Lubaantun – Belize

Posted on 08/09/2023 by Michael

Lubaantun

Lubaantun – Belize

Location

The ruins of this regional capital were found some 40 km from the coast, on a mountain top in the valley of the River Columbia, situated 500 m from the settlement. Various streams flow past the foot of the natural elevation and an area of tropical rainforest extends below the site. On the banks of the Columbia sits the village of San Pedro Columbia, one of the largest Maya communities in southern Belize. The Kekchi women in the region make brightly-coloured embroideries of the local wildlife, as well as other handicrafts for tourists. It has a small museum and basic rest rooms for visitors.

History of the explorations

The Lubaantun site was reported in 1903 and Thomas Gann, a doctor and archaeology enthusiast, was commissioned to inspect the settlement. Gann excavated the larger constructions and his report was published in England in 1904. Later on, R E Merwin surveyed the civic-ceremonial area and drew up the first map. In his excavation of the South Ball Court, he found three cylindrical markers, the upper sections of which show two figures playing the ball game; in 1915 these were transferred to the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. In 1926 the British Museum sent an expedition led by T A Joyce which was joined the following year by Eric S J Thompson, who identified several building phases in the constructions. In 1970 Norman Hammond embarked on excavations which concluded that the site was founded around the 8th century by a Cholan-speaking group – possibly the language that was spoken in the Lacandona Rainforest in Chiapas and the Peten region of Guatemala – who colonised the region to exploit the fertile land and abundant resources.

Nevertheless, their occupation of the area was short-lived – barely 150 years – as the site was abandoned around AD 890. Finally, Richard Leventhal of the State University of New York included Lubaantun in his general survey of the region aimed at establishing the type of relationship that existed between the various settlements in the Toledo district in southern Belize. A rock crystal skull was found at Lubaantun by F A Mitchell-Hedges in 1926 and is currently in the possession of his daughter Anna, who lives in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. To this day there are conflicting opinions about the authenticity of the Lubaantun crystal rock skull.

Site description

There are two unusual aspects of the Lubaantun site: it lacks the architectural decoration that is so profuse at other ruins in the central lowlands, and there are hardly any stone-carved monuments or Maya vaults. The name Lubaantun translates as ‘Place of Fallen Stones’ in the local Maya language. The site is a civic ceremonial centre from the Late Classic period. According to Jaime Awe, the archaeological evidence indicates that there were originally three concentric sections with different functions: a central area of religious constructions, a section for ceremonial buildings with ball courts, and an outlying residential area. Its most outstanding feature is that no mortar of any description was used in the constructions, each stone being carefully cut to fit the adjacent stones. The solidity of the construction lies in this method of assembly.

From the map drawn up by Hammond in 1969 it would appear that the settlement was distributed around four large plazas and three large pyramid platforms; the highest pyramid rises over 11m above the plaza and the foothills of the Maya Mountains and the coastal plain are visible from the top of it, as well as other smaller structures that may have been temples or adoratoriums. There are three ball courts, regarded as ceremonial structures; two of them lie north-west and north-east of the central plaza while the third court delimits the central area. These buildings alternate with residential platforms for the elite. It is possible to see the foundations of what may have been a steam bath situated south of the north-west ball court. Terraces and platforms were created on the slopes of the nearby hills to build residential and plaza groups. A large quantity of products were traded at the Lubaantun market: basalt and obsidian from the mountains, sea products, game and their skins, as well as farming produce – principally, maize, achiote and cacao. Maize and particularly cacao are the two products that Lubaantun is thought to have traded with other cities in the region.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp256-257.

Lubaantun

Plaza; 2. Ball Court; 3. Structure 10; 4. Structure 33; 5. Structure 12; 6. Plaza 4; 7. Structure 14; 8. Plaza 5.

How to get there:

From Punta Gorda. Take the bus whose advertised destination is Colombia which departs at the market end of Jose Maria Nuñoz Street. The best one to take is the 10.00 departure – there is no earlier one – as this goes by the approach road to the site. When dropped off it’s about a 1.5km walk to the site. If you take the 10.00 you will arrive at the road to the site at approximately 11.00. The bus back to Punta Gorda leaves its terminus at 12.30 and passes the approach road just before 13.00. But you could walk back along the road towards the settlement of San Pedro Colombia and go into Mag’s Cool Spot for a drink, just a few metres from the junction where the bus will turn to go to Punta Gorda. You could also have a look at the front of the church (just up the hill, on the right, in the direction Punta Gorda) to see how the stones from the Mayan site were used in the construction of the Catholic church – not an uncommon occurrence.

GPS:

16d 16’ 55” N

88d 57’ 34” W

Entrance:

B$10

Nim Li Punit – Belize

Posted on 06/09/2023 by Michael

Nim Li Punit

Nim Li Punit – Belize

Location

This settlement from the Late Classic period (AD 600- 800) is situated south of the Golden Stream basin on a natural elevation in the Maya Mountain foothills known as the Toledo Beds, a complex series of sedimentary, sandstone and slate rocks from the Oligocene and more recent limestone from the Cretacious period. Towards the east, the coastal plain stretches to the Caribbean and there are maize fields with hardly any rainforest in the area around the site; running along both ends of the hill on which it sits are small streams that the ancient Maya used for their own consumption and for irrigation purposes, just like their modern descendants today. The site is located near the village of Indian Creek, some 50 km from the town of Punta Gorda in the Toledo district, and 1.5 km west of the Southern Highway, mile 75. The site has a small museum for safeguarding the stelae with reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions, earthenware vessels and figurines, and other minor discoveries.

History of the explorations

The initial investigations in 1976 were undertaken by Norman Hammond of the University of Cambridge and Barbara McLeod of the University of Texas at Austin, who studied the iconography of the sculpted monuments and their hieroglyphic inscriptions; as a result of this research a map of the pre-Hispanic settlement was drawn up, the monuments were classified and the principal group was excavated. In 1983, as part of his survey of southern Belize, Richard Leventhal excavated the upper plaza on behalf of the Belizean government and with foreign funding. In 1986 he identified another stela and a royal tomb containing the remains of five individuals as well as over 35 ceramic vessels and countless grave goods.

Site description and monuments

The name Nim Li Punit is Kekchi Maya for ‘Big Hat’ and was assigned by Joseph Palacio, the Archaeological Commissioner for Belize at the time the site was discovered by oil company workers in 1976. It makes reference to the prominent headdress of the figure depicted on Stela 14. Although Nim Li Punit has neither the impressive architecture nor the exquisite stonework to be found at Lubaantun, it is relatively similar in general terms and compensates for these omissions with a collection of 26 stelae, seven of which are sculpted; the largest is Stela 14, which at 9.5 m is the longest discovered in Belize and the second longest monument in the Maya area after Stela E at Quirigua. This site was initially believed to be a secondary centre dependent on Lubaantun, but archaeological studies have demonstrated that it was a large settlement and must have served as the ceremonial centre for the surrounding population. Even so, its relationship with other large centres in Belize and southern Peten remains unclear.

The principal constructions are distributed on the crest of a group of low hills and comprise three groups: a ceremonial complex and two civic-residential groups for the ruling elite, situated north of the main group. The ceremonial precinct is composed of two plazas, one of which stands 4 m higher than the other. The stelae were erected in the lower, and larger, of the two plazas. This plaza is in turn situated approximately 5 m above the natural level of the terrain and the various stepped sections of the platform provided access to the main group via a ramp or stairway. The largest pyramid structure stands some 11m high, while another measures 65 m in length and 3 m in height. The upper, smaller plaza is delimited by the large pyramid, two square-plan pyramid structures – one of these (structure 7) contained a rich collective tomb excavated by Leventhal in 1985 – and three elongated platforms, two small ones and a longer one at the west end measuring 40 m in length and 2 m in height. The north-east end of this plaza opens on to the Ball Court, situated a few metres below these two platforms. The court is open-ended and approximately 20 m in length, with a smooth, circular marker at its centre. North-west of the Ball Court, in the West Group, the hill slopes were levelled with retaining walls to create two terraces on which stand low platforms and a pyramid structure 6 m high, which due to its topographical position is the most imposing construction of the group, despite not being excessively high. East of the West Group and north of the Ball Court lies the East Group, composed of various stepped terraces on which are numerous residential structures; the highest terrace resembles a small irregular plaza, delimited by four pyramids and various smaller mounds.

The main group contains 26 monuments – carved in the sandstone and slate found in the geological strata of the Toledo district – although this figure may change if the stela butts are included; these are still embedded in situ and surrounded by the fragments of a few scattered stelae. Seven monuments have reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions (stelae 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 14 and 15). No altars or stone slabs have been found, only the smooth ball court marker. The earliest monument, Stela 15, is inscribed with the Long Count date 9.14.10.0.0 (AD 741), while the latest, Stela 3, possibly corresponds to the Maya date 10.0.0.0.0 (AD 830). A distinctive feature of the monuments is their wide range of sculptural styles and formats, each one displaying a different treatment in terms of its inscriptions, apparel and other details. The sculptural tradition lasted approximately four katuns (80 years), but the sculpted monuments reveal great creativity for a centre that was apparently secondary in the hierarchy of settlements in southern Belize; besides, the site even has its own emblem glyph. Uxbenka, a smaller site, and Lubaantun, larger than Nim Li Punit, as well as other sites in the region formed the sociopolitical mosaic towards the end of the Classic era. The sudden emergence of small polities seeking to legitimise their ruling elites gave rise to instability and political fragmentation in the southern area of the Maya lowlands.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp254-256.

How to get there:

From Punta Gorda. The Belize bound bus leaves the centre of Punta Gorda at 08.00 and 10.00 (there are later departures but these are the best for visiting the site). The road leading to the site is on the north-eastern edge of the settlement of Indian Creek – about an hour from Punta Gorda. Bus fare B$5. The site is about 800m metres up a steepish hill from the main road. You might have a long wait to get back as the bus from Belize passes at around 11.30 and 12.30.

GPS:

16d 19’ 16” N

88d 49’ 27” W

Entrance:

B$10

Caracol – Belize

Posted on 04/09/2023 by Michael

Caracol

Caracol – Belize

Location

This is the largest archaeological site in Belize and, during the Classic era, it was also the largest urban centre in the region. It was thus named by the British archaeologist A H Anderson due to the abundance of snails [caracoles in Spanish] found on the clay paths amid the ruins. The site is situated on the west face of the Maya Mountains, in the Chiquibul forestry reserve surrounded by the Chiquibul and Macal rivers, in an asymmetrical mountainous area some 500 m above sea level. Due to the wealth of the natural surroundings and its strategic position between the central lowlands and the Caribbean coast, it became one of the most important urban settlements in the Maya area. Over 60 km of sacbeob or Maya causeways have been identified further inland, which were clearly used for trading and communication purposes. This great city and the outlying settlements are thought to have had a combined population of over 100,000 inhabitants. Caracol is situated approximately 120 km from San Ignacio, in the Cayo district. There are two accesses from the Western Highway, with signs indicating the turn-off to the site. To reach the site from the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, take the Cristo Rey road via the Yucatec Maya village of San Antonio and then switch to the Chiquibul road. If you take the Western Highway from the capital Belmopan, turn on to the Chiquibul road when you reach Georgeville. This road, which is still not entirely paved, crosses the Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve and leads to the Douglas D’Silva Forest Station in the Rio Frio Caves area. At this point visitors are obliged to report to the control post for escort to the archaeological site as the access route passes through a British military zone deep in the heart of the Maya Mountains. The road to Caracol from the forest station is in fairly good repair and takes you right to the archaeological park. The site has a visitor centre and rest rooms, but there is no food or drink. There is also a simple but interesting site museum that houses a ball court marker with a hieroglyphic inscription, various typical incense burners from the region and other ceramic objects found at the site. A scale model provides visitors with a general idea of the city at a glance and there are also explanatory panels about the archaeological explorations in the area.

History of the explorations

The site was identified in 1939 by Rosa Mai, a logger looking for fine wood. That same year the archaeologist A H Anderson visited the area and christened it Caracol. In the 1950s, the archaeologist Linton Satterthwaite from the University of Pennsylvania conducted excavations at the site to rescue various monuments sculpted in stone. In 1954 the first archaeological commissioner for Belize, Anderson, carried out new excavations and located the funerary chamber, B2. In 1977 the museum of the University of Pennsylvania sent Carl Beetz to finish the work begun by Satterthwaite. A few years later, in 1978, Elizabeth Graham sent a team to rescue monument 21, currently on display at the museum in Belmopan. That same year and the following year, Paul Healy from Trent University investigated the artificial terraces around the site. In 1985 the archaeologists Diane and Arlen Chase from the University of Central Florida embarked on a series of ongoing extensive excavations. Similarly, in recent years the Belize Institute of Archaeology directed by Jaime Awe has consolidated the Caana monumental structure and various stucco masks, such as those on Building B5, have been protected with replicas.

Pre-Hispanic history

The recent discoveries at Caracol have altered our former knowledge of the site. Explorations have demonstrated that the area was densely populated and that the terrain was modified with terraces for cultivation and habitation purposes; the outlying area was connected to the ceremonial centre via a large network of roads built with stone and mortar. Intensive farming provided the local inhabitants an agricultural surplus that favoured the development of a powerful kingdom on a par with Tikal, Calakmul and other smaller sites such as Ucanal, Naranjo and B’ital. The political links with these powers in the Maya lowlands turned Caracol into a key player in the diplomatic and military manoeuvres of the Classic era.

Epigraphic studies have revealed a long dynastic sequence comprising 14 kul ahaw or ‘divine lords’, commencing in the mid-4th century with a figure called Te’ Kab’ Chaac or ‘Tree Branch Rain God’, thought to be the founder of the Caracol dynasty. It would appear that the original name of the city was Oxwitza, ‘Place of Three Hills’. The ruler Ahaw ‘Snail Knot’ left an impressive monumental legacy. The 2-katun (40-year) reign of his brother K’an II, the fifth ruler and perhaps the most successful chief of Caracol, propitiated the development of outlying centres connected to the main centre by a large network of roads. His mother, Lady B’atz Ek’, also played an active role in politics and she is thought to be buried inside Pyramid B19 on the Caana platform.

Other historical data recorded in the stone hieroglyphs are the fall of Caracol as a result of a war with its rival Naranjo, after which it remained in a kind of hiatus lasting 118 years until AD 798, when the local nobility revived their traditions with K’inich Joy K’awil, the ninth figure in line to the throne of Caracol, who captured the ‘divine lords’ of Ucanal and B’ital. This event is recorded on Altar 23 situated at the centre of the site in a provisional place to protect it and other sculptures from the elements. The monuments of the subsequent rulers reveal common thematic and stylistic innovations during the Terminal Classic period, such as shared scenes in which the ruler converses or performs ceremonies in the company of another high ranking figure. According to the epigraphers, this marked a change in the autocratic power to meet new circumstances in which the rulers had to negotiate their position with other leading members of the nobility, either local or foreign, whose power equalled or exceeded their own.

Other important sites in the region ruled by Caracol are La Rejolla, Hatzcap Ceel, Caledonia and Mountain Cow. Caracol was the largest state in the region. By the end of the Maya hiatus, it probably had a larger population than Tikal. The latest inscription at Caracol can be found on Stela 10 and corresponds to the Maya date 10.1.10.0.0 (AD 859). There are no known monuments after this date that mention the heroic feats of the rulling elite, although the destroyed city shows evidence of having continued to be occupied for some time.

Site description

The central area of the site occupies a surface area of 3 sq km. The site reveals great urban growth between AD 550 and 700. During the Late Classic important changes occurred: increased building activity, strong population growth and the development of farming based on a system of raised terraces. At Caracol 4,400 structures have been identified and mapped in an area of 4 sq km. The site is situated 75 km in a straight line from Tikal and 45 km from Naranjo, in Guatemala. The area has a complex network of interconnected roads with various outlying sites around the central area. Several architectural structures at the site have been consolidated and a large number of sculptural monuments have been recovered, providing important historical data about the rulers of this great city.

Visitors enter the area via Group A, which is situated in the west section and comprises more than 12 structures around an enclosed plaza. Interesting to note is the presence of an E-Group or observatory. These structures were used for establishing the points of the solstices and equinoxes, celestial observations closely tied to farming cycles: ploughing, sowing and harvesting. At the centre of the group is a large elongated construction known as Building A6 or ‘Wooden Lintel’. This building displays a long building sequence from the Late Preclassic to the end of the Classic period. At the top of structure A2, on the west side of the plaza, Stela 22 (AD 633) was found; it contains the longest hieroglyphic inscription known in Belize to date. Situated on the south side of this same group is Ball Court A. Floor marker 21 was identified at the centre of the court and holds special significance in the history of Caracol as it records the victories over the ruling lineage of Tikal in April AD 562. The marker was probably dedicated to the accession of the fifth ruler of Caracol, Lord K’an II, commemorating his military victory over his old rival Naranjo in AD 631.

Continuing to the east we arrive at the central acropolis, the Late Classic residential and funerary complex that accommodated the ruling class of this period. Situated at the south end is another large residential group, the south acropolis, which delimits the south side of this central area of the site. Between the two acropolises is a large reservoir, which must have supplied the residential complexes with water. Situated at Group B, in the north-east section of the site, is the largest architectural complex and Caracol’s greatest pyramid, which the archaeologists christened Caana, meaning ‘Sky Place’. This vast construction that stands over 43 m high and dominates Plaza B is the most complex single building on the site and displays multifunctional architecture comprising administrative, residential, funerary and religious spaces. Its main facade has been cleared of rubble and consolidated. Several constructions were built on top of this great pyramid, around a large enclosed court. The buildings in a triadic arrangement on the top reveal the remains of stucco masks and contain vaulted funerary chambers. The massive pyramid also contains several buried constructions, the oldest one dating from around 200 BC. Opposite the Caana building, on the south side of the plaza, stands Building B5. Visible at the sides of the central stairway of this temple are the remains of stucco masks representing the ‘Earth Monster’ or Witz and other deities such as the rain god. These superimposed masks reveal two building phases and provide us with an idea of the profuse decoration on Maya constructions. Also situated in this section is Ball Court B, where four markers have been identified; the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the markers record the accession to the throne of K’inich Joy K’awil, one of the last rulers of the site, in AD 799. Group B also contains a fine masonry construction used as a reservoir. Situated in the north-east area of Group B are structures B2i to B26, identified as the ‘neighbourhood’. This area accommodates two palaces and residential areas corresponding to the Late Classic period (AD 800). There are other residential groups nearby but these are not open to the public

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp248-254.

Caracol

Group A; 2. Structure A2; 3. Structure A6; 4. Ball Court A; 5. Struture A13; 6. Central Acropolis; 7. South Acropolis; 8. Group B; 9. Caana; 10. Ball Court B; 11. Building B5; 12. Structures B21 to B26.

How to get there:

From San Ignacio. Not easy – if you don’t have your own transport. The only other way is to book on a tour from one of the many agencies in San Ignacio – but they only do trips if they have at least two people. Cost is B$250. This is an all day affair, taking in visits to some of the natural highlights, Price includes lunch and entrance to the site.