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Central Petén
El Zots |
Motul de San Jose |
Ixl;u |
Trinidad de Nosotros
| Queixil Islands |
Zacpetén |
El Zotz: In the north of
the Petén Itza lake, next to the famous
Tikal National Park, is located the
San Miguel la Palotada National
 Park
( 34.934 ha)
and the Large Classic site: El Zotz (Bat in Maya) its real name was
Pa’ Chan or "Kingdom of the Broken Heaven".
It was a large Classic Maya site, El Zotz with 4 main groups, the
North, Central, south and El
Diablo, an early classic compound of
astrological character. One of the only 12
wooden lintels known,
come from El Zotz's Temple I, now in National Archeology Museum in
Guatemala
City, shows a Ruler son of a King from Tikal. (picture below).
This site is
very
important to understand the Classic Maya, it is close to Tikal (23
Km south east, from Tikal), but never was a vassal state, the
inscriptions, relates this site more with
Waka' to the north, furthermore,
the dynastic line in Yaxchilán, was
founded by El Zotz. (There is strong evidence that the dynasty in
Yaxchilán originated in Central Petén, and the ruler ancestor names
in both sites are very similar. The monumental
architecture,
present 49 large structures, including 4 Pyramids, the tallest (M7),
being 35 m. (80 feet) high, Palaces, a
ball court and 4 large chultuns,
maybe used as water reservoirs. Only 2 sculptured Stelas were left
behind by the intensive looting in the 60's. The last mention of the
site is from Tikal in 744 AD, in a
conquest war against
Naranjo
context.
 Exemplary
conservational work mainly in the nature aspect of the park, has been carried out here by the University of San Carlos.
This area, because of its scenic beauty,
caves and swamps, is much recommended
for visits by groups. For the real adventurers, You can walk 23 Km. (Around 8
Hrs), into the Jungle, from Tikal, with the company of Park Rangers,
that will offer you a bungalow, for free, in their station. Also it can be explored on horseback starting from the Dos Aguadas intersection. There are 43 bat species, three of them correspond to
vampires. This nocturnal
mammal feared by many, has an assorted
nourishment, insects,
fruits, nectars,
birds, fish, and they are
responsible for the pollination and propagation of hundred of
naturals species along the whole
jungle. Before sunset, you must
prepare to contemplate the most wonderful spectacle that you have
ever admired. While the sound of their wings starts rising,
thousands of bats flutter out of the cliff into the dark jungle
forming a black stream in the sky, while the falcons waits for its
prey.
Motul de San José: Located 3
km. from the north shore of Lake Petén Itzá, Motul thrived during the Late
Preclassic (300 B.C.–A.D. 300) and Early Classic (A.D. 300-600), reaching its
apogee during the Late Classic (A.D. 600-830), when it was the capitol of a
state in the Lake area, and declined during the Terminal Classic (A.D. 830-950)
and Post Classic (A.D. 950-1200). The site has over 200 structures mapped
within its core. Five major groups have monumental architecture with temples
reaching 20 m in height and range structures reaching 8 m in height. Remains of
manufacturing activities have been discovered at Motul and in its environs. The
richest and deepest objects at Motul was found in association with the largest
complex of multi-room range structures, called the Acropolis in Group C, which
may have functioned as the royal residence during the Late Classic. this site is
where Dr. Antonia Foias of Williams College hypothesizes that Motul de San José
is the elusive “Ik” site, a center of production for
artworks ranging from stone stela to elaborately decorated pottery,
commissioned from all over The Maya
region.
The ceramic analysis discovered pre-Mamom pottery (Early Middle Preclassic between 900/1000 and 600 B.C.) at the secondary port site of
Buenavista,
located approximately 3 km southeast of Motul and on the north shore of
Lake
Petén Itzá. Here, the archeologist were able to better define the pottery
characteristic of the Terminal Classic at this site, based on the extensive
excavations of several palaces in the major Groups D and E.
Several lines of
evidence suggest that it produced the well-known Ik-Style polychrome pottery.
Named for the Emblem Glyph that appears often in the hieroglyphic texts on these
vessels. Motul flourished and perished in the shadow of
Tikal as it was under
its influence at least until the early eighth century, and as such can provide
clues to the relationship between the super-power and its client or vassal
states. Manufacturing activities were identified in many of the elite households
excavated at this site, and ranged from spinning for the weaving of fine to
coarse textiles, Obsidian and chert tool production, to elaborate polychromic production and
molded to modeled figurine manufacture. (Photos, kind
courtesy of Simon Burchell)
Ixlú Stela 1
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Ixlú:
Is a Terminal
Classic to Post
Classic Maya small site (700-1200 AD), located between the
Petén Itzá and
Sacpetén Lakes, that
 was the main port in the Post Classic Petén, the site has
Stelas and altars, the architecture shows 3 construction eras, being the Post
Classic type the main. Ixlú Stela 1 shows the date 889 AD, and
the broken Stela 2 is from 910 AD. In the Post
Classic it was on the Ko'woj influence .
Trinidad de Nosotros:
Sik’u’, its name
during the Classic, is a site that shows
a long occupation since the Mid Preclassic to the
early Post Classic (600 BC to
1100 AD). This was the main port in the Lake during the Pre Classic and Classic,
and its architecture shows platforms, and a dock among its features in a well
protected bay in the the Petén Iztá lake North shore. The site was intimately
linked to Motul de San José (2.5 Km. north east), and Tikal an played a key rol in the
commerce routes between Northern and Southern Petén cities. The site has some
150 Structures in 50 groups, the Central area have been mapped (below) and shows
80 structures, it has a 3 temples including a round Temple 12 mt. high that is
clearly seen from the lake (see 3D elevation), the ball court is 25 mt. long and
has a small temple on its western wall. It has several Plazas being the V the
largest, although plazas I-IV, are delimited by the main buildings and were
paved with stucco, the main residential area, dated from the Late classic, its
close to this plazas. There have been found several weigth stones,
obsidian,
jade, and pottery showing the importance of this Port. All this sites are easy
to visit from Flores by car or boat.
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Site map |
3D sight from the lake |
3D site map |
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Port
picture |
Port
map |
Weigth
stones |
Queixil Islands:
Located on
the small lake Petenxil near the southern tip of Lake Petén Itzá, are two islands
that show occupation from the Terminal Classic to the Terminal Post Classic (800
AD to 1697 AD) being one of the few sites with this late occupation in Petén.
This area was the last conquered by the Spaniards in 1697 along with
Tayasal the
Capitol of the Itzáes, located on the Island of Flores. Queixil shows a
concentrated (Maler drown maps below) and distinctive Post Classic
architecture. The island setting and external walls identified at nearby lakes
region sites, such as Zacpetén and
Muralla de Leon, demonstrate the defensible
and defended nature of these sites and this was certainly an era of warfare and
conflict in Petén. The Quexil-Petenxil Basin survived the political change of
the Maya Collapse through a combination of purposeful political and practical
action and transformed their social and family organization, effectively
restructuring their households and communities, including their house
architecture and spatialized religious practices, to adapt themselves to the
social and political realities of post-collapse Maya-Yalnain society.
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Island Air view |
Eastern Island |
West
Island |
Burial 2 |
Zacpetén:
This site shows a
long occupation, it was most heavily occupied during the
Middle Preclassic (1000
BC to 300 BC), and Late Classic through
Terminal Classic (AD 600 to AD 950), and
Late Post
Classic through Contact (AD 1200 to AD 1697) periods. Sparse evidence of
occupation during intervening periods is present, but construction events during
these hiatuses are minimal. Zacpetén’s Late to Terminal Classic period
occupation is enigmatic. Despite the lack of large ceremonial structure from
these periods, several carved stone monuments were recovered---some of which
were fitted into the masonry of Late Post Classic ceremonial buildings. Group A at Zacpetén was the civic-ceremonial center of the site and contains two open halls
rather than one with a small sacbé (causeway) bisecting the plaza and separating
the halls. Group B includes a Late to Terminal classic ceremonial group, which
was also used by later occupants. Inscriptions on the monuments and the layout
of Group B suggest Late Classic ties with
Tikal
, which lies 25 km north of Zacpetén. Group F is a residential group to the north of the defensive system on
the mainland and may also date to the Terminal Classic period. Zacpetén's Late
Post Classic period occupation is concentrated in four of the five groups on the
peninsula. Group D and Group E are residential groups. Group A and Group C are
dominated by ceremonial buildings grouped in the Ko'woj style, Temple
assemblage with raised shrine lies at a right angle to a western facing temple
rather than facing into it. This specific variant appears at central Petén sites
including Zacpetén, Topoxté, and Muralla de León, all of which lie within the
reconstructed Kowoj social boundaries. Ceremonial architecture outside these
boundaries follows a very different pattern. For example, Late Post Classic Itzá
ceremonial groups do not appear to include formal temples. The residences at Zacpetén are tandem-shaped structures standing in patio groups. Tandem
residences include a front room and back room and the former has a plastered and
occasionally painted surface while the latter has a earthen floor. Household
production activities are concentrated in the back room, while socializing and
ritual performances were focused upon the front room. This
Maya Ko'woj site was the rival of
Tayasal in
the Post Classic.
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