4% in second quarter as sanctions weigh
  • The Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner sits on the tarmac before a delivery ceremony to Singapore Airlines at the Boeing South Carolina Plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Randall Hill
    Wide-body jet demand humming again as Boeing 787 rejoins the fray
  • A Peloton exercise bike is seen after the ringing of the opening bell for the company's IPO at the Nasdaq Market site in New York City, September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton//File Photo
    Peloton to cut jobs, shut stores and raise prices in company-wide revamp
  • The logo of Italian payments group Nexi is pictured outside their headquarters in Milan, Italy, March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo/File Photo
    Bruised by a valuation freefall, payments companies brace for M&A

Related News

  • Cuba fire rages at fuel storage port; Mexico, Venezuela sending help
  • Mexico arrests drug lord Caro Quintero, wanted for killing US agent
  • Mexico president doubles down on Hitler comparison with Jewish analyst after protest
  • Mexican govt empowers citizens with REVE chatbot
  • Death toll from migrants found in truck in Texas reaches 50, Mexico says

Features

Toes and talons of Shikra. Photo; Enam Ul Haque

Shikra: A leopard with wings!

29m | Panorama
Photo: Noor-A-Alam

Around the world in 10 days: A chance to taste global cuisines

1h | Food
Lobbyists float ludicrous arguments to prevent tobacco control act amendment

Lobbyists float ludicrous arguments to prevent tobacco control act amendment

1h | Panorama
Will US-China tensions boil over?

Will US-China tensions boil over?

2h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Birds under increasing threat from plastic waste

Birds under increasing threat from plastic waste

14m | Videos
Rainwater no longer safe to drink anywhere on Earth

Rainwater no longer safe to drink anywhere on Earth

19m | Videos
The ship that was sunk to kill a journalist

The ship that was sunk to kill a journalist

16h | Videos
What's next after searching Trump's house

What's next after searching Trump's house

1d | Videos

Most Read

1
Dollar crisis: BB orders removal of 6 banks’ treasury chiefs 
Banking

Dollar crisis: BB orders removal of 6 banks’ treasury chiefs 

2
Photo: Collected
Transport

Will Tokyo’s traffic model solve Dhaka’s gridlocks?

3
Diesel price hiked by Tk34 per litre, Octane by Tk46
Energy

Diesel price hiked by Tk34 per litre, Octane by Tk46

4
Representational Image. Photo: Collected
Bangladesh

Air passengers should plan extra commute time to airport: DMP

5
Arrest warrant against Habib Group chairman, 4 others 
Crime

Arrest warrant against Habib Group chairman, 4 others 

6
File Photo: State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid
Energy

All factories to remain closed once a week under rationing system

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net