The earliest dated monument yet discovered in Tikal and all of the Maya lowlands, Stela 29, has a Long Count date of 8.12.14.13.15, which translates to A.D. 292.

The date (May 23, 1862) was the earliest he's ever seen for John W. Bell,

This is the earliest temple discovered in this region so far.

Perhaps the greatest Maya mystery of all is the cause of the civilization's abrupt decline. The last dated stela erected at Tikal was put up in A.D. 869; the last anywhere in the Maya world, in 909.

We may file, and we may not file. We have only said that Feb. 17 remains the earliest date when we would file.

We wanted to get this moving and setting a date helped spur some things.