9 Quotes by William Saturno

Over the centuries, the changes became dramatic. This pattern of small details, impossible to see from the forest floor or low-altitude planes, turned out to be a virtual roadmap to ancient Maya sites when seen from space.

It has opened a window into the very origins of Maya civilization.

With its fine painting and its elaborate mural showing the mythic basis of kingship, the chamber has upended much of what we thought we knew about the early Maya.

Between 200 and 300 A.D. is when we become literate in Maya writing. It's definitely writing, though, no question about that. Some of these signs are consistent with Maya writing for the next 1,000 years.

The mural shows that early Maya painting had achieved a high level of sophistication and grace well before the great works of the Classic Maya in the seventh century.

It is really breathtaking how beautiful this is.

It was like discovering the Sistine chapel if you didn't know there had been a Renaissance - like knowing only modern art and then stumbling on the finger of God touching the hand of Adam.

In Western terms, it's like knowing only modern art and then stumbling on a Michelangelo or a Leonardo.

In that way it really is like you didn't know the Renaissance ever happened?you have no knowledge that anyone ever painted anything in Florence in the 16th century, then all of sudden you see a Michelangelo.