MAYAN ROCK ART IN GEORGIA?

Forsythe petroglyph boulder, Georgia.
http://ts1.mm. bing.netthid=H.4516085962048560&pid=15.1

Forsythe petroglyph boulder, Georgia. http://www.examiner

.com/article/mayan-message-of-doom-carved-on-north-

georgia-boulder-new-research-reveals.

A brand new television series aired on 28 December, 2012, on History2 channel titled America Unearthed follows the adventures and logic(?) of Scott Wolter, a forensic geologist, as he tackles some of the tough, unanswered questions in American history – where have we heard this before? Episode 1, Season 1, was titled American Maya Secrets, and purports to prove that there was pre-Columbian Mayan presence in Georgia.

One piece of evidence was the Forsythe Petroglyph boulder which he declared was “so Mayan in appearance.” As you can see just about the only thing similar between the Forsythe Petroglyph boulder and Mayan petroglyphs is that they are both petroglyphs, carved into rock. Wolter interviewed a “rock art expert” who asserted that the markings on the Forsythe boulder were astronomical and fit the patterns of constellations. Apparently, the row of pits along the top spine of the boulder were some kind of counting system, this indicating a recurring astronomical phenomenon. Since we all know that the Mayans were consummate astronomers this proves the connection, doesn’t it?

Another piece of evidence he cited was that Mayan blue pigment was made with the special ingredient of palygorskite clay, which he claimed is rare in the Yucatan but common in Georgia.

According to Wikipedia “Palygorskite is known to have been a key constituent of the pigment called "Maya Blue", which was used notably by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica on ceramics, sculptures, murals and (most probably) Maya textiles. The clay mineral was also used by the Maya as a curative for certain illnesses, and there is evidence to show it was also added to pottery temper. A Maya region source for palygorskite was unknown until the 1960s, when one was found at a cenote on the Yucatan Peninsula near the modern township of Sacalum, Yucatan. A second possible site was more recently (2005) identified, near Ticul, Yucatan. The Maya Blue synthetic pigment was also manufactured in other Mesoamerican regions and used by other Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Aztecs of central Mexico. The blue coloration seen on Maya and Aztec codices, and early colonial-era manuscripts and maps, is largely produced by the organic-inorganic mixture of anil leaves and palygorskite, with smaller amounts of other mineral additives. Human sacrificial victims in Postclassic Mesoamerica were frequently daubed with this blue pigmentation.” (Wikipedia) This doesn’t sound that “rare” to me.

To examine this evidence Wolter submitted a sample of palygorskite from Georgia and what he claimed was a sample of the Mayan blue paint from an actual Mayan mural to laboratory analysis. The results of the analysis suggested that there was a common mineral balance between the two samples. To the best of my knowledge, however, he did not also have a control sample of Central American palygorskite tested. It may indicate the actual scientific ethics and standards of this program and its host that they were apparently willing to deface a Mayan mural to supposedly test their dubious claims.

A review of the show on JasonColavito.com discussed the so-called evidence provided by a mound site in Georgia. “Wolter, regular readers will remember, is (in)famous for his claims that the Kensington Rune Stone is real evidence of a Viking exploration of Minnesota and that the Bat Creek Stone was a real ancient Hebrew artifact discovered in the United States. Needless to say, his claims hold very little weight, as I discussed before.

The program discusses what it calls the “Track Rock site” in Georgia, a mound site which the program claims is evidence that the Maya came to Georgia. The program asserts that the U.S. federal government prohibits access to the site. At first the show implies through lighting and mood music that this is for conspiratorial reasons, and then Wolter just explicitly says so.

Despite what America Unearthed claims, the Track Rock Gap Archaeological site is open to the public (for free, no less!), and the government offers directions to help you get there and brochures to help you find your way around the site. The only thing prohibited is archaeological excavation without following the formal application process. Since Scott Wolter is no archaeologist and has no interest in conducting real research, this must be the actual reason the “government” blocked him from trampling through the site, if that is what they did at all.

The US Forest Service has a web page (listed below) debunking the claim that the Maya built the mounds and stone walls found at what is properly called the “Track Rock Gap Archaeological Site.” The mounds were constructed by the Creek and Cherokee around 1000 CE, after the Classic Maya had collapsed.”  (JasonColavito.com, 12/23/2012)

America Unearthed misses the mark of serious science or history by building a construct of untested assumptions and then using that to prove the point it was trying to make all along. No alternate evidence or meanings of the evidence were considered or tested.   That said, this is the type of programming that conspiracy theorists as well as urban legend aficionados will enjoy. After all, don’t we all enjoy a little fiction?

While I certainly cannot say that there was no pre-Columbian contact between Georgia and the Yucatan peninsula of the Mayans, I can state that there was no proof of it in this program.

REFERENCES:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/conf/home/?cid=stelprdb5221888&width=full

JasonColavito.com

Wikipedia