Watching Archaeology

Discovery of the first evidence for Pre-Columbian sources of Maya Blue: "

Once again, science and anthropology have teamed up to solve questions concerning the fascinating, brilliantly hued pigment known as Maya Blue. Impervious to the effects of chemical or physical weathering, the pigment was applied to pottery, sculpture, and murals in Mesoamerica largely during the Classic and Postclassic periods (AD 250-1520), playing a central role in ancient Maya religious practice. This unusual blue paint was used to coat the victims of human sacrifice and the altars on which they were dispatched."

BBC News - Mexico mass grave was 'ancient cemetery' in Chiapas:

"Anthropologists in Mexico say the remains of 167 bodies found in a cave in the southern state of Chiapas were part of an ancient burial ground."

Pre-Colombian Maya statues found at archaeological site in Mexico:

"Mexican researchers have found in the archaeological zone of Toniná, State of Chiapas, two stone sculptures representing captive warriors belonging to the allied Maya states of Palenque, Mexico and Copán, Honduras."

Pictures: Human Sacrifice Found in Maya City Sinkhole:

"The bones of six humans—including two children—jade beads, shells, and stone tools are among the Maya "treasures" recently found in a water-filled cave off a sinkhole at the famous archaeological site of Chichén Itzá (picture) in Mexico, archaeologists say. The ancient objects are most likely related to a ritual human sacrifice during a time when water levels were lower, sometime between A.D. 850 and 1250, the researchers say."

(Via National Geographic.)

BBC News - Mild drought caused Maya collapse in Mexico, Guatemala:

"Relatively mild drought conditions may have been enough to cause the collapse of the Classic Maya civilisation, which flourished until about AD950 in what is now southern Mexico and Guatemala."