Vanderbilt archeologist featured in "Dawn of the Maya" National Geographic special

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The recent discoveries of Vanderbilt archeologist
Francisco Estrada-Belli and his colleagues who are unlocking the
long-held secrets of the origins of the Maya will receive a national
television audience this week with the broadcast of a National
Geographic special.

The program, "Dawn of the Maya," will premier locally Wednesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. on Nashville Public Television, Channel 8.

The news special will feature many recent discoveries by the
Vanderbilt team that have not previously been documented on television.
The discoveries were first revealed to the media May 5 and garnered
worldwide press coverage.

Estrada-Belli, assistant professor of anthropology, is one of a
small cadre of archeologists who, working deep in the jungles of
Guatemala, are finding that at the time of Christ the Maya were not an
unsophisticated, agrarian society as many experts had thought. Instead,
the Maya had already established a sophisticated, flourishing
civilization of lost city-states ruled by priest kings and produced
breathtaking murals, monumental sculptures and perhaps one of the
largest pyramids ever built.

For more news about Vanderbilt research, visit Exploration, Vanderbilt’s online research magazine.

Media contact: David Salisbury, (615) 343-6803
David.Salisbury@vanderbilt.edu

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