In spite of the
inconveniences encountered in walking through or living within
these steep, dry hills and ridges, this area was the most
important commerce route between the
Highlands and the
Lowlands,
during both the Preclassic and Classic periods, also, the longest history of cave
use is found here, beginning around 1000 BC and ending in the Terminal
Classic (ca. 900 AD). The earliest evidence consists of a highland
version of red pottery located in both an aguada and a small crevasse
outside of La Caoba Vieja. Evidence of habitation in the village is
slight until the Late Classic, but this might be the result of a
sampling error excavations were almost exclusively in back-structure middens, but the 3 pits that pierced architecture did reveal Early
Classic and some Preclassic ceramics
Tres Islas:
Located 20 Km. North of
Cancuén, is a Early Classic
site, that earlier thought that was the Capitol of the area
until 500 AD, but recent findings at
El Raudal, yield to the conclusion that
it was just a peripheral site between El Raudal and Cancuén. It was El
Raudal the dominant polity until the power moved to Cancuén. it
was a small site and was used as an observatory, using 3 Stelas and an
Altar in the fashion of the Uaxactún Temple Observatory. Across the river
from Tres Islas are the San Francisco Hills, an area of approx. 35 km2
typified by “haystack karst” steep hills filled with small caves. Three
large hills are visible in the entire
Upper Pasión, dominating the
horizon at Cancuén
and Tres Islas.
|
Recreation
of the Observatory |
|
Stela 1 |
Stela 2 |
Stela 3 |
El Raudal: Located north west of Tres Islas, this late
Preclassic to Early Classic site was the dominant polity in this area,.
The site is on the top of small hills and has 2 main Groups, the group 1
has monumental architecture with Vaulted rooms on top and palaces.
The main Temple has stairways in the North and south side. 300 mt. to the
south is the Acrópolis with a 35 mt. High Temple, there have been not
found sculptured monuments to date.
|
Group 1 site Map |
La
Caoba Vieja:
La Caoba is located in the middle of a 32-km2 area
of large pyramidal hills. Hewn out of reef coral, they are the
remnants of an older surface which eroded away after geologic
uplift. Left in the hills as well are pieces of an ancient cave
system which would have wound its way under the whole area, at
least one of the is still used for ceremonies, petitioning a Tzuultaq'a (owner) named La Ventana. A Late Pre Classic to early Classic site is located
under the modern village that gives it its name. Located two hours from
the nearest source of water, it appears to have been strategically
founded to control access to a 32-km2 area of hill-caves and to take
advantage of two small perched water tables in the middle of an
otherwise parched and barren landscape, its strategic location, had the
control of the commerce routes between the
Highlands and
Petén lowlands
for centuries, the same role that
Cancuén had centuries later.
These two reasons help to explain why a town would have been
settled there. Even with the two perched water tables, the village would
still have been left dry for part of the year, necessitating bringing
water from the Río Pasión or the Río Machaquilá, both 2 hours away on
foot. More perplexing is the fact that the town of La Caoba Vieja has
the earliest known evidence of occupation for the region, which might
suggest an ideological reason to settle close to the important
hill-caves, to test the hypothesis that the hill-caves were natural
witzob', or sacred mountains which were used as a regional ritual
center.
The Caoba Acrópolis is located on the western periphery of La
Caoba Vieja atop a large modified hill. It consisted of three different
parts of the hill, one central rise and two lower terraces to the north
and south. The central rise was leveled off with soil and ballast, and
then plastered. The plaza group structures were all located on top of
the platform, which terminated in a wall from 1 course (south side) to 3
courses.
The eastern front of the hill was severely modified, with two
consecutive staircases separated by a large platform providing a
public-private interface for the residents of the acropolis. Access into
the compound then becomes increasingly restricted-a narrow staircase
leads to an inlet in the top of the acropolis, which is completely
blocked off except for a small entrance into the plaza between the
corners of buildings A-1 and A-4. Wakaxtz'uul, was discovered
neighboring the Caoba hills which might have provided a gateway to the
area from the north.
|
Site Map |
Raxruhá Viejo:
Research in and around
Raxruhá in Alta Verapaz, is of vital importance to understanding
the nature of highland-lowland interaction. Located just north
of the "last gasp" of the highlands (the Sierra de Chinahá), it
demonstrates most obviously hybrid highland-lowland patterns
typical of the region. The regional mapping, recorded the use of
natural karst towers as large, natural "pyramids," which
synthesizes the highland use of these sacred mountain caves, or
witzob' in a lowland fashion, incorporating them into their city
parallel to the pyramids found in the rest of the Lowland Maya
world. This is especially apparent at the site of Raxruha Viejo
an Late Pre Classic to Classic site, which is completely lacking
in temple architecture. Instead, large, pyramidal hills have
been incorporated into the site core as giant, natural temples. One hill in particular borders the site's main plaza and is
fronted by a long, stepped platform complete with a row of Stelas and altars in a manner recognizable from sites in the
central Maya lowlands
|
Cave near the main group at the west of the Hill |
Palace build in a
hill, east of the main Plaza |
Site Map |
