Piedras Negras is the modern name for a ruined city of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization located on the north bank of the Usumacinta River in the Petén department of Guatemala. The name Piedras Negras means "black stones" in Spanish. Its name in the language of the Classic Maya has been read in Maya inscriptions as Yo'k'ib', meaning "great gateway" or "entrance"^[1], considered a possible reference to a large and now dry sinkhole nearby.^[2] Some authors think that the name is Paw Stone, but is more likely to be the name of the founder as hieroglyphs on Throne 1 and altar 4 show. The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas continent. ... This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... The Usumacinta River, taken from Chiapas. ... El Petén Petén is a department of the nation of Guatemala. ... The Classic Maya language is the oldest historically attested member of the Maya language family. ... Maya glyphs in stucco at the Museo de sitio in Palenque, Mexico The Maya script, commonly known as Maya hieroglyphs, was the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only deciphered script of the Mesoamerican writing systems. ... Devils Hole near Hawthorne, Florida, USA. A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline (in the Slovene language dolina means valley) or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by... Hieroglyphs or hieroglyphics can be: Characters from a logographic or partly logographic writing system, such as Egyptian hieroglyphs Anatolian hieroglyphs (also known as Luwian hieroglyphs) Cretan hieroglyphs Mayan hieroglyphs (the best known of about half a dozen documented Mesoamerican writing systems) Míkmaq hieroglyphic writing Colloquially, any handwritten characters which...

Stela 1, Piedras Negras - Dated 5 July 674.

Piedras Negras seems to have been an independent city-state for most of the Classic Period, although sometimes in alliance with other states of the region and perhaps paying tribute to others at times. It had an alliance with Yaxchilan, some 40 km up river. Ceramics show the site was occupied from the mid-7th century BC to 850 AD. Its most impressive period of sculpture and architecture dated from about 608 through 810, although there is some evidence that Piedras Negras was already a city of some importance since 400 AD. The artistry of the sculpture of the late classic period of Piedras Negras is considered particularly fine. The site has two ball courts and several plazas; there are vaulted palaces and temple pyramids, including one that is connected to one of the many caves in the site. Along the banks of the river is a large boulder with the emblem glyph of Yo’ki’b carved on it, facing skyward. Download high resolution version (252x617, 71 KB)Stela 1, Piedras Negras, Guatemala. ... Download high resolution version (252x617, 71 KB)Stela 1, Piedras Negras, Guatemala. ... is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Dagobert II and Theuderic I succeed Childeric II as king(s) of the Franks First glass windows placed in English Churches Arabic siege of Constantinople begins Cenfus and then Aescwine succeed to the throne of Wessex Births Deaths Wulfhere, king of Mercia Seaxburh, queen of Japan - Temmu Emperor of... One of the pyramids on the upper terrace of Yaxchilan. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 7th century BC started on January 1, 700 BC and ended on December 31, 601 BC. // Overview Events Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria who created the the first systematically collected library at Nineveh A 16th century depiction of the Hanging Gardens of... Events April 20 - Guntherus becomes Bishop of Cologne. ... Events September 15 - Boniface IV becomes pope. ... 8-10 is also going to be the Toronto Raptors record as of Dec. ... Events First invasion of Italy by Alaric (probable date). ...

A unique feature of the monuments at Piedras Negras is the frequent occurrence of the so-called "artists' signatures". Individual artists have been identified by the use of recurring glyphs on stelae and other reliefs.

Before the site was abandoned, some monuments were deliberately damaged, including images and glyphs of rulers defaced, but images and glyphs of deities left intact, suggesting a revolt or conquest by people literate in Maya writing.

See: Itsamk'anahk II. Itsamkanahk II (born May 22, 626 CE) was the second of the Seven Holy Kings of Piedras Negras, a Maya city-state, known also as Yokib. ...

Modern history of the site

The site was first explored, mapped, and its monuments photographed by Teoberto Maler at the end of the 19th century. Teoberto Maler or Teobert Maler (12 January 1842 – 22 November 1917) was an explorer who devoted his energies to documenting the ruins of the Maya civilization. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

An archeological project at Piedras Negras was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania from 1931 to 1939 under the direction of J. Alden Mason and Linton Satterthwaite. Further archaeological work here was conducted from 1997 to 2000, directed by Stephen Houston of Brigham Young University and Hector Escobedo of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, with permission from the Instituto de Antropología e Historia de Guatemala (IDAEH). This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ... Stephen D. Houston (1958—) is an American anthropologist, epigrapher and Mayanist scholar, who is particularly renowned for his research into the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. ... Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah, is the flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church). ... The Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (University of the Valley of Guatemala) is a private, not-for-profit, secular university located in Guatemala City, Guatemala. ...

Mayanist Tatiana Proskouriakoff was the first to decipher the names and dates of a Maya dynasty from her work with the monuments at this site, a breakthrough in the decipherment of the Maya Script. Prouskourikoff was buried here in Group F after her death in 1985. Mayanist is a term which has been in widespread use from the late 19th century onwards, to refer to scholars who have specialised in research and study of the Central American pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... Tatiana Proskouriakoff (1909-1985) was a Mayanist. ... Maya glyphs in stucco at the Museo de sitio in Palenque, Mexico The Maya script, commonly known as Maya hieroglyphs, was the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only deciphered script of the Mesoamerican writing systems. ...

In 2002 the World Monuments Fund earmarked 100,000 United States dollars for the conservation of Piedras Negras. It is today part of Guatemala's Sierra del Lacandon national park. The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic art and architecture worldwide through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, UK A national park is a reserve of land, usually declared and owned by a national government, protected from most human development and pollution. ...

Notes and references

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External Links

• Description and Photo Gallery