This 12-minute film presents the significance of the extraordinary murals at San Bartolo, introduces the site history, and summarizes recent discoveries fueling our current research.

The Murals of San Bartolo© 2025, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Video by Riley Mallory. Filmed on location at San Bartolo, Petén, Guatemala, fieldwork authorized by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala. Featuring the PRASBX team, narrated by Boris Beltrán and Heather Hurst.

“7 Deer” is a rare calendar date identfied among the mural fragments excavated from San Bartolo. The painted number and day sign correspond to the K’iche’ Maya day Wuqub’ Kej, marking the first day of a year over 22 centuries ago.

Video “7 Deer,” © 2023, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Video by Riley Mallory. Music by Jose Giovanni Diaz Ramírez. Drone by Henry Pérez. Conservation by Angelyn Bass and Yasmin Cifuentes. Voiceover Oscar Perez Hernandez (Spanish), Heather Hurst (English). Publication “An early Maya calendar record” by David Stuart, Heather Hurst, Boris Beltrán, William Saturno 2022.

This is archaeology-life at San Bartolo-Xultun…when you love what you do and the team you do it with, any work day can be a celebration.

PRASBX dance video #1 © 2025, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Videos by PRASBX Team, edited by H. Hurst. Filmed on location at San Bartolo, Petén, Guatemala, fieldwork authorized by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala. Featuring the PRASBX team, music Vivir Mi Vida, Marc Anthony.

Archaeological excavation is oftentimes a quiet affair, working in small groups to uncover the material culture and architectural remains that lie beneath the surface. In the Maya Biosphere Reserve of Guatemala, we situate our excavations so that we do not cut down trees and at the conclusion of the research season, all of the pits are filled back in and the forest is minimally disturbed.

A morning at the east group © 2025, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Video by Riley Mallory. Filmed on location at San Bartolo, Petén, Guatemala, fieldwork authorized by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala. Featuring Miguel Angel Caal Xo, Disidoro Ramos, and Marlon Eduardo Ramírez Miranda.

Archaeologists use screens to sift the soil from architectural features and places of human activity look for artifacts, food remains, and other objects used in the past. In the remote region of San Bartolo-Xultun, we need to make the frames of our screens from materials available in the forest. Watch Jesús and Don Miguel expertly craft a screen as we start a new excavation.

How to make a screen © 2025, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Video by Riley Mallory. Filmed on location at San Bartolo, Petén, Guatemala, fieldwork authorized by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala. Featuring Jesús Gualim and Miguel Angel Caal Xo.

The murals of San Bartolo are located in an earlier phase of the Las Pinturas complex. Accessed through tunnels, this sealed environment protects the murals’ delicate environmental conditions. The tunnels are opened once a year for research and conservation monitoring during the excavation season.

Opening the mural chamber © 2025, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Video by Riley Mallory. Filmed on location at San Bartolo, Petén, Guatemala, fieldwork authorized by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala. Featuring the PRASBX team, narrated by Heather Hurst.

Life in an archaeological camp deep within the Maya Biosphere Reserve requires teamwork and engineering. While the team sleeps in tents and hammocks, a small number of key structures – our kitchen, laboratory, and sleeping quarters for guards and cooks – are the only permanent buildings in camp. Made from wooden posts and thatch roof, these buildings periodically need to be replaced. Watch the demolition and construction of a new kitch, as well as molding a new stove by hand.

SB Camp Renovations: © 2025, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Video by Riley Mallory. Filmed on location at San Bartolo, Petén, Guatemala, fieldwork authorized by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala. Featuring the PRASBX team and Elvira Mendoza Raymundo de Espino.

Do you know this catepillar? Many species in the complex ecosystem of the Maya Biosphere Reserve rely on camouflage hiding as predator or prey.

Green beastie © 2021, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Video by Boris Beltrán. Filmed on location at San Bartolo, Petén, Guatemala, fieldwork authorized by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala.

Watch this leafcutter ant tackle his daily task - there are over 1000 species of ants in Central America!

Ants © 2022, Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun. All rights reserved. Video by Heather Hurst. Filmed on location at San Bartolo, Petén, Guatemala, fieldwork authorized by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala.