Throughout this region, many hundreds of Maya sites[1] have been documented in at least some form by archaeological surveys and investigations, while the numbers of smaller/uninvestigated (or unknown) sites are so numerous (one study has documented over 4,400 Maya sites)[2] that no complete archaeological list has yet been made. The listing which appears here is necessarily incomplete, however it contains notable sites drawn from several large and ongoing surveys, such as the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions (CMHI) and other sources (see References).
Note: Ignore the Spanish definite article "El" or "La" (and their plurals "Los" and "Las") when looking for a site in the alphabetical listing e.g. for El Mirador, look under M rather than E.
Most important sites
Maya sites which are known to have been among the largest and most influential polities through the various eras of Maya history —Formative (or Preclassic), Classic and Postclassic— and/or which have left the most impressive archaeological remains include:
Aguada Fenix is the oldest Mayan city discovered to date, since it was built in 1,000 BC. It was built with earth platforms, something unusual in Mayan architecture. Its main platform measures 3.8 million cubic meters and is the largest ancient monument in the world. Four offerings have been found, and a burial of an individual, and 21 ceremonial centers have been discovered, all facing north–south and in rectangular shape
Becan was a major city in the Yucatán Peninsula. It was occupied from about 550BC, in the Middle Preclassic period and was inhabited through the entire Classic Period, finally being abandoned around the 9th centuryAD. The site had contact with Teotihuacan in the Early Classic and was fortified with a moat and ramparts.[3]
Calakmul was one of the two most important Maya cities in the Classic Period, when its rivalry with Tikal dominated the Maya political landscape. The city was already an important city in the Late Preclassic, with dated monuments being erected up to the beginning of the 10th centuryAD.[4]
Caracol was an important lowland Maya city, it was already settled in the Late Preclassic but reached its maximum power in the Classic Period when it was first allied with Tikal and later with Calakmul. It played an important role in the downfall of Tikal in the Early Classic and underwent a dramatic expansion in the Late Classic.[5]
Seibal was the largest Classic Period city in the Pasión River region, situated on bluffs overlooking the river. The city experienced a Late Preclassic apogee before declining in the Early Classic and falling under the domination of Dos Pilas in the Late Classic. It survived the collapse of that kingdom to become one of the last cities to survive in the area and was abandoned at the end of the Classic Period.[6]
Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and was a major focal point in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic through to the Early Postclassic period and that demonstrated a variety of Maya and non-Maya architectural styles.[7]
Chunchucmil was a large site that reached its apogee during the Late to Terminal Classic. The organisation of the city appears to have differed from that of other Maya sites and appears to have been geared towards a specialised coastal trade in salt.[8]
Coba is large site situated among five small lakes on a dry plain. The site is known for a network of 16 causeways linking it to neighbouring sites, the longest of which runs over 100 kilometres (62mi) west to Yaxuna. The main phase of occupation of the city dates to the Late Classic through to the Early Postclassic, from about AD700 to 1100.[9]
Comalcalco is a city of the Classic period. It is the only Mayan city built with bricks made of clay and glued with stucco. Three tombs and 14 funerary burials have been found, of which 7 were inside ceramic urn, as well as a pantheon discovered on the outskirts of the city with 116 burials, unique in the Mayan culture.
Copán was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD, when it was closely allied with Tikal. The city was located in the extreme southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples. The city is best known for its elaborate sculptural style.[10]
Dos Pilas dates to the Late Classic Period, being founded by an offshoot of the Tikal dynasty in order to control trade routes in the Petexbatún region. It broke away from Tikal and became a vassal of Calakmul. It was a predator state from the beginning and the city gives an important glimpse into the great rivalries and political strife that characterised the Late Classic. Much of the history of Dos Pilas can now be reconstructed, with a level of detail that is almost unparalleled in the Maya area.[11]
Dzibilchaltun was a large and important city in the far north of the Yucatán Peninsula, with its principal architecture dating to the Classic Period, although activity at the site continued into the Late Postclassic when the city's main temple was already in ruins.[12]
Although short-lived, Iximche was the capital of the Kaqchikel highland kingdom at the time of the Spanish conquest of Guatemala and became the base of operations for the conquest of the highlands and Pacific coast until Spanish demands for tribute caused the Kaqchikels to break off their alliance and rebel. The Spanish then burned Iximche and moved their capital to nearby Tecpán Guatemala until frequent Kaqchikel raids forced them to move their colonial capital to what is now Ciudad Vieja near Antigua Guatemala.
Ixkun is a large site containing many unrestored mounds and ruins and is the best known archaeological site within the municipality of Dolores.[13] It was the capital of one of the four largest kingdoms in the upper Mopan Valley.[14] Stela 1 at Ixkun is one of the tallest stone monuments in the entire Petén Basin.[15] Although the main period of activity was during the Late Classic Period, the site was occupied from the Late Preclassic right through to the Postclassic Period.
Kaminaljuyu was founded in the Middle Preclassic and emerged as an important city in the Late Preclassic and dominated the entire Maya Highlands. It declined at the end of the Preclassic and was taken over by a new Maya group in the Early Classic with strong contacts with central Mexico. Occupation at Kaminaljuyu extended into the Late Classic.[16]
Mayapan was an important fortified city with a densely occupied area within the city walls. The principal pyramid at Mayapan was modelled after the main pyramid at Chichen Itza. The city was the most important site in Yucatán for a period of about 250years during the Postclassic Period, with the earliest structures dating to the 12th centuryAD.[17]
El Mirador was an enormous Late Preclassic city although construction apparently began in the Middle Preclassic and some level of occupation continued into the Classic Period. The city included some very large triadic pyramids and covered an area similar to that of Classic Period Tikal.[18]
Moral Reforma was an important river port that controlled commercial traffic on the San Pedro Mártir River between El Petén and the Gulf of Mexico coast. Because of this, it was highly coveted and fought wars with Calakmul, Tikal, Palenque and Piedras Negras, by whom it was dominated at different times. It had a long occupation, since the year 300 BC. C. until its abandonment in the year 1000 d. C.
Naachtun is situated in the extreme north of Petén, in a central location between Tikal and Calakmul, the two great Classic Period Maya powers, both of which constantly influenced its politics. The hieroglyphic texts from the site cover almost the whole Classic Period from 504 to 761 AD, although the site inhabited since the Preclassic.[19]
Nakbe was an important city in the Middle Preclassic, with its principal phase of occupation lasting from about 1000BC to 400BC. The city is linked to neighbouring El Mirador by a Late Preclassic causeway. Nakbe appears to possess the earliest examples of Maya masonry architecture and of sacbe causeways.[20]
Naranjo was the capital of a kingdom from the Early Classic through to the Late Classic and formed an important link in the trade routes running from the great city of Tikal to the Caribbean Sea. The earliest dated monuments at the site date to the late 5th centuryAD. The city became a vassal of Tikal's great rival Calakmul and was involved in a series of devastating wars.[21]
Oxkintok was one of the first Maya states to develop in the northern lowlands, undergoing a process of rapid development in the Early Classic Period that gave rise to an important capital with inscribed stone monuments. The earliest dated monument dates to the late 5th centuryAD.[22]
Palenque is located in the foothills of the Chiapas highlands. The city became dominant over the western Maya lowlands during the Late Classic, and engaged in hostilities with its neighbour Toniná that eventually eclipsed it. Hieroglyphic inscriptions at Palenque document a dynastic sequence stretching from the 5th centuryAD through to the end of the 8th century. The site is best known for the Temple of the Inscriptions, the mortuary shrine containing the tomb of king Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal.[23]
Piedras Negras was the largest city in the region of the Usumacinta River and is known for its excellent quality Late Classic sculpted monuments. These well preserved inscriptions provided the first evidence that Maya texts described historical events. The site has a continuous series of texts running from the 7th centuryAD through to the 9th century.[25]
Quiriguá is a relatively small site that was founded by Tikal in the Early Classic in order to control the Motagua River trade route, important for the transport of jade and obsidian. Originally a vassal of Copán, the city rebelled and allied itself with Calakmul, after which it erected elaborate monuments in a style similar to that of its former overlord.[26]
Qʼumarkaj (also known as Utatlán) was the Postclassic capital of the Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj at the time of the Spanish Conquest and was one of the most powerful Maya cities at that time, dominating the Guatemalan Highlands.[27]
San Bartolo is a remote site in the Guatemalan rainforest and was only discovered in 2001. Most of the structures at the site date to the Late Preclassic and overlie older Middle Preclassic architecture, although the city was reoccupied in the Late Classic. San Bartolo possesses one of the most important Preclassic murals yet found.[28]
Tikal was founded in the Late Preclassic but reached its greatest power in the Late Classic, when most of its great temples were constructed. The site was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Maya history and possesses a dynastic chronology that extends from about AD100 through to the 9th century. A long-running rivalry between Tikal and Calakmul began in the 6th century, with each of the two cities forming its own network of mutually hostile alliances arrayed against each other in what has been likened to a long-running war between two Maya superpowers.[29]
Tulum is a Late Postclassic site situated on cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea and was probably occupied at the time of the Spanish Conquest. It is a small site with architecture in a style similar to that at the bigger cities of Chichen Itza and Mayapan. The site was probably founded to expand the coastal trade routes of the Yucatán Peninsula.[30]
Uxmal was an important capital in the western Yucatán region, demonstrating architecture in the Puuc Maya style. The site reached its apogee in the Late to Terminal Classic from about AD800–1000 and appears to have declined at the beginning of the Postclassic Period, although the exact length of occupation of the city is unknown.[31]
In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya cities along the course of the Usumacinta, with Piedras Negras as its major rival.[32]Architectural styles in subordinate sites in the Usumacinta region demonstrate clear differences that mark a clear boundary between the two kingdoms.[32] Yaxchilan was a large center, important throughout the Classic era, and the dominant power of the Usumacinta River area. It dominated such smaller sites as Bonampak.[33] The site is particularly known for its well-preserved sculptured stone lintels set above the doorways of the main structures.[34]
Yaxha was a large city located upon the north shore of the lake of the same name. The city reached its maximum power in the Early Classic, when it was one of the largest capital cities in the Maya region; it was apparently allied with Tikal at that time. By the Late Classic its power had waned, perhaps linked to defeat by Calakmul or its allies.[35]
The long-term research project Text Database Dictionary of Classic Mayan is working on a list of Archaeological Sites with Maya Inscriptions that is constantly growing. The list is sorted by site name, and primarily encompasses the archaeological sites in Mesoamerica where Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions have been discovered and verifiably documented over the course of archaeological survey and excavations.
Related Research Articles
El Mirador is a large pre-Columbian Middle and Late Preclassic Maya settlement, located in the north of the modern department of El Petén, Guatemala. It is part of the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin of northern Guatemala.
Tak'alik Ab'aj is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in Guatemala. It was formerly known as Abaj Takalik; its ancient name may have been Kooja. It is one of several Mesoamerican sites with both Olmec and Maya features. The site flourished in the Preclassic and Classic periods, from the 9th century BC through to at least the 10th century AD, and was an important centre of commerce, trading with Kaminaljuyu and Chocolá. Investigations have revealed that it is one of the largest sites with sculptured monuments on the Pacific coastal plain. Olmec-style sculptures include a possible colossal head, petroglyphs and others. The site has one of the greatest concentrations of Olmec-style sculpture outside of the Gulf of Mexico, and was made a World Heritage Site in 2023 because of its long history of occupation.
Machaquila is a major ruined city of the Maya civilization in what is now the El Peten department of Guatemala.
Río Azul is an archaeological site of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is the most important site in the Río Azul National Park in the Petén Department of northern Guatemala, close to the borders of Mexico and Belize. Río Azul is situated to the southeast of the Azul river and its apogee dates to the Early Classic period.
Yaxha is a Mesoamerican archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén Basin in modern-day Guatemala. As a ceremonial centre of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Yaxha was the third largest city in the region and experienced its maximum power during the Early Classic period.
Nakum is a Mesoamerican archaeological site, and a former ceremonial center and city of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the northeastern portion of the Petén Basin region, in the modern-day Guatemalan department of Petén. The northeastern Petén region contains a good number of other significant Maya sites, and Nakum is one of the three sites forming the Cultural Triangle of "Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo". Nakum is approximately 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) to the north of Yaxha and some 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) to the east of Tikal, on the banks of the Holmul River. Its main features include an abundance of visibly restored architecture, and the roof comb of the site's main temple structure is one of the best-preserved outside Tikal.
Uaymil is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located on the Gulf Coast of northern Campeche. The settlement of Uaymil occupies a small island approximately 2.5 kilometers from the coast and 25 km north of Jaina. The site has been archaeologically investigated by Rafael Cobos, now of the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY), who documented 15 structures, 8 of which were situated around a plaza containing an altar. A number of additional monuments and stele were also identified.
El Tintal is a Maya archaeological site in the northern Petén region of Guatemala, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of the modern-day settlement of Carmelita, with settlement dating to the Preclassic and Classic periods. It is close to the better known sites of El Mirador, to which it was linked by causeway, and Nakbé. El Tintal is a sizeable site that includes some very large structures and it is one of the four largest sites in the northern Petén; it is the second largest site in the Mirador Basin, after El Mirador itself. El Tintal features monumental architecture dating to the Middle Preclassic similar to that found at El Mirador, Nakbé and Wakna. Potsherds recovered from the site date to the Late Preclassic and Early Classic periods, and construction continued at the site in the Late Classic period.
Bejucal is a Maya archaeological site in the Petén Department of Guatemala. It is located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) northeast of El Zotz and was subservient to that city. The site is thought to date to the second half of the 4th century AD, in the Early Classic period.
Chitinamit is an archeological site of the Maya civilization in the highlands of Guatemala. It has been identified as Jakawitz, the first capital of the K'iche' Maya. The site is located in the El Quiché department, in the municipality of Uspantán. Chitinamit dates from the Early Classic through to the Late Postclassic periods and covers approximately 2 hectares (220,000 sq ft), making it the largest site in its region.
Balamku is a small Maya archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Campeche. It features elaborate plaster facades dating to the Early Classic period. It has one of the largest surviving stucco friezes in the Maya world. Balamku was first occupied from around 300 BC. Its most important buildings date from AD 300–600.
Itzan is a Maya archaeological site located in the municipality of La Libertad in the Petén Department of Guatemala. Various small structures at the site were destroyed in the 1980s during oil exploration activities by Sonpetrol and Basic Resources Ltd, prompting rescue excavations by archaeologists. In spite of its small size, the site appears to have been the most politically important centre in its area, as evidenced by its unusually large quantity of monuments and the size of its major architecture.
Triadic pyramids were an innovation of the Preclassic Maya civilization consisting of a dominant structure flanked by two smaller inward-facing buildings, all mounted upon a single basal platform. The largest known triadic pyramid was built at El Mirador in the Petén Basin of Guatemala; it covers an area six times as large as that covered by Tikal Temple IV, which is the largest pyramid at that city. The three superstructures all have stairways leading up from the central plaza on top of the basal platform. Triadic pyramid structures are found at early cities in the Maya lowlands.
The Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén is an archaeological museum in the town of Dolores in the Petén Department of Guatemala. The museum is located 82 kilometres (51 mi) from Flores, the departmental capital, among the Maya Mountains in an area rich in archaeological sites. It is open daily from 8am to 5pm.
Maya cities were the centres of population of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. They served the specialised roles of administration, commerce, manufacturing and religion that characterised ancient cities worldwide. Maya cities tended to be more dispersed than cities in other societies, even within Mesoamerica, as a result of adaptation to a lowland tropical environment that allowed food production amidst areas dedicated to other activities. They lacked the grid plans of the highland cities of central Mexico, such as Teotihuacán and Tenochtitlan. Maya kings ruled their kingdoms from palaces that were situated within the centre of their cities. Cities tended to be located in places that controlled trade routes or that could supply essential products. This allowed the elites that controlled trade to increase their wealth and status. Such cities were able to construct temples for public ceremonies, thus attracting further inhabitants to the city. Those cities that had favourable conditions for food production, combined with access to trade routes, were likely to develop into the capital cities of early Maya states.
Tikal Temple IV is a Mesoamerican pyramid in the ruins of the ancient Maya city of Tikal in modern Guatemala. It was one of the tallest and most voluminous buildings in the Maya world. The pyramid was built around 741 AD. Temple IV is located at the western edge of the site core. Two causeways meet at the temple; the Tozzer Causeway runs east to the Great Plaza, while the Maudslay Causeway runs northeast to the Northern Zone. Temple IV is the second tallest pre-Columbian structure still standing in the New World, just after the Great Pyramid of Toniná in Chiapas, Mexico, although Teotihuacan's Pyramid of the Sun may once have been taller.
Tikal Temple III, also known as the Temple of the Jaguar Priest, was one of the principal temple pyramids at the ancient Maya city of Tikal, in the Petén Department of modern Guatemala. The temple stands approximately 55 metres (180 ft) tall. The summit shrine of Temple III differs from those of the other major temples at Tikal in that it only possesses two rooms instead of the usual three. The pyramid was built in the Late Classic Period, and has been dated to 810 AD using the hieroglyphic text on Stela 24, which was raised at the base of its access stairway. Stela 24 is paired with the damaged Altar 6, in a typical stela-altar pair.
Juan Pedro Laporte Molina was a prominent Guatemalan archaeologist best known for his work on the ancient Maya civilization. He studied in the United States at the University of Arizona, in which he enrolled at the age of nineteen. After just one year he transferred to the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico. He continued his studies at the Universidad Autónoma de México from 1972 to 1976, from which he graduated with a doctorate in archaeology. He worked as a research assistant at the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City from 1967 through to 1976. Laporte worked at various archaeological sites while he was in Mexico, including Tlatilco, Chichen Itza and Dainzú. He first began working as an archaeologist in Guatemala in the 1970s, and was the head of the School of History of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) for more than thirty years. He first entered USAC in 1977, soon after returning from Mexico. In 1974 he carried out investigations at the Maya archaeological site of Uaxactun in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala. Between 1974 and 1976 he carried out archaeological investigations in Antigua Guatemala, which has since been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and around Lake Izabal.
The Yalain have been proposed as a Maya polity that existed during the Postclassic period in the Petén Basin of northern Guatemala, based in the central Petén lakes region. A small town called Yalain was described in 1696 by the Franciscan friar Andrés de Avendaño y Loyola. It was said to consist of a relatively small number of residences clustered within rich agricultural land. The town was located to the east of Lake Petén Itzá and was said to have been farmed by the inhabitants of Nojpetén, the capital city of the Itza kingdom. The political extent and archaeology of the Yalain is poorly understood.
Guaytán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the municipality of San Agustín Acasaguastlán, in the department of El Progreso, in Guatemala. It is the most important pre-Columbian archaeological site of the middle drainage of the Motagua River.
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