Altar
de Sacrifícios Is a mid sized site, located
on La Pasión river, near the confluence with the Chixoy or Salinas river
to form the Usumacinta river, it
developed in the Pre Classic (
Xe pottery,
dating from 1000 BC),
and formal
architecture
(thatch-and-pole) date to c 500 BC.
Being
the capitol city of
La Pasión river basin since 455 AD, due to its
dominance in the water routes for commerce between the Central Highlands
and the Lowlands of Petén, although it flourished during the middle
classic 661 to 771 AD, then declined due to the surge of
Ceibal
and Dos
Pilas, and a Putún invasion on 835 AD, the
last date documented there is 910 AD, the early constructions are with
red sandstone, given it a very unique look, it has a very rich
pottery
and of course a number of stelas and altars
that gave its name, also during the Peabody excavations, there where
found 270 obsidian objects with animal shapes and
Flint eccentrics in
Altar de Sacrificios, a cache contained 13 eccentrics. This cache
was thought to have been placed through a plaza floor at the time of
the placement of Altar number 4. This one contained 4 laurel-leaf
blades, 3 notched double-pointed blades, 2 elaborated perforated
forms, a very complex unnamed form, 2 trident crescents and a
double-notched pointed blade.
Eccentrics
Recent investigations on the Chamá
Style pottery, have yielded the conclusion that the makers of this
very fine and well define style was made by nobles from Altar de
Sacrificios, that fled during the Classic
Maya Collapse of the
Petexbatún area, and
established there during 60 years, the concentration of
Chamá
style pottery in this site is the largest in any Maya city.
Altar de Sacrificios Gallery
