In June of 2005, we introduced you to the pair of Rockstone Pond villagers known as Winston and Busta. Their real names are Winston Herbert and Wilhelm Butler, and they are the men that actually found the most prized artifact in all of Mayan antiquity, the Jade Head.
When we spoke to them in 2005, 37 years after the Jade had been uncovered, they complained bitterly that they had been completely ignored and overlooked by history. And it's true...every textbook or scholarly work about Altun He says the Jade Head was discovered by Dr. David Pendergast, the leader of the excavation project. But the men who actually dug it up after, they claim, Pendergast had already given up, had not even earned a footnote.
Well now that injustice is being corrected. With the recognition they got from our story, the National Institute of Culture and History has made a grand gesture to Winston and Busta. On Wednesday Culture Minister Mark Espat along with NICH President Yasser Musa and poster boy Dr. Jaime awe invited Wilhelm and Busta to the archeological reserve for a special ceremony. Espat and Musa presented them with awards and certificates of recognition for their contribution to Belize's cultural heritage.
They will also receive scholarships to get tour guide training so that they can legally lead tours of the site. They were also presented with ceramic replicas of the Jade Head. Most importantly, they received a commitment that their names and their contributions will be noted in all future NICH publications which discuss Altun Ha.
