European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 02, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday october 2, 1985 the stars  stripes a Graves counter theory of mayan decline Washington a the discovery of the Graves of two a an rulers who died  years apart shows that the ancient Central american civilization retained a sophisticated political ind economic system until the Spanish Conquest according to a team of archaeologists. The find contradicts the belief of some historians that the mayan culture declined before the Spanish arrived the scientists said in a report to the National science foundation which supported the work  announced the discovery sunday. A sophisticated  flourished right up to the invasion of the Spanish conquistadors in the i6th can Lury said Diane z. And Arlen f. Chase a husband wife team of anthropologists from the University of Central Florida. The Graves which were found in Belize last month contained Munct skeletal remains  artefacts that included ornaments  jewelry not native to the area an Indica Tion thai the buried were High ranking officials  the civilization was involved in Commerce the scientists said. Some historians believe that the mayan civilization which built huge pyramids  Stone cities in Central  South America had already fallen into decadence  decay by the time the  arrived. They cite As evidence the fact that entire native american empires fell to so few spaniards. During its height Between . 300  . 900, known As the classic period the mayan Empire covered much of what is today Mexico. Bali a  Guatemala  parts of Honduras  Nicaragua. At an archaeological site called Santa Rita located on a sea Bluff that circles Corozal the third largest Urban area in Belize the team found a Stone Tomb  an earthen grave less than a mile  ornate 1,500-year-old Tomb containing the remains of a mayan King was discovered under the floor of what was once a Large building. The chamber is More than 13 feet Long six feet High  four feet wide the chases said. The Skeleton Lay on its Back resting on a wooden pallet. The figure wore Jade ornaments including a set of Jade  Mica inlaid earn Lars Large Carrin Glinc jewelry that covered the entire ear they  Tomb also contained dozens of items representing status  office including painted pottery  masks. The finest object the researchers said was a 5-Inch-diam Etc Limestone bowl with four finely carved panels depict ing a  other burial site was that of a provincial ruler who reigned More than 500 years ago. Unlike the older Tomb this one was a simple grave in the ground beneath a Small shrine consisting Only of several lines of stones they said. While the site was Stark by comparison with the older Tomb the remains of the ruler were adorned with Clab to Csc i a cd  painted  bowls were found in the craves of to Majan rulers who died 1,000 ears apart. Orate jewelry. The team found a pair of Gold car fares inlaid with Turquoise  Jade a necklace of Shell  Jade  a Bracelet of red sea shells not native to the area. Arlen Chase said the discovery is the first find of re Mains of a ruler of the late Post classic period spanning 1350 to 1530,  said it shows there were both Commerce  authority at the time. The car fares were clearly traded in the area As Metal docs not occur naturally in the mayan lowlands he said. For such car fares to occur in a burial site More than 750 Miles from Central Mexico indicates the importance of the buried individual As a provincial  the presence of a second body in the grave adds to the importance he said. The unadorned individual was a sickly elderly person who the researchers think May have been involved in a blood letting sacrifice for the dead ruler. The second body was riddled with 13 Stingray spines  a Long Copper Needle All used in ritual bloodletting by the mayan elite they said Diane Chase said the study of Post classic mayan Cul Ture is at a turning Point with new archaeological Evi Dence casting doubt upon the written records of the Span ish concerning the mayans  the presumptions of some scholars. The first thing people notice is the classic society with its big pyramids  Fine cities she said. They figure that anything after this was downhill. What we arc saying is that it was just  special charge levied for emergency Call Salt Lake City a if the phone company is going to charge for reporting emergencies says Joann Hall then she s not going to report them. Hall who lives in Murray Utah said she could t believe her eyes when her emergency Call to police aug. 19 to report a burglary appeared on her Telephone Bill As a Spe Cial charge. If i m going to have to pay a special charge for reporting emergencies to the police then i m not going to do it to More she said. Hall was one of about a dozen peo ple angry about a special charge on their August Bills from Mountain Bell that showed a $1.24 charge for each emergency Call they made. Hall was especially miffed because her Call led to the arrest of a Man she spotted breaking into cars in the Park ing lot of her apartment Complex. Mountain Bell was unaware of the problem until the Salt Lake count emergency services department began getting complaints last month said company spokeswoman  Dunlap. We Are going to work it out so emergency Calls will not be charged  the people who were charged in August for those Calls will receive a  i importance i t t t Southern Canada Grain Farmers having their second consecutive poor Harvest Lethbridge Alberta a farm said. It s awfully hard to grow a crop with debt there have been few foreclosures. St Alberta a farm ers in most of Canada s Southern Prairies arc suffering through a second straight Dis Mal Harvest with drought cutting deeply into Normal Grain production. Doug Murfin who planted 1,400 acres of Spring wheat  Barley on his farm West of Here is one of Many Farmers with nothing to Harvest for the second straight year. It just Kepi getting holler  holler  in arc was just no Hope Murfin said. Rainfall in the june july growing season was the lowest in Southern Alberta since the turn of the Century. After last year s drought  iwo bad years before that the 1985 crop was crucial for Many Farmers. Agriculture officials said Mois Ture conditions this Spring looked promising. We Hung so much on this year s crop when in did l come it was a real Shock to us Murfin said. I m just getting fed up. You beat yourself  beat yourself on Hopes Ihal have been  in a final Wisl of irony the Region has been drenched in rain the past few weeks after in was Loo late to do any Good. We be had a lol of rain this year. In s just been badly  said Barry Grace a meteorologist at the government s farm research station in Lethbridge about 250 Miles North of Helena Mont. Spring rainfall was adequate but there was rarely enough rain in Midsummer to moist in the  Well Over two months during the Peak of inc growing season without agriculturally significant precipitation Grace said no  weather has been perfect for grass hoppers which swarmed around citing what few sprouts managed to poke through the parched soil. Virtually inc Only Farmers to grow any Grain Are those in inc Region with irrigation. For them the recent downpours have been a plague of a different sort making in difficult to bring in inc Harvest. The latest government figures Suggs the drought in Southern Alberta  Saskatchewan has shrivelled More than 5 Mil lion ions of Grain Worth Al least half a billion dollars. Wilh better conditions farther North  plentiful rain to the East in Manitoba. The local crop production on the Canadian Prai Ries is expected to be slightly higher than the 1984 drought year but Well below the average for the past five years. While drought conditions extend into Northern Montana most of inc United states is harvesting a bumper crop this year depressing prices  pushing Farmers even closer to the Brink. There seems to be less alarm among Ca Nadian Farmers than their american Peers however in part because of More generous government  programs. The Alberta  Saskatchewan Provin Cial governments  the National govern ment in Ottawa have announced several new emergency   for Farmers in the past few weeks. Although Many Farmers arc deeply in debt Uherc have been be foreclosures. Sto Ries Are told of b i cars urging despondent Farmers not to give up presumably be cause inc Banks Don l want to wind up own ing the land. We be had benevolent financial institutions for the last few years. The question is will they or can icy continue to be benevolent said Ken Bunnage an agricultural co Nomis for the Alberta government. Probably As High As 20 to 25 percent of our Farmers arc having to beg their Bankers for Money for bread  clothes  for Gas logo to  the drought has been bad enough to make some people wonder whether much of this land should have been tilled. A three sided Section of Southern Alberta  Saskatchewan is known As Pallisco s Triangle after opt. John Palliser w to explored the area for the British government in the 1850s  described it As a Region desert or Scmidt sort in charac Ter which can never be expected to become occupied by settlers local officials dismiss the idea saying Palliser knew Little about agriculture less about soils  nothing about modern methods of dry land farming. If we were growing a Low Quality wheat we would have had to find something else years ago Bunnage said. Grace said this year s september Rains while useless for the stunted wheat in the Fields raise Hopes for a Good Star on next year s crop. This is still some of the most productive wheat growing land in the world he said