Altun Ha – Belize

Posted on 09/09/2023 by Michael

Altun Ha

Altun Ha – Belize

Location

The original name of the site is not known. Altun Ha is the name of a nearby village, which in Yucatec Maya means [stone pond or lagoon). Due to its proximity to Belize City, this is one of the most visited sites. It covers an area of nearly 6 sq km and has over 500 visible structures, although the part that has been restored and is open to the public is relatively small. The constructions in the ceremonial precinct correspond mainly to the Classic period. During the excavations various unusual objects were found, corroborating the hypothesis that the site was an important link between the maritime trade routes and the inland: flint eccentrics, fine imported ceramics and the largest piece of jade ever found in the Maya area – an anthropomorphic head representing K’inich Ahau. This comes from Tomb B4/7 (2nd. A). The site is an hour by car from Belize City, taking the Northern Highway; when you reach mile marker 33, turn east and continue along the Old Northern Highway, where the signposts will lead you to the site. There is a car park, a visitor centre, and shops selling local handicrafts and food.

History of the explorations

In 1957 Altun Ha was recognised as an archaeological site by A. H. Anderson, the then archaeology commissioner in Belize, who conducted the first excavations. In 1961 William R. Bullard studied some of the materials. Between 1964 and 1970, David Pendergast of the Royal Ontario Museum carried out extensive excavations. Joseph O. Palacio began restoration work at the site in 1971 and continued until 1976. In 1978 Elizabeth Graham also conducted a series of restoration works. Between 2002 and 2003, as part of the Tourism Development Project supervised by Jaime Awe, Juan Luis Bonor and Doug Weinbury, the structures in central part of the site were restored and opened to the public.

Pre-Hispanic history

The earliest evidence of a settlement on the site dates from 200 BC. The oldest permanent construction is situated west of the central area and is not open to the public. Structure F8, known as the Reservoir Temple, is situated less than a kilometre south of Plaza B. An offering was discovered there, containing green obsidian eccentrics and blades from central Mexico, along with other imported objects not normally found in this part of the Maya area. The green obsidian may well have come from contact with Teotihuacan. The earliest building in the central precinct is Structure Al, built around 100 BC. It adopts the form of a temple and is close to the main reservoir. Subsequently, in the Early Classic (circa AD 250), building activity was concentrated in the part now open to the public. This remained the most important precinct at the site until the Late Classic.

Site description

Plaza A, in the northern section of the site, was the principal ceremonial precinct until the end of the Early Classic (circa AD 550), when the construction of Plaza B commenced, immediately south of the former. Buildings continued to be erected until AD 900 and the site was occupied for a further 100 years, although no new construction took place. In fact, a century and a half prior to the end of the building activity, the existing constructions were already decaying. Subsequently, the city was abandoned and then reoccupied in the 13th and 14th centuries. Plaza A is the largest, although no monuments or stelae were found in front of the buildings, Temple 1 displays various construction phases and its final form consists of a platform with terraces, built between the 5th and 6th centuries. Slight modifications were conducted during the course of the following centuries. The building originally comprised several rooms in the upper section and a broad stairway that reached almost to the top of the structure. A tomb was found inside the temple; dating from approximately AD 550, it is the oldest in the central precinct. It takes its name, Green Tomb, from the fact that it contained over 300 jade objects, as well as shell necklaces and ornaments, stingray spines, ceramic vessels, flint eccentrics and perishable materials such as animal skins, cloth, wooden objects and what are thought to be the remains of a bark paper codex, whose fragility and fragmented condition have prevented it from being reassembled.

Structure A2, a platform with rooms at the top, and Structure A8, a residence, are nowadays connected, although in their earliest construction phases they were separate buildings, structure A3 is the smallest temple in Plaza A. Meanwhile, structure A4 situated in the south-east section of Plaza A appears to have been a long, narrow platform with no buildings on the top, and it may well have served to delimit Plazas A and B. Plaza B is composed of various residential constructions and large temples. A group of three buildings (B3, B5 and B6) forms the south boundary: originally, these were separate structures but they were subsequently connected during the final construction phase.

Structure B4 is the most imposing building on the site and is known as the ‘Temple of the Masonry Altars’. It displays eight construction phases and stands nearly 18 m above the plaza. Seven tombs belonging to the Altun Ha elite were found inside this structure. The most impressive of them was discovered inside the rectangular block at the top of the building: Tomb B4/7 (2nd. A), which corresponds to the end of the Early Classic (AD 575-600). The remains of an elderly male were found in the tomb and the grave goods contained spectacular jade objects, including the head of the sun god, K’inich Ahau. This corresponds to the Mac phase (circa AD 600); it is 14.9 cm high and weighs nearly four and a half kilos. A variety of perishable materials were also found, such as ropes, clothing and wooden objects that do not normally survive in the Maya lowlands due to the damp climate.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, p273, pp276-277.

Altun Ha

Plaza A; 2. Temple A1; 3. Structure A2; 4.Structure A3; 5. Structure A4; 6. Structure A5; 7. Structure A6; 8. Plaza B; 9. Structure B1; 10. Structure B2; 11. Struture B3; 12. Structure B4; 13. Structure B 6; 14. Structure B5.

Getting there:

From Belize City. There is a bus from Belize City whose final destination is Maskall and which passes the end of the approach road to the site – about a 2 mile walk. However, I have not been able to find any timetable for that bus – or whether it is possible to make the trip and back in a day. There was a bus which would have left Belize City at around 12.00 but that is not guaranteed. Otherwise, you could catch a bus to Sand Hill and get off at the junction of the Old Northern Highway. This is the road that goes within 2 miles of Altun Ha. There you either hitch or negotiate the cost of the lift. It’s all a matter of chance and luck whether you either get or lift or have to pay or not.

GPS:

17d 45′ 27″ N

88d 21′ 23″ W

Entrance:

B$10

Chiapa de Corzo – Chiapas – Mexico

Posted on 12/07/2023 by Michael

Chiapa de Corzo – Chiapas

More on the Maya

Chiapa de Corzo – Chiapas

Unfortunately, to date, I have been unable to find much information about this site – not even what it’s Mayan name might have been. The only information I have is what is written on the few information boards dotted around the site.

If more data is forthcoming then it will be added here in the future.

Until then it is hoped that the slide show gives an idea of what exists.

It is thought that a lot more of what used to be the Mayan settlement is now lying under the town of Chiapa itself.

Getting there;

From Chiapa de Corzo. The site is at the end of Calle Miguel Hidalgo, a road that is a right turn off the main road on the eastern edge of town, about a couple of hundred metres before the Nestlé factory. There is another, single, building, set at a junction of two roads, right opposite the main entrance to the factory. Combis run this route to the main square in Chiapa, M$8.

Entrance;

Free

More on the Maya

Bonampak – Chiapas – Mexico

Posted on 04/07/2023 by Michael

Bonampak

More on the Maya

Bonampak – Chiapas

Location

This site lies deep in the Lacandon Rainforest in Chiapas, in the valley of the River Lacanha. The preHispanic settlement adopts a scattered pattern and covers an area of 2 sq km. The main constructions were built on a chain of hills in the middle of the valley, stretching from the Sierra de Cojolita to the actual river banks. However, the only parts that have been explored and are now open to the public are the Great Plaza and the Acropolis, along the southern edge of the site, which comprise the famous building with the murals. Take road 186 along the southern border (Villahermosa-Macuspana-Tenosique), follow the turnoff for the town of Palenque and continue until you reach the San Javier-Lacanha-Bonampak crossroads. From San Cristobal de las Casas and Ocosingo, take the border road, follow the turn-off for Chancala and then continue to the San Javier-Lacanha-Bonampak crossroads.

The Murals

In the words of Mary Miller, who conducted a fascinating study on the wall paintings, ‘perhaps no single artefact from the ancient New World offers as complex a view of pre-Hispanic society as do the Bonampak paintings. No other work features so many Maya engaged in the life of the court and rendered in such great detail, making the Bonampak murals an unparalleled resource for understanding ancient society’. Herein lies the importance of Bonampak: its murals constitute a clear and accurate testimony of the life, aspirations and activities of a Maya ruler.

In 1990 the Institute of Aesthetic Research of the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) launched the ongoing project Pre-Hispanic Mural Painting in Mexico to record and study pre-Columbian wall paintings such as those at Bonampak, and in 1997 Ernesto Penaloza photographed the three painted rooms in their entirety for the first time; this material was used to create three panels displaying the complete paintings. These images and the results of the multidisciplinary research led by Beatriz de la Fuente and coordinated by Leticia Staines are included in the two volumes on Bonampak (catalogue and research projects) in the series published by the UNAM.

Pre-Hispanic history

There is little evidence of building activity in the centre of Bonampak during the Early Classic. Due to its proximity to Yaxchilan, it was probably heavily influenced by this city from a very early date, as indeed was the case in the latter days of its occupation. There are epigraphic texts at Yaxchilan that mention Bonampak rulers: Bird Jaguar (not to be confused with the Yaxchilan ruler) is mentioned in association with the sixth ruler of Yaxchilan, and Fish Fin in association with the ninth. These ties remained strong throughout the Late Classic. Knot-Eye Jaguar, lord of Yaxchilan and the father of the Bonampak ruler Chaan Muan, who commissioned the construction of stelae 1, 2 and 3 and the famous murals, not only had close ties with Bonampak: his presence has been identified at the site of Lacanha, a few kilometres north of Bonampak. The monumental precinct is composed of a great acropolis built on a natural slope and delimiting a large central plaza. Stelae 1 and 4 are in the plaza, while stelae 2 and 3 are situated on the stairway leading to the top of the Acropolis. Three of the stelae mention Chaan Muan, the protagonist of the murals. The remainder of the settlement has not yet been mapped and we therefore do not know exactly how large it is.

Site description

The only group open to the public is the Great Plaza, a rectangle space measuring 110×87 m whose main axis is oriented north-west/south-east. It is accessed via a passageway situated between structures 15 and 13. These form part of the platforms, yet to be explored, that delimit the east side (Structures 17 and 18), the north side (Structures 15 and 16) and the west side (Structures 12 and 13).

Acropolis and Stela l.

The Acropolis hill, which runs along the south side of the plaza, is covered by terraces and buildings. At the foot of it, almost at the centre of the plaza, stands the magnificent Stela 1, which is 5,06 m high, 2.6 m wide and 18-20 cm thick. Its carved face overlooks the Acropolis and depicts a richly garbed Chaan Muan II with a tall headdress. In his right hand, he holds the ceremonial sceptre; in his left, a shield with the face of the Jaguar god of the underworld. Under his feet is a band inscribed with the names of his parents and, next to his left leg, his own name.

Temple of the murals and Stelae 2 and 3.

Situated at the foot of a natural hill modified by terraces, this group stands 46 m high. It displays two horizontal axes on different levels, which provide the basis for two groups of buildings. On the lower platform, situated approximately 15 m from the ground level of the plaza, are three buildings: the one on the right is the Temple of the Murals, in the middle are the ruins of Building 2, and on the left is Building 3. The main access to this level is via a monumental stairway, situated in the middle of the group. This comprises two flights with an intermediate landing on which stand Stela 2, to the left, and Stela 3, to the right. The former represents Chaan Muan II accompanied by his wife and his mother in a bloodletting sacrifice; the second stela shows the same dignitary with a prisoner. At the top of this first section of the stairway, on the right-hand side, is the Temple of the Murals, which has three doorways leading to three separate rooms decorated with the famous wall paintings; the doorways have carved lintels depicting the capture of enemy chiefs by two Bonampak rulers and a Yaxchilan ruler, respectively.

Buildings 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Situated at the far left of this first terrace is Building 3, which displays three doorways on its main facade and a stairway leading down to the plaza. Between this and the remains of Building 2 is the stairway leading up to the temples at the top, identified from left to right as Buildings 8, 7, 6, 5 and 4. All of them contain a single chamber and a single access; the exception is Building 4, which has two. All of them are very small and contain a cylindrical altar. Building 6 is the exception in this case and displays instead a carved lintel with the bust of Chaan Muan I, dated 603. Between buildings 5 and 6 is an interrupted stairway leading to the remains of Structure 19, which has a niche and a lintel. Situated next to this structure, behind Building 4, is a small plaza with Building 9 and its platform. The building facade faces west and contains a single doorway leading to a chamber in which there is an uncarved stela.

The murals

The murals are situated in Structure 1, a three-room building resting on the first terrace of the Acropolis. The exterior of the structure was once decorated with stucco relief figures but these have now been lost. The three lintels adorning the doorways to the rooms show scenes of prisoners and texts mentioning their respective names, in a style that bears great similarity to that of Yaxchilan. The earliest date corresponds to Lintel 3, which mentions Chaan Muan’s father, Knot-Eye Jaguar, the ruler of Yaxchilan in AD 740. Chaan Muan appears to have acceded to the throne in Bonampak in 776. Lintel 2 narrates an event later in Chaan Muan’s reign, around 787, making reference to a ruler of Yaxchilan, probably Shield Jaguar II. The date of Lintel 1 corresponds to an event four days earlier.

The walls of the three rooms are covered with magnificently executed paintings in deep colours. The event depicted is associated with the designation of Chaan Muan’s son as heir to the throne and to other events that took place over a period of two years. The correct order for interpreting the murals has been a topic of some debate, although the chronological order of the events represented suggests Room 1 followed by Room 2, followed by Room 3. Small benches occupy most of the interior space and the murals were probably designed to be viewed while seated on these benches.

The narrative commences in Room 1 with a date and hieroglyphic text that divide the upper and lower fields of the mural, painted on the vaulted ceiling above the paintings on the wall. The glyphic texts are greatly deteriorated and have therefore not been translated in their entirety. The first date in the text is 790, which probably corresponds to the event recorded on the top part of the wall, the presentation of a royal heir to a group of 14 Bonampak dignitaries, all garbed in long white cloaks and gathered at the court for the occasion. This scene clearly took place inside a palace. The two seated figures, Chaan Muan and his wife, the heir’s mother, observe the scene from a throne. The second date indicates an event that took place 336 days later. Three important individuals are shown preparing for the ceremony. The figure represented entirely from the front and wearing a great headdress is probably King Chaan Muan himself. The scene below shows a procession involving musicians and dancers in fabulous costumes, carrying different musical instruments.

In Room 2, covering practically every surface of the walls, is one of the masterpieces of Maya art: an incredibly realistic portrayal of a battle scene. In the middle of the composition is the figure of a leader, again shown from the front, grasping the hair of a prisoner in one hand and a spear covered with the skin of a jaguar in the other. This figure represents Chaan Muan, who is accompanied by another warrior, probably Shield Jaguar II, the ruler of Yaxchilan. The result of the battle is presented on the north wall of the room. Once again, Chaan Muan occupies the centre of the composition, this time accompanied by a group Of warriors and two women who observe from a distance the presentation of a group of prisoners captured in battle. The principal captive lies at the feet of Chaan Muan, while the remaining captives are distributed on a six-tier structure, probably representing the different levels of the Bonampak Acropolis. The prisoners are no doubt going to be sacrificed at the presentation of Chaan Muan’s successor and heir to the throne.

The murals in Room 3 are less well preserved, although many of the original designs can still be discerned. Again, they clearly represent a grand ceremony, probably the culmination of the two previous scenes, this composition is divided into two sections: the first shows a group of elaborately garbed individuals resting on a stepped pyramid while a group of musicians and dancers parade by; the second section shows a scene in a different place, probably inside a palace, and again depicts Chaan Muan, his family and a group of courtiers. In this final section, the royal family is engaged in a bloodletting ritual, thus completing the formal presentation of the royal heir.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp172-178.

Bonampak

Acropolis; 2. Temple of the Murals; 3. Temple 2; 4. Temple 3; 5. Temples 4 to 10.

Getting there:

It is possible to get close to the site by combi from Palenque but the final stages to the site itself might be complicated. The fact that Bonampak is part of a tour that takes in Yaxchilan as well means that there are tens of people there everyday (and that’s the low season, there will be many more in the high season. That means it would be virtually impossible to use the informal methods of transport that have been discussed elsewhere. Unless you have your own transport the organised tours might be the only way to visit these sites – without a great deal of work, time and effort.