Deep in the forest of southeastern Mexico, scientists found a surprise. They found an ancient pyramid. There were colorful murals (壁画)in it. A mural is a painting on a wall. Those murals are helping scientists unlock a mystery about people who lived in ancient times.
The murals are about 1,350 years old. That's more than five times older than the United States. Scientists say the paintings belonged to the Mayas. That was a group of Native American people. They lived many years ago in what is now Mexico and Central America.
Scientists are excited about the discovery because they don't know much about the Mayas' daily life, explains Michael Coe, an expert on the Mayas. The paintings show how the Mayas worked, shopped and dined. One mural shows a man drinking from a bowl. Another shows a woman selling food to a crowd of people.
"Mostly we get the murals that show gods and kings, never anything about the daily life," Coe said. "This is like walking into a Maya supermarket." So far, scientists have found more than 30 murals in the pyramid. They are not sure why the Mayas created them. The experts hope to learn more as they continue their search.
"We never had anything like this before," said Coe. "These are really special murals."
Scientists learned a lot about the Mayas from the murals. The Mayas were known for more than paintings. Now the murals tell us some fun facts about the Mayan way of life.
Sweet Home
The Mayas lived in what is now Central and North America. Today the area includes parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Smart Starts
The Mayas invented a type of Maths. They also created a type of writing that used symbols or pictures. Mayas used bark (树皮)to make books.
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The Mayas often ate com and used it to make other foods. They grew many crops (庄稼), including beans and sweet potatoes.
Cool Clothes
Mayan men dressed themselves up with some cloth while women wore long dresses. Rich Mayas wore jewelry (珠宝).
