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The jungle of Peténnorth of Guatemala, he continues to surprise historians who are dedicated to exploring pre -Columbian history. There, near the border of Mexico, archaeologists have discovered a fascinating “Urban triangle” formed by three old cities that stand out for their architecture and heritage. Among all the most surprising is “the grandparents”, an important Mayan ceremonial center of More than 2,800 years of antiquity that takes its name of two pieces discovered by the experts: sculptures of an elderly couple who were probably used for rituals related to the cult of ancestors.
The experts They recognize That the findings open the door to rethink what we know about ceremonies, society and pre -Hispanic politics in northern Guatemala.
Beyond Uaxactun. For centuries the Mayan civilization extended in the south of what is today Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras, shaping a rich culture that dates back At least 2,000 ACreached its splendor during the 5th century of our era and declined in the post -classic stage, from X to XIII. During that wide period the Maya created great populations, as uaxactúna site located in the Petén region, in Guatemala.
For some time, Guatemalan archaeologists have looked, however, beyond Uaxactún, towards the jungles of Petén, in search of old pre -Columbian cities. Hence, in 2009 they would boost the Uaxactún Archaeological Project (Paru), which explores a vast area of around 1,200 square kilometers (km2) around the old Mayan city. Thanks to him and after more than a decade and a half of work, experts have cataloged about 176 deposits, from small archaeological vestiges to broader settlements.
“An urban triangle”. That the researchers have found 176 sites does not mean that they have excavated them all. Over the last years they have observed three attention three, Mayan cities that have been studied thanks to the involvement of several Slovak institutions, including the Enoius University. Their conclusions have just been submitted and reveal Something amazing: an “Urban Triangle so far unknown” that lived its splendor in the Middle Preclassic (800-500 BC) and late and is formed by three cities that barely are far five kilometers each other.
The discovery is interesting both for archaeological vestiges themselves and for the horizons they open. “The findings allow to rethink the understanding of the ceremonial and socio -political organization of the pre -Hispanic Petén,” They stand out from the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala. The three archaeological sites that have captured the attention of Guatemalan and Slovak experts and make up that new Mayan urban triangle are Petnal, Cambrayal and the grandparents, the most fascinating of all.
A new archaeological jewel. Grandparents is a city dating from the Middle Preclassic (800-500 AC), reaches an extension of some 16 km2 and is located about 21 km northwest of Uxactún. In the opinion of the local authorities, it implies “one of the oldest and most important ceremonial centers of the preclassic in Petén.” In fact they expect light to contribute on the origins of Mayan civilization. His name is due to one of the most curious pieces found by archaeologists: human form sculptures that represent an ancestral couple and that experts relate to ancient worship rituals to ancestors. The initial dating places them towards 500 and 300 BC
Architecture for stars. The sculptures however are only a small part of the archaeological treasure of the grandparents. In A statementthe Ministry of Culture highlights its “remarkable architectural planning”, with radial pyramids, triadic groups and sculpted monuments with an iconography of the region. “In addition to the sculptures, grandparents houses a type of architectural set known as group E, used as astronomical observatory,” They clarify. “The disposition of its buildings allows you to register with precision solstices and equinoxes.”
Experts have known the Eaxactun Group E for years, but they believe that the one located in the grandparents could be even older. That without having the rest of the vestiges discovered. At the foot of the sculptures of the two ancestors, a human burial was located and not far from there remains of several felines, in addition to offerings of vessels, shells, arrow points and a trail from which archaeologists hope to obtain “valuable information” about the old Mayan settlement.
Completing the triangle. The grandparents is the main course of the new findings presented by Guatemala, but not the only one. Another of the outstanding deposits is Petnal, a city that was equipped with a pyramid of 33 meters high decorated with preclassic murals.
At their highest point, archaeologists have also discovered a well -preserved stay that still retains remains of painting on stucco with reddish, white and black tones, “another extraordinary discovery”, experts celebrate. Because of its characteristics and architecture, however they believe that, unlike grandparents, which probably acted as a “ceremonial center”, Petnal exercised political center.
57 meters of channels. The third city that completes the urban triangle of Petén is Cambrayal, equipped with a network of 57 meters long channels that part of a palace and extends through the facade. Interestingly, archaeologists believe that the channels, stuped, were not used to bring water to the rooms, but to evict waste, just like a primitive drainage system. Another piece discovered in Cambrayal by experts is a sculpture similar to others located on the southern coast.
The Ministry of Culture of Guatemala Point out that the three cities share more than proximity and distribute throughout the petén. They all had a more or less similar story: the settlements remained inhabited during much of the preclassic, ended up abandoned and with the passage of the centuries they enjoyed a second golden age after being rediscovered, rebuilt and again populated, already during the stage called late classic.
Images | Ministry of Culture of Guatemala
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