New research from Ohio State University sheds light on the cruel fate that awaited official scribes for Maya kings who had been conquered by rivals. "These scribes -- the rough equivalent of today's public relations writers -- would have their fingers broken and then be executed after their kings were defeated in battle," states an OSU news release. Kevin Johnston, an assistant professor of anthropology, explains the purpose of this practice: "By breaking the fingers of scribes, what they were really doing was muting the ability of scribes to write politically powerful texts for their defeated king."