Deseret News | BYU helps unravel Mayan secrets

Reader comments
Utah scientific: BYU helps unravel Mayan secrets

Montana Ron | 4:06 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

If they prove to be market stalls, it will prove what I have always suspected: that Mayans were the forerunners of those noble Yorkshire folk!

Town Heathan | 4:11 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

Duh....

Why would one waste their time on something like this. Anybody in the transportation business could have told you that if you have a large body of people...your going to have to bring in supplies.

Sure glad I don't have a PHD in searcing for stupid things....

Carl | 4:20 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

I don't know if this has been substanciated by archaeologists yet; but, there was a Mayan yarn about three Nephites setting up a Starbucks stand nearby the market area???

Comments continue below

Anonymous | 4:26 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

We allready have the BOM to tell us of early American life, this research is unnecessary.

Impatient with critics | 6:22 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

Town Heathan [sic]:
Before you presume yourself qualified to judge the relevance of the work of trained archaeologists, perhaps you ought to consider how much you know about common measures of intelligence. For example, do you know how to spell the word "heathen"? How about the word "searching"? Do you know the difference between "your" (possessive pronoun) and "you're" (contraction of 'you are')? Do you know the difference between a question mark and a period?
More relevantly, did you read the part describing the previous theory of a redistribution economy verse a marketplace economy?

washcomom | 7:38 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

I think this is highly interesting, to discover what areas the Mayan were in and what type of industries they were involved in. Very fascinating! Having toured Costa Maya just a few years ago, there are many sites still do be discovered and explored and learn about. Certainly we can learn from past civilizations about what and what not to do in our own society for the better outcome for all.

I wondered... | 8:18 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

I wondered how long it would take before the Mormon bashing began despite the fact this article has nothing to do with Mormons. Didn't take long on this strand.

cougarkeith (utahkeith) | 9:12 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

I agree with "I wondered...", anyway I think this is just one small step closer to finding more and more tiny bits of evidence which will one day link the Mayan civilization to the "Book of Mormon" peoples. Over the course of time more and more tiny tid-bits are being brought to light, and this is just one more. I think their is wonderful research going on which will continually show more and more the reality of the situation. More funny things are some of the money's mentioned in the Book of Mormon are still comonly known to the Mayan decendants. There are a lot of things that are so unknown to the world which just cannot be co-incidence. So NaySayers Nay-Say all you want, it doesn't matter, wrong or right, Truth always will endure the test of time no matter what source it comes from.

How's the digging elsewhere | 10:17 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

Nice and touching article. BTW how is the escavation work in Missouri and upstate New York comming? Have we given up on that front or are we still holding hope?

TO; impatient with critics | 10:54 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

i am not town heathen. but just cause some one cant spell (or one makes a typing mistake) does not make them unintelligent. wow you must be high and mighty and the most intelligent of all. get a life (besides telling people how dumb they are).

Believer in new preface | 11:04 p.m. Dec. 3, 2007

I think it is important to keep I'm mind that the Lamanites are not the "principle" ancestors to the Mayan people, but are simply just "among" their ancestors.

DJ | 12:19 a.m. Dec. 4, 2007

I am so stoked. We are on the edge of somethin' big bro'. I'm waiting in Cali for my calling and I am so stoked for my mission calling. Im hopin' I'll be going to Mexico to be there when it breaks.

CTR,
DJ

Yes | 9:15 a.m. Dec. 4, 2007

Good luck DJ YOU SOUND PUMPED. BRO I HOPE YOU GET TO GO TO MEXICO.

Impatient with critics | 10:00 a.m. Dec. 4, 2007

I would not have taken them to task on their poor spelling, grammar, etc., if they had not been so presumptuous as to declare the research stupid and a waste of time. True, their inability (and yours) to properly use the English language doesn't make them unintelligent, except in that regard. I had hoped that pointing out those mistakes would help them realize that they aren't in a position to criticize.

Another believer in new preface | 10:10 a.m. Dec. 4, 2007

While this information is neat, it probably has very little to do with the Book of Mormon.

Anonymous | 10:47 a.m. Dec. 4, 2007

This relates to Helaman 7:10 where it says the garden of Nephi was by the highway that led to the chief market.

Impatient with impatience | 12:06 p.m. Dec. 4, 2007

IWC: It's interesting that while pointing out others' mistakes you made you own. For example, you said verse instead of versus, and committed a style error by always refering to town heathan with the pronouns "they" and "their" in place of the more appropriate singular designations.

Anonymous | 1:22 p.m. Dec. 4, 2007

Town Heathan-
Do you have a PH.D at all?

Anonymous | 1:34 p.m. Dec. 4, 2007

This story does not have nothing to do with that BOM. Helaman or 3rd and 4th Nephi. Interesting but I agree with the other comments. Bad Grammer and poor story content.

ED CLINCH | 9:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 2007

Anthopology is a combination social and hard science.

It has its value, but it won't lead to much spiritual depth. It is a nice supplementary source for things that we already believe by other means.

And many of those means outside of science are quite valid, in my opinion. Subjectivity is our ultimate mechanism of discerning truth.

I wish there were more articles like this.

Reveals | 4:57 a.m. Dec. 7, 2007

I am excited with these kinds of stuff, learning about the past by using modern day intelligence. No animal can study their past as humans do. I think there so much knowledge of Mayan way of life that it still unknown despite the fact there have been extensive studies made.
I am eager to know the outcome of your analysis.

Cedar City | 8:18 a.m. Dec. 7, 2007

I'm not much for posting comments on the ends of news articles, as if I have any special expertise. But I noticed the first few of these ones, then read the whole strand out of curiosity. I'm frustrated to see that there are those of you who seem to read news articles with only the critical eye of anger toward a group who sees things differently than you, even if that has nothing to do with the article itself. Have you nothing better to do with your time than mock and scorn?
This article is about anthropological and archaeological research about the Mayan people's way of life, and it's ridiculous that any of you (unless you're a professional archaeologist yourself, with a grand knowledge of the Mayan people) should judge what these students and scientists were doing. And for those of you who attribute this to Mormon research, note that the leading archaeologist was not from BYU, nor was one of his colleagues.

mttwinmom | 10:51 a.m. Dec. 8, 2007

I didn't see any reference to FARMS or Dr. Sorenson. Are they involved in this at all? If you want more really cool insights, read Sorenson's book "An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon." All very well researched and laid out. Not given as proof - simply this man's opinion. He has some very impressive stuff.

Just remember - the scriptures were never intended to be proven, but always taken on faith. Our first principle isn't of proof - just faith. All the rest is cool, but doesn't get us where we want to go.

Scott | 11:05 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Why can't we appreciate a story about a scientific discovery, without feeling the need to somehow tie it to the BOM? Or FARMS? Sheesh.

Philly | 1:00 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Amen to that. This is anthropology and archaeology, not a debate about theology. The verdict: cool, it looks like the Mayans had a market economy from at least 300 to 900 A.D.!

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