William Saturno

Boston University archaeologist William Saturno has received numerous National Geographic grants to support his excavation of ancient Maya murals and artifacts. His breakthrough discovery at San Bartolo of the oldest intact Maya murals yet found became the focus of the January 2006 National Geographic magazine article The Dawn of Maya Gods and Kings," and the June 2012 issue described his recent unearthing of murals at Xultn. Bill has also served as Field Director of the Ro Amarillo Archaeological Project in Western Honduras, examining the relationships of Maya cities around Copn.

As of 2008 Saturno holds a position as assistant professor in Archaeology at Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to his position at BU, Saturno was a lecturer at the University of New Hampshire.

Saturno is credited with the discovery in 2001 of one of the oldest extant murals yet discovered in the Maya region, at the site of San Bartolo in northeastern Guatemala. In 2010, Saturno and Franco Rossi discovered what they believe to be a workroom of a Xultn record keeper. The Mayan hieroglyphics at the site included representations of dates roughly 7000 years in the future, casting doubt on the speculation that the conclusion of the Long Count calendar would result in a 2012 doomsday scenario.