THE MURAL PAINTINGS FROM SAN BARTOLO, GUATEMALA: DISCOVERY AND STRATEGIES FOR PRESERVATION

 

(Descubrimiento de la pintura mural de San Bartolo

y su estrategia de conservación)

 

Boris Beltrán (Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun)

 

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The great jungle of the Maya lowlands has protected numerous vestiges of a glorious civilization for several millennia. Archaeological findings through the study of material remains help us understand the ancient Maya, their life, customs, and beliefs.

San Bartolo is a small archaeological site from the Preclassic period 800 BC - 250 AD, located in northeastern Guatemala. The highlight of the site is an extensive portion of wall painting preserved within a ceremonial complex referred to as Las Pinturas, revealing rich information about the political system and religion of the Preclassic Maya. However, this exciting find also presents a huge challenge for preservation. Two walls remained in situ (north and west walls) and more the seven thousand broken fragments of mural were collected from within the construction fills during excavations, which includes the oldest fragments of the Mayan writing to be discovered in the Maya lowlands.

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Eighteen years after the initial discovery of the exquisite murals from San Bartolo, a multidisciplinary team of experts in archeology, conservation, epigraphy, iconography, artists among others, have continued the ongoing task of researching and preserving the impressive scenes of such a beautiful legacy of humanity. Following the intensive field investigations and in situ conservation, then years of work with the fragments, the San Bartolo Project recently culminated its collaborative effort in cultural heritage preservation by creating a collection room and exhibition in partnership with the National Museum of Archeology and Ethnology of Guatemala. This presentation will introduce the methodologies and techniques we applied to the research, preservation, and interpretation of the San Bartolo mural paintings from its moment of discovery until the present.

 

(Talk in Spanish)