Bringing Maya Civilization to the Fore Digitally

The Maya Civilization has been around for several thousand years and the amount of memorabilia that has been discovered is wide and varied. Yet not every Belizean can boast that they’ve had the opportunity to view these gems close-up. But now, through digitization and technology, the Museum of Belize made space for a display of Mayan memorabilia in digital form. It seeks to bring visuals of these artifacts to the fore. News Five’s Marion Ali was at a ceremony at the Museum for the launch of the exhibition. Here’s that report.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

An exhibition that opened today at the Museum of Belize seeks to educate visitors on Maya existence in Belize dating back to the past four thousand years. It does so through digital images of these artifacts for students and tourists alike. And Governor-General, Froyla T’zalam, a Maya woman herself, explained why the Maya culture should matter to every Belizean.

 

Froyla T’zalam, Governor General of Belize

“What does the ancient Maya civilization mean to me? And why should it matter to you?  An underlying feeling I had growing up in the 1970s was that the ancient Maya civilization had nothing to do with me. I mean, I don’t know how to read or write Maya hieroglyphs, or even use the system known as the vejicimal, based on 20 number system.  And I most certainly do not live on a pyramid.  I could not relate the life I had with those who were being described in history books. We don’t have a time machine, but I am told we now have this beautiful exhibition with all the latest gadgets.”

 

The display takes one on a walk back in time to have a better appreciation of how these early inhabitants lived. And present-day people can use it to compare it to how we live now. This learning process underscores one thing for Francis Fonseca, the Minister of Education and Culture. It is part of a bigger effort to pump life into Belize’s cultural history.

 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture

“In  2002,  we took a monumental step  by opening the Museum of Belize,  right where we are today,  22 long years after gaining our independence.  And 22 years ago, we are here.  Transforming a former jail, a prison into a sanctuary of learning was not just an idea.  It was a dream. Niche has breeded life.  into several initiatives that honor our culture and creativity.  We opened the Museum of Belizean Art,  launched the Belize Music Project,  celebrated a diverse group of creatives,  and initiated the Access 501 Digital Project. We’ve even signed an MOU  to transform George prices family home into a vibrant classroom and botanical garden.”

 

Akirah August explained that it is a new project they have embarked on at the Institute of Archaeology called digital archeology.

 

Akirah August, Research Officer, Institute of Archaeology

“We use photogrammetry and lidar to create. 3D models and 3D images of our artifacts and, um, of our monuments and different parts of our structures, different important parts of our structures. So when you use photogrammetry, it’s a photoprocess. So you would take an image, you would take an artifact, put it on a laser susan or what we call a turntable, you know, the baker’s whorl. And you would turn the, Ima turn the object around and take several photos of it from raging from a hundred to maybe up to like 500 photos of it in different, um, angles and on different sides of the artifact.”

 

The Ministry of Culture is hoping that introducing this type of digitization at the museum, it will give more people the chance to learn more about Maya civilization. Marion Ali for News Five.