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Sunday, September 7, 2008

Beyond ''Apocalypto'': What Maya Empire Looked Like

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Beyond Apocalypto -- What Maya Empire Looked Like

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Shrouded in fabric and surrounded by food and drink, a deceased Maya noble (at bottom left in this recent artist's conception) is well prepared to enter the afterlife, which was seen as a dark underworld ruled by sinister gods.

Here, workers are seen stacking stones to seal the crypt while a priest in a feathered headdress and jaguar skins (above right) chants incantations. Behind him, a bound captive is sacrificed.

The dead nobleman's widow, in white robes and jade, mourns alongside warriors and friends.

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—Illustration by Roy Anderson