\n"}" id="mwCA">
Location within Mesoamerica | |
Alternative name | Saqulew |
---|---|
Location | Huehuetenango |
Region | Huehuetenango Department, Guatemala |
Coordinates | 15°20′1.66″N91°29′33.88″W / 15.3337944°N 91.4927444°W |
History | |
Founded | Early Classic c.AD 250–600 |
Abandoned | 1525 |
Periods | Early Classic to Late Postclassic |
Cultures | Maya civilization |
Events | Conquered by: Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj (Postclassic) Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras of Spain (1525) |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1940s |
Archaeologists | John M. Dimick |
Architecture | |
Architectural styles | Mesoamerican pyramids with talud-tablero style architecture and double stairways |
Restored by United Fruit Company (Late 1940s) Responsible body: Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes |
Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) outside the modern city of Huehuetenango. [1] Occupation at the site dates to the Early Classic period (AD 250–600) of Mesoamerican history. Zaculeu was the capital of the Postclassic Mam kingdom, [2] and was conquered by the Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj. It displays a mixture of Mam and Kʼicheʼ style architecture. [3]
In AD 1525 the city was attacked by Spanish conquistadors under Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras during a siege that lasted several months. Kayb'il B'alam, the city's last ruler, finally surrendered to the Spanish due to starvation. [4] [5]
The site contains a number of temple-pyramids with talud-tablero style architecture and double stairways. [6] The pyramids and governmental palaces are grouped around a series of large public plazas. The site also holds a court for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame. [6] The site was originally fortified with walls.
The site was restored by the United Fruit Company in the late 1940s. It is open to tourists and includes a small museum. [7]
The name Zaculeu means "white earth" in the Mam, Kʼicheʼ and Q'anjob'al languages, from saq (adj) meaning "white" and ulew (n) meaning "earth". [8] In the Mam language, the site is also called Chinabajul. [6]
The present-day village of San Lorenzo developed around this archeological site, on the outskirts of Huehuetenango city, in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango. Zaculeu is the main tourist attraction in the Huehuetenango area. [9] Zaculeu is located at an altitude of 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) above mean sea level, [10] and is bordered by the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountain range. [11]
Zaculeu is located in an area of fertile soils close to the Selegua and Viña rivers. [12] The site is situated on a plateau overlooking the Selegua River, which flows to the west of the city. Deep ravines bordering the site to the south and east protected its access. The only access to the site is via a narrow land bridge to the north, which unites the plateau to the general level of the valley floor. The Zaculeu plateau measures 11,178 square varas [13] (4191 square metres). [14]
Zaculeu was first occupied in the Early Classic Period (AD 250–600), [6] and the buildings from this era show the architectural influence of the great metropolis of Teotihuacán in the Valley of Mexico. The largest constructions date from the Classic Period (AD 250–900). To these were added other plaza groups and buildings in the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200) and Late Postclassic (AD 1200–1525) in an unbroken history. Zaculeu has been used as a ceremonial site by Mam Maya continuously to the present.
Zaculeu came under the influence of central Mexico again in the Late Classic. The architectural influence is so distinct that it suggests that a foreign Mexican elite may have settled at the city and continued in occupation there until the Kʼicheʼ conquered the site in the Postclassic. [10]
The Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj conquered Zaculeu in the Postclassic. Traditionally that has been calculated as during the 15th century AD based on ethnohistoric accounts. Radiocarbon dating has pushed back the calculations of the Kʼicheʼ conquests by three centuries, and researchers now say their conquest of the Mam kingdoms may have taken place as early as the 12th century. [15] The city was dominated by the Kʼicheʼ until the Spanish Conquest of the early 16th century. [16]
The Kʼicheʼ king Q'uq'umatz died in battle against a group of the northern Mam. His son K'iq'ab continued where his father had left off and completed the conquest of the people. K'iq'ab was ruler when Zaculeu was conquered by the Kʼicheʼ.' This appears to have been a second Kʼicheʼ conquest of the city, having previously fallen some time earlier. When the Kʼicheʼ conquered another kingdom, its practice was to place the newly subject kingdom under the control of one of the Kʼicheʼ noble lineages. Based on the style of Structure 4, archeologists believe that Zaculeu was likely controlled by the Nija'ib.' The Ilocab, who had conquered much of the region, are another possibility. The Kʼicheʼ tended to place their newly installed ruling elite in a mountain-top fortress securing the population in the valleys below. However, substantial portions of the original Mam population remained in place in the plateau area. [18]
The Kʼicheʼ rebuilt over earlier Classic period structures in a distinctively Kʼicheʼ style. The basic Kʼicheʼ layout consists of a westward-facing temple with a steep talud-tablero facade, flanked by two unequally sized wings. This was likely to have been the temple of Awilix, patron goddess of the Nija'ib' Kʼicheʼ. A longer palace structure lies to the north, facing southwards and the ballcourt to the southwest. This Kʼicheʼ layout was somewhat distorted by the reuse of the earlier architecture, because the typical Mam settlement layout was built along an axis running from southeast to northwest. As the Kʼicheʼ did not completely redesign the entire site along a Kʼicheʼ pattern, the juxtaposition of Mam- and Kʼicheʼ-style complexes demonstrates the fusing of the local and intrusive elite lineages. [3]
Excavations have uncovered examples of metalwork at Zaculeu. These were small ornamental pieces. An example is a representation of a butterfly worked from tumbaga, an alloy of gold and copper, dated to the Postclassic period. [19]
This article is part of a series on the |
Maya civilization |
---|
History |
Spanish conquest of the Maya |
Although hostilities existed between the Mam and the Kʼicheʼ of Qʼumarkaj after the rebellion of the Kaqchikel people against their Kʼicheʼ allies, the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors shifted the political landscape. Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado described how the Mam king Kayb'il B'alam was received with great honour in Qʼumarkaj. [20]
At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the main Mam population was situated in Xinabahul (also spelled Chinabjul), now the city of Huehuetenango. They retreated to Zaculeu as a refuge during the Spanish attacks because of its fortifications. [5] The refuge was attacked by Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras, brother of conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, in 1525, [4] [21] with 120 soldiers, and some 2,000 Mexican and Kʼicheʼ allies. [22] The city was defended by Kayb'il B'alam [5] commanding some 5,000 people (the chronicles are not clear if this is the number of soldiers or the total population of Zaculeu).
After a siege lasting several months, the Mam were reduced to starvation. Kayb'il B'alam finally surrendered the city to the Spanish in October 1525. [5] [23] When the Spanish entered the city, they found 1,800 dead Indians, with the survivors eating the corpses of the dead. [22] The Spanish forced the abandonment of Zaculeu after they built the new city of Huehuetenango some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away.
American explorer John Lloyd Stephens and English architect Frederick Catherwood visited the site in 1840, at which time it was a confused jumble of overgrown ruins. Stephens published a description of the archaeological remains a year later. Catherwood did not draw any of the structures due to the poor state of the remains. The two excavated one of the mounds and recovered some ceramic vessels, which Catherwood drew. [24]
On 24 April 1931, Guatemala declared the site as a National Monument under the name of Tzaculeu. [14] On 23 February 1946, the site was renamed as Zaculeu. The government gave a license to excavate to the United Fruit Company, which immediately began archaeological excavations and related restorations of the structures under the direction of John M. Dimick. [25] This later included re-coating a number of the buildings with white plaster, as it was known that many were originally finished that way. This has seldom been done in other restorations of Pre-Columbian buildings.[ citation needed ]
On 12 June 1970 the site was declared a National Precolumbian Monument by accord of the Guatemalan Ministry of Education (MINEDUC). [26]
Zaculeu was likely originally developed because of its proximity to the Seleguá River, providing a permanent water supply and transportation waterway, together with its easily defensible hilltop location. Zaculeu has 43 structures. The majority of construction activity took place in one burst in the Early Classic, with minor alterations thereafter. The smaller platforms situated in the plazas were late additions; they show the influence of central Mexican civilization. [6] [27] The entrance to the site was via a narrow land bridge to the north, which was protected by a fortified structure that occupied three-quarters of the width of the land bridge. [28]
The ceremonial centre of the city consisted of 43 structures clustered in an area of 1,400 square metres (15,000 sq ft). [12] The architecture at the site includes talud-tablero style buildings with double stairways. The facades of some of the buildings have cylindrical columns, a feature found in other parts of Mesoamerica. [6] Artefacts recovered from the site include items fashioned from turquoise and precious metals. The metal artefacts crafted from gold, silver and copper and their alloys demonstrate the city's participation in the wider trade networks of the Postclassic Period. [6] [29] [30] These metal artefacts were either influenced by or imported from Mexico and southern Central America. [30]
The structures at Zaculeu were grouped around small plazas and were generally built from masonry, coated with a thick layer of plaster. Fragments bear floral and geometric designs, indicating the structures were originally brightly painted. Stones were undressed and cemented in adobe mortar. [6] [27] No evidence of corbel vaulting has been found and very little in the way of stone sculpture. The architecture completely lacks stone sculpture. Burials from the Early Classic yielded a rich array of finds, but Late Classic burials were accompanied by a lesser variety of grave offerings. [27]
An Early Classic tomb was inserted under the main pyramid at Zaculeu; it had been tunnelled from the volcanic ash underlying the structure. A broad stairway descended to the tomb from the main plaza. The tomb interior was painted red and the floor was scattered with the remains of more than 100 ceramic vessels. These were crushed when the roof of the tomb collapsed. Also found were the remains of 34 pyrite mirrors of a type similar to those found at Kaminaljuyu. A sizeable quantity of jade was recovered from the tomb, including beads and earplugs. Some of the jade beads had been carved to represent human and parrot faces. The tomb contained the bones of four or more individuals. The ceramic offerings included decorated tripod vessels, polychrome bowls and a polychrome cylindrical vase that had a painted band of hieroglyphs. One ceramic bowl is painted in a negative painting style that is similar to finds from Nebaj. [27]
The site core is laid out around eight plazas. [31] Some of the structures were restored by the United Fruit Company; most of these border Plazas 1 and 2. [30] Structures 1 and 2 are pyramid temples. Structures 4, 6 and 10 are palace structures, long buildings with internal chambers and benches used as residences and for administrative purposes. [32]
Plaza 1 is the main plaza at the site. It measures 54 by 38 metres (177 by 125 ft) and is closed on all four sides by pyramid temples. [33]
Plaza 2 is a large plaza at the southeast of the site core, south of Plaza 1. [17] It is bordered on the southeastern side by Structure 4, on the northeast by Structure 1, on the northwest by the ballcourt and on the southwest by Plaza 3. [17]
Plaza 3 is a small plaza at the southern extreme of the site core, southwest of Plaza 2 and south of the ballcourt. [17]
Plaza 4 is at the northwest side of the site core. [17] It is closed on the northeastern side by Structure 10, on the southeast by Structure 13 and on the southwest by the ballcourt. [17] Plazas 5 and 6 are located immediately to the west. [17]
Plaza 5 is a small plaza immediately west of Plaza 4 and northwest of the ballcourt. [17] It is divided from Plaza 6 to the northwest by Structure 21. [17]
Plaza 6 is another small plaza to the west of Plaza 4. [17] It is enclosed on three sides by a building complex with Structure 21 on the southeast side. [17]
Plaza 7 is a small plaza at the western extreme of the site core, to the west of Plazas 5 and 6. [17]
Plaza 8 is an enclosed plaza to the southwest of the ballcourt. [17] Structure 2, a pyramid, closes the northwest side and Structure 3 closes the southeast side. [17]
Structure 1 is a 39-foot (12 m) high pyramid on the southeast side of Plaza 1. It has eight stepped sections topped by a summit shrine. The shrine has three doorways approached via a double stairway rising from the plaza below. The pyramid was rebuilt seven times with the visible remains dating to the Early Postclassic. [34] The earliest phase of construction dates to the Early Classic period. [35]
Structure 2 is a pyramid on the northwest side of the sunken Plaza 8. It is largely unrestored. Structure 3 lies across the plaza to the southeast. It is a platform with a twin stairway facing northwest onto the plaza. [36]
Structure 3 is on the southeast side of Plaza 8, facing onto the plaza opposite Structure 2. [17] It is immediately south of the ballcourt. [17]
Structure 4 is an unusual combination of temple and palace. It is situated on the southeast side of Plaza 2. [30] [32] The structure consists of a central pyramidal base flanked by two attached range structures. The pyramidal base is topped by a shrine containing three rooms, the final room of the three is circular. The temple has three steep stairways flanked by balustrades. The main stairway ascends directly from the plaza, those on either side are perpendicular to the main stairway. The balustrade of each stairway terminates at the top in a vertical panel. The temple facade is in good condition although the roof of the temple is missing. The range structures are unequal in size and each contains a single long room atop a low platform. The facade of each of these rooms once possessed a row of columns although only stumps remain in situ. This temple-palace is Kʼicheʼ in style and has been identified with the Nija'ib' lineage of the Kʼicheʼ, being very similar to the Temple of Awilix at Qʼumarkaj. [3] [37] A tomb was excavated in Structure 4, it consisted of a complete skeleton with associated offerings that included two tripod earthenware bowls, one with duck effigies, a tripod incense burner, a flint knife, nine obsidian knives, five jade beads and some fragments of gold. [38]
Structure 6 is a temple on the northeast side of Plaza 1. It rises in stepped sections topped by a summit shrine and was accessed via a stairway from the plaza that divided in two near the summit. Only the lower sections of the walls and columns of the shrine remain. [34]
Structure 9 is a large mound on the northwest side of Plaza 1. [27] [34] The last phase of construction shows evidence of the interruption of construction by the Spanish Conquest. Terraces were absent on three sides of the structure with only the lowest level having been built on the fourth. [27] Early Classic ceramic caches were discovered under Structure 9. [35]
Structure 10 borders the northeast side of Plaza 4 and is unrestored although some original stonework is evident. It is a very long building accessed via three stairways ascending from the plaza. The structure has been investigated by archaeologists and was found to have multiple doorways opening into a single long room. [34]
Structures 11 and 12 are small platforms in the middle of Plaza 1. They have both been restored. [34]
Structure 13 is on the southwest side of Plaza 1, dividing that Plaza from Plaza 2. It was accessed via a double stairway ascending from Plaza 1. This double stairway gave access to the first level of the temple structure only; from there, a wide single stairway continued to the summit shrine. Only the lower sections of the walls and columns of the temple superstructure remain. [34] The earliest phase of construction dates to the Early Classic and consisted of a low platform that supported a perishable superstructure. [35]
Structures 15 and 16 are both low platforms located in Plaza 2, on an axis running directly northwest across the plaza from the central temple of Structure 4. [37]
Structure 17 is a pyramidal base in Plaza 2, to the west of Structures 15 and 16. It supported two rooms accessed via a double stairway on the northwest side of the temple. The entrance to outermost room once had two columns, although now only the lower portions of the walls and columns remain. [37]
Structure 21 is a low platform in Plaza 5, it is partially restored and has a stairway on the northwest side. [39]
The Ballcourt consists of Structures 22 and 23, it was used for the ceremonial Mesoamerican ballgame. It is an I-shaped sunken ballcourt with sloping walls. The two structures forming the sides of the ballcourt once supported buildings, now only the lower sections of their walls remain. [40] The ballcourt is oriented northwest to southeast and is 48 metres (157 ft) long. [41]
Structure 37 is not associated with any of the eight plazas of the site core, standing about 50 metres (160 ft) northeast of Structure 4 and a similar distance east of Structure 1. It was investigated by archaeologists but has not been restored, although some of the original stonework and plaster coating is visible. [42]
Qʼuqʼumatz was a god of wind and rain of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ Maya. It was the Feathered Serpent that according to the Popol Vuh created the world and humanity, together with the god Tepeu. It carried the sun across the sky and down into the underworld and acted as a mediator between the various powers in the Maya cosmos. It is considered to be the equivalent of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl and of Kukulkan, of the Yucatec Maya.
Tohil is the Maya god of fire. He is a deity of the Kʼicheʼ Maya in the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica.
Qʼumarkaj is an archaeological site in the southwest of the El Quiché department of Guatemala. Qʼumarkaj is also known as Utatlán, the Nahuatl translation of the city's name. The name comes from Kʼicheʼ Qʼumarkah "Place of old reeds".
Seibal, known as El Ceibal in Spanish, is a Classic Period archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala, about 100 km SW of Tikal. It was the largest city in the Pasión River region.
Mixco Viejo, occasionally spelt Mixcu Viejo, is an archaeological site in the north east of the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala, some 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the north of Guatemala City and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the junction of the rivers Pixcaya and Motagua. It is a moderate sized ruined city of the Postclassic Maya civilization.
Huehuetenango is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. It is located in the western highlands and shares the borders with the Mexican state of Chiapas in the north and west; with El Quiché in the east, and Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango and San Marcos in the south. The capital is the city of Huehuetenango.
Quetzaltenango is a department in the western highlands of Guatemala. The capital is the city of Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala. The department is divided up into 24 municipalities. The inhabitants include Spanish-speaking Ladinos and the Kʼicheʼ and Mam Maya groups, both with their own Maya language. The department consists of mountainous terrain, with its principal river being the Samalá River. the department is seismically active, suffering from both earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Ixlu is a small Maya archaeological site that dates to the Classic and Postclassic Periods. It is located on the isthmus between the Petén Itzá and Salpetén lakes, in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala. The site was an important port with access to Lake Petén Itzá via the Ixlu River. The site has been identified as Saklamakhal, also spelt Saclemacal, a capital of the Kowoj Maya.
El Zotz is a Mesoamerican archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region around 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of the major center of Tikal and approximately 26 kilometres (16 mi) west of Uaxactun. It is so called because of the large number of bats living in caves in the nearby cliffs. The site is located within the San Miguel la Palotada National Park bordering the Tikal National Park in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala. It is a large Classic Period site and contains many unexcavated mounds and ruins.
Iximcheʼ is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the western highlands of Guatemala. Iximche was the capital of the Late Postclassic Kaqchikel Maya kingdom from 1470 until its abandonment in 1524. The architecture of the site included a number of pyramid-temples, palaces and two Mesoamerican ballcourts. Excavators uncovered the poorly preserved remains of painted murals on some of the buildings and ample evidence of human sacrifice. The ruins of Iximche were declared a Guatemalan National Monument in the 1960s. The site has a small museum displaying a number of pieces found there, including sculptures and ceramics. It is open daily.
The Chajoma were a Kaqchikel-speaking Maya people of the Late Postclassic period, with a large kingdom in the highlands of Guatemala. According to the indigenous chronicles of the K'iche' and the Kaqchikel, there were three principal Postclassic highland kingdoms; the K'iche', the Kaqchikel and the Chajoma. In the Annals of the Cakchiquels the Chajoma of Jilotepeque were always referred to as the akajal vinak, in the Popul Vuh these can probably be identified with the akul vinak. Both akajal vinak and akul vinak mean "the bee people" or "the hive people".
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.
Jacawitz was a mountain god of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ Maya of highland Guatemala. He was the patron of the Ajaw Kʼicheʼ lineage and was a companion of the sun god Tohil. It is likely that he received human sacrifice. The word jacawitz means "mountain" in the lowland Maya language, and the word qʼaqʼawitz of the highland Maya means "fire mountain", which suggests that Jacawitz was mainly a fire deity, much like Tohil. In the Mam language, the similar word xqʼaqwitz means "yellow wasp" and the wasp was an important symbol of the deity and its associated lineage. In the Cholan languages, jacawitz means "first mountain", linking the god with the first mountain of creation.
Awilix was a goddess of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ Maya, who had a large kingdom in the highlands of Guatemala. She was the patron deity of the Nijaʼibʼ noble lineage at the Kʼicheʼ capital Qʼumarkaj, with a large temple in the city. Awilix was a Moon goddess and a goddess of night, although some studies refer to the deity as male. Awilix was probably derived from the Classic period lowland Maya moon goddess or from Cʼabawil Ix, the Moon goddess of the Chontal Maya.
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.
Ixtonton is a Maya archaeological site in the department of Petén in northern Guatemala. It is located in the northwestern portion of the Maya Mountains in the municipality of Dolores. The ruins are situated approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the town of Dolores itself. Ixtonton was the capital city of one of the four Maya kingdoms in the upper Mopan Valley. The site was occupied from the Late Preclassic period through to the Terminal Classic, with some evidence of continued activity into the Postclassic. For the majority of its history Ixtonton was the most important city in the upper Mopan Valley, with its only rivals emerging in the Late Classic. The acropolis at Ixtonton is laid out around two plazas on top of an artificially modified karstic hill.
A twin-pyramid complex or twin-pyramid group was an architectural innovation of the Maya civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. Twin-pyramid complexes were regularly built at the great city of Tikal in the central Petén Basin of Guatemala to celebrate the end of the 20-year kʼatun cycle of the Maya Long Count Calendar. A twin-pyramid complex has been identified at Yaxha, a large city that was 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the southeast of Tikal. Another has been mapped at Ixlu, and Zacpeten appears also to possess at least one twin-pyramid complex and possibly two. These examples outside of Tikal itself indicate that their cities were closely linked to Tikal politically.
Wajxaklajun is a ruin of the ancient Maya civilization situated adjacent to the modern town of San Mateo Ixtatán, in the Huehuetenango Department of Guatemala. Wajxaklajun is considered to be the most important archaeological site in the San Mateo Ixtatán area. The site has been dated to the Classic period. The Chuj Maya consider the city to have been built by their ancestors. The site has similarities with other nearby highland Maya ruins; it is unusual for the presence of a number of stelae, a feature more associated with lowland sites during the Classic period, probably indicating some level of exchange with lowland cities.
Chutixtiox is an archaeological site of the ancient Maya civilization near Sacapulas, in the Quiché department of modern Guatemala. The site was excavated during the 20th century by A. Ledyard Smith. Ceramic evidence excavated at the site suggests a close relationship with the K'iche' capital of Q'umarkaj. Chutixtiox may have been a settlement in a polity that included the nearby sites of Chutinamit and Xolpacol.
San Clemente is a ruin of the ancient Maya civilization in Guatemala. Its main period of occupation dates to the Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology. The ruins were first described in the late 19th century, before being visited by a number of investigators in the early part of the 20th century.