Maya Astronomer Named, and Controversy Over Utah Monuments and Smithsonian Signage - Ep 335

In today’s archaeology news episode, we discuss three articles, starting with a discovery at the Maya city of Xiulán, Guatemala: a small room interpreted as a scribe/astronomer workspace with 11 hieroglyphs naming Sak Ton Wax (“white-chested fox”) and more than 50 mathematical “micro texts” tracking Venus and Mars as the author. We then cover a report that President Trump reduced Grand Staircase–Escalante and Bears Ears by nearly three million acres, opening lands to mining and ending the Bears Ears Commission’s tribal co-stewardship. Finally, we discuss a report on an executive order to post warnings outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History about “inaccurate information,” and we argue it politicizes history and promotes alternative narratives. ## Links Segment 1 - Archaeologists decipher the name of a Maya astronomer for the first time - Meet Sak Tahn Waax, a Maya Math Whiz Who Lived More Than 1,000 Years Ago and Left Behind a ‘Really Elegant, Complex’ Formula Segment 2 - President Trump drastically shrinks 2 Utah national monuments — again Segment 3 - Trump orders signage warning visitors of ‘inaccurate information’ at Smithsonian ## Contact Chris Webster - [chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com](mailto:chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com?) Rachel Roden - [rachel@unraveleddesigns.com](mailto:rachel@unraveleddesigns.com?) - RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ## ArchPodNet - APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com - APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed - APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet - APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet - APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet - APN Shop ## Affiliates - Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.