Interesting National Geographic Archaeology Headlines

1. Maya Rituals Caused Ancient Decline in Big Game. It turns out that even though the Mayans were seen as overall environmentally friendly, that the search by the elite for large game(status symbol) decimated the population in Mesoamerica. This hypothesis has come about through exhaustive research by Kitty Emery who studied some 80,000 bones found in a Mayan trash dump. Seems like even 1800 years ago, man was capable of hunting animals close to extinction. Want to teach your children more about the Mayans? Check out MayanKids.com!

2. Ancient "Fire Temple" Found in Peru. A massive clay temple with colorful paintings and an altar for fire worship has recently been unearthed in northern Peru, archaeologists announced Saturday. The temple dates back 4,000 years and is among the oldest sites discovered in the Americas, said archaeologist Walter Alva, who led the team that made the find. The temple was built by an "advanced civilization" that predated the Inca by several centuries, Alva told the Reuters news service. For more information about the Inca, check out CyberSleuthKids