Maya Dynasty

The Times March 20th … see Register: Archaeology. The Journal of Anthropological Archaeology reports that scientific analysis has shown one of the Maya kings was an outsider. He came and conquered the city of Copan in the 5th century AD – founding a new dynasty that lasted for a further 400 years. The dates here are very interesting, as they coincide with blips in climate – usually manifested by drought in the Maya lands as a result of shifting monsoon patterns of rainfall. The 5th century and the 9th century AD were periods in NW Europe when cold and wet weather was a problem – and in general this coincided with a shift in the monsoon further south. His name, ‘sun faced blue-green quetzal macaw’ is a combination of two birds but with the proviso of a sun like appearance – might this be cometary in nature? Strontium and oxygen isotopes of his remains show that his origin was 250km away – in what is now Belize. He appears to have come from the Maya city of Caracol in 426AD – but was he driven by drought?