Mayan Codex Analysis

An ancient Mayan document, the Grolier Codex, was found in the late 1960s, and was only recently found to be a genuine Mayan document. When the Grolier Codex was first found in the 60s, many believed the document to be forged due to the circumstances it was found. According to the article written by Walt Bonner from Fox News, “…story goes that collector Josue Saenz was flown to a remote airstrip somewhere in the Mexican state of Chiapa, where a crew of looters met him” (Bonner, 2016). According to a professor at Brown University, a document found without clear provenance or origin leaves room for doubt about the codex being genuine. In the 1960s, many Mayan documents were being forged as a way to make money, and since the collector was not the one to collect it from the cave, that led
Ancient Mayan texts had been forged many times in the 1960s and before, which led many to believe it would be not be found authentic. It is hard to determine that artifacts are real unless someone is able to pinpoint age of the paper, or the idea that no one could mimic the blue pigment. Also it was found, no one would be able to forge the information on the codex, as it was never seen in previously authenticated Mayan documents. Since this codex has been authenticated, historians are able to learn more about Mayan culture, beliefs, and writing. If I was to look at this as a historian, I would want to see the story it tells. The article mentions that there are details of gods shown, as well as a system of writing numbers. One thing that archaeologists pointed out was that it would be impossible for somebody to forge this document, unless he or she could see the future. Also, a blue pigment was found on the codex, that was not perfected until twenty years after the document was found. This is the oldest written book found from the New World, and that is something that should be