Mayan 'Nesting Doll Pyramid ' Discovered in Mexico

3D Imaging of the discovery within the famous Kukulkan pyramid at Chichen Itza.
Image Courtesy of the British Broadcast Channel.

November 17, 2016.     

The pyramid of Kukulkan is an ancient religious structure built by the Mayans whose culture boomed around the classical period from 250 to 900 AD. The structure seems to be built up in even intervals, BBC  gives a good description on how the pyramids were constructed “A 10-metre-tall pyramid was found within another 20-meter structure, which itself is enveloped by the 30-meter exterior” (Agence France-Presse,1). The pyramid was recently found to have been constructed atop two more structures which predate it. The three structures were built in a manner resembling how Russian nesting dolls are made. As to the reason for this construction style, BBC states “Structures were built on top of each other for various reasons, including deterioration or the arrival of new leadership” (Agence France-Presse,1).

     The discovery of these structures has a huge implication on what we know about Mayan culture. This structure was not only an important religious to the Maya but also built atop a sacred sinkhole lake. These successive structures would have been of great importance to the Maya, So if it had been built in three stages that would mean a great change in the Mayan people had to have occurred during those times.

        To read the full article, click here

For more information, 

Visit:

• Maya
• History Channel.com
• Subterranean river discovered beneath Mexico's Chichen Itza ruins
• Associated Press, The Guardian, August 13, 2015.
• Pyramind of Kukulkan at Chich'en Itza
• Atlas Obscura
• Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen Itza
• UNESCO World Heritage
• Living Maya Time- Sun, Corn and the Calendar Online Exhibit
• National Museum of the American Indian.
• Aztec and Maya Law: An Online Exhibit and Bibliography
• The University of Texas at Austin: Tarleton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research
• Maya Rise & Fall Map
• National Geographic.
• El Castillo, Chichén Itzá
• Ancient Observatories, Exploratorium.
• Institute of Archaeology Belmopan Belize
• National Institute of Culture and History
• Archaeology in Belize
• Maya Setting
• Pre History
• Mayan Time Periods
• The Spanish Conquest
• The Maya Cultural Achievements
• Astronomy, Calendrics and Mathematics
• Agriculture
• Writing
• Cosmology and Religion
• Architecture and Art
• National Museum of the American Indian Youtube.
• The Descent of Kukulkán
• Zenith Passage at Chichén Itzá
• Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza (UNESCO/NHK)
• UNESCO Youtube.
• Clues from Ancient Maya Reveal Lasting Impact on Environment
• September 21, 2015.
• On the Trail of Mesoamerican Jade: an Archaeologist in Training
• April 29, 2016.
• First Day of Spring Marked with Sun Daggers, Light Snakes
• April 22, 2016
• The Sport of Life and Death: The Mesoamerican Ballgame
• January 26, 2016.
• Living Maya Time: Sun, Corn, and the Calendar
• October 27, 2015.
• Clues From Ancient Maya Reveal Lasting Impact on Environment
• September 21, 2015.
• Library of Congress Collections: Rare Book & Special Collections Reading Room
• August 11, 2015.
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Which Contain Earthworks or Monumental Architecture*
• May 12, 2015.
• UNESCO World Heritage Center's Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy
• April 21, 2015.
• Celestial Timekeeping
• April 8, 2015.

Reviving An Indigenous Language for Everyday Use

Photo Courtesy of Aubs Momberg.

December 26, 2016.

Adrian Jawort of Indian Country Today raised attention on the efforts Robert Hall (Blackfeet) from Montana who has been fighting to spread the dwindling language of the Blackfoot Nation. He tells of the difference in how many people speak his native language Pikuni between his childhood and today, where he grew up. Expanding of how native American languages have suffered since the time of Columbus. "American Indian children in both Canada and the United States were forcibly taken from families and sent to boarding schools …They were beaten for speaking the languages first heard across these lands”.

Maatoomsstatoos’s (known as Robert Hall) life changed after his professor told him of the benefits in learning and speaking his native language. His professor Stephen Greymorning (Arapaho) taught him that to know your native language is to know you ancestors through how they spoke and thought. Maatoomsstatoos volunteers to teach classes throughout the reservation on a weekly basis, hosts a local radio broadcast that highlights Pikuni learning, and is in the publishing process for a book on schedule to be published in 2017.

To read more, click here

For more information,

Visit:

• Blackfeet Nation
• Blackfoot Language Lesson Verbs 1
• Robert Hall's Youtube Channel
• Learning the Blackfoot Language Facebook Group
• Glenbow Museum
• Niitsitapiisini | Our Way of Life (Available in Blackfoot, English, & French) Virtual Exhibit
• Teacher Toolkit
• Ogoki Learning Inc.
• Blackfoot Language App (iTunes)
• Blackfoot Community College
• Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center
• Student Files
• Images
• Publications
• Lists & Rosters
• Collections
• Websites
• National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
• "The Northern Arapaho Tribal Historic Preservation Office hopes to return the remains of three Carlisle Indian School students buried in Pennsylvania to the Wind River Indian Reservation and their respective families"
• Alejandra Silva, Daily Journal, February 10, 2016.
• Carlisle Indian School Students Database
• Gettysburg College
• U.S. Army Garrison, Carlisle Barracks
• "American Indian Boarding Schools: An Exploration of Global Ethnic & Cultural Cleansing; A Supplementary Curriculum Guide" (PDF)
• Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, 2011.
• The Residential School System (Canada)
• Indigenous Foundations, The University of British Columbia.
• Death by Boarding School: "The Last Acceptable Racism" and the United States' Genocide of Native Americans" (PDF)
• Ann Piccard, Gonzaga Law Review, Vol. 49. 2013.
• "Let All That is Indian Within You Die!" (PDF)
• Native American Rights Fund Legal Review. Volume 38, Number 2. Summer/Fall 2013.
• "American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many"
• NPR, May 19, 2008.
• The Piegan Institute
• The Blackfoot Language
• Don Frantz, University of Lethbridge.
• Bring Them Home': Rosebud Sioux Seeking Return of Relatives Buried at Carlisle Indian Industrial School
• Indian Country Today, February 18, 2016.