Archaeologists discover a 1200 years old Mayan theater

Mexico, August 30, 2012
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A 1200 years old Mayan theater was discovered in Ocosingo, in the state of Chiapas, by a group of researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Experts believe that the theater was used by a high-ranking elite who performed various works to subjugate minorities in the region.

According to the first analysis, the theater was built for at least 120 people, which could be determined after extensive digging in the place known as “Plan of Ayutla”.

“It was a unique theater, as it is in an acropolis. The stage was within a palace complex, that makes it different from others, which are usually in places that were intended for the crowd,” said Luis Alberto Martos López, director of the research project.

“The interesting thing is that it closes a building in the east, which was amended by the end of the Classic period (850 CE). They tore down the facade and put in what is a stage, a two-level platform that functions as dome bandshell,” Martos said.

“The structure in the northwest of the temple courtyard was a dismantled to leave a small podium for a speaker,” said the archaeologist.