Pacunam Foundation Maya Culture

Foundation for Maya Cultural and Natural Heritage

Fundación Patrimonio Cultural y Natural Maya

Our mission is to coordinate efforts and provide resources to identify, lead, and promote projects that protect and maintain the cultural and natural heritage of Guatemala.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve is located in the heart of the Selva Maya, the Maya Jungle. It is an ecological treasure that covers one fifth of Guatemala’s landmass (21,602 square kilometers). Much of the area remains intact.

It was established to preserve—for present and future generations—one of the most spectacular areas of natural and cultural heritage in the world.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve is Guatemala’s last stronghold for large-bodied, wide-ranging endangered species, including the jaguar, puma, tapir, and black howler monkey. It also holds the highest

concentration of Maya ruins.

The year 2012 marks the emblematic change of an era in the ancient calendar of the Maya. This momentous event has sparked global interest in environmental and cultural issues in Guatemala. After decades of hard work by archaeologists, environmentalists, biologists, epigraphers, and other scientists dedicated to understanding the ancient Maya civilization, the eyes of the whole world are now focused on our country. This provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to share with the world our pressing cause. The Maya Biosphere Reserve is in great danger. Forest fires, drug trafficking, illegal logging, new settlements, wildlife poaching, and archaeological looting present relentless threats to the biosphere’s environmental and cultural richness.

Pacunam, whose members include leading companies operating in Guatemala, was founded in 2006 to help save and protect Guatemala’s cultural and natural heritage for the benefit of future generations. We are committed and determined to safeguard our Maya legacy.

We face many challenges. The most urgent is funding.

We invite you to join us in the effort to preserve this extraordinary legacy and, by so doing, to invest in the understanding of the Maya’s mystical civilization for the sake of all humanity.

José PivaralPresident of Pacunam

Cover photos: Danta Temple, Christian Ziegler. Waka’ queen, Jennie Guerra

Pacunam Overview and Objectives

Maya Biosphere Reserve Why is it important?

Search for the Snake Kingdom

Threats to the Maya Biosphere Reserve

Strategic ApproachOur key archaeological projects

El MiradorEl Perú Waka’La Corona Sak Nikte’Naachtun El Zotz Pa’chanCival Holmul

Allies in Conservation

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Clockwise from bottom left José Pivaral (President of Pacunam), Prince Albert II of Monaco (sponsor), Mel Gibson (sponsor), Richard Hansen (Director of Mirador Archaeological Project) at El Mirador

“What is in play is immense” HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco

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Join us as we climb the awe-inspiring temples of the Maya world, in the heart of one of the last and best preserved rainforests in the Americas.

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Pacunam Overview

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Top of La Danta Temple, El Mirador

5Pacunam

Our Objectives

Provide financial support for the study of strategic archaeological sites within the Maya Biosphere Reserve in order to protect it as an ecological and cultural system.

Develop the Carmelita-Mirador route as a sustainable tourist circuit to provide revenue for local communities.

Supportthe Conservation Incentive Program in local communities, in order to make biodiversity conservation a viable choice for users of local resources.

Encourage international cultural exchanges through events, seminars, conferences, workshops, and exhibits.

Our Corporate Partners

Pacunam was founded in 2006 to help save and conserve Guatemala’s cultural and natural heritage for the benefit of future generations. Leading corporations operating in Guatemala have joined Pacunam in its efforts to preserve the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR).

Pacunam builds public-private partnerships with the Guatemalan government and prominent global organizations. In the MBR, Pacunam works to support the development of high-impact projects by collaborating with local communities, archaeologists, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies.

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Archaeologist cleans temple steps at Mirador School children whose parents work with tourists Toucan at Waka’ Maya exhibit at Quai Branly Museum in Paris


Why is it important?The Maya Biosphere Reserve

Global significance due to its size, biodiversity, and cultural treasures

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H o n d u r a s

M e x i c o

B e l i z e

G u a t e m a l a

S e l v a M a y a

Atlantic Ocean

PacificOcean

North America

South America

Maya region in Mesoamerica

Selva Maya

Area populated by the Ancient Maya 2000 BCE – 1000 CE

Sources: VH Ramos / WCS Guatemala and Carlos Morales-Aguilar

Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR)

International borders

Major Maya cities

Minor Maya cities

BCE = Before Common Era (BC)

CE = Common Era (AD)

The largest intact rainforest north of the Amazon basin

Comprises 41,700 km2

Located in Guatemala, Mexico and Belize

Selva Maya

Maya Biosphere Reserve

Tikal

San MiguelLa Palotada

El Zotz

Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo

NaachtunDos LagunasEl Mirador

Río AzulEl Mirador Río Azul

Laguna del Tigre

Buffer zoneSierra delLacandón

Flores

Río Escondido

National Park Large areas containing priority ecosystems and iconic landscapes

Biotope Areas of smaller size that protect natural features of interest, with potential for education, recreation, and low impact tourism

The Maya Biosphere Reserve, located in the heart of the “Selva Maya” is an ecological treasure that covers one fifth of Guatemala’s landmass.

With much of the area remaining intact, it covers a total area of 21,602 square kilometers.

The reserve was established on February 5th, 1990 by the Congress of Guatemala, to guarantee, for present and future generations, the existence of one of the most spectacular areas of natural and cultural heritage in the world.

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Source: CONAP

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Spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi)

10 The Maya Biosphere reserve. why is it important?

Baird´s Tapir (Tapirus bairdii)

Baird’s tapirs are found in isolated populations from Mexico to Colombia. They inhabit marsh-swamp areas and wet tropical rainforests; food and water availability are important factors in habitat selection. They are the largest native terrestrial mammals in the Neotropics. Due to their large body size they have difficulty dissipating heat; nocturnal behavior is thought to be an adaptation to avoid the hottest times of the day. They are largely solitary animals and are normally found at low densities. Tapirs are important seed dispersers and are also used as an indicator species of tropical forest health. Their major predators are humans. The species is listed as endangered by the IUCN.

IUCN* Conservation Status

Extint

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

EX

CR

EN

VU

NT

LC

Guatemalan Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra)

This howler monkey is endemic to the largest tropical rain forest region of Mesoamerica, the Selva Maya. It is one of the largest monkeys in the Americas. They live in groups of 4 to 11 individuals and the sex ratio is almost equal. Groups consist of one dominant alpha male, a few females, their offspring, and occasionally extra males.

They are important for the role they play in seed dispersal; their frugivorous diet helps disperse the seeds of many rainforest plants. Humans have been known to illegally capture individuals for pets and occasionally for food. They have been listed by the IUCN as an endangered species since 2003.

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Extint


Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

EX

CR

EN

VU

NT

LC

* The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red List Categories and Criteria are intended to be an easily and widely understood system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction. The system divides threatened species into three categories: 1. Critically Endangered (CR), 2. Endangered (EN), 3. Vulner-able (VU). It also lists Documented Extinctions (EX), and lower risk taxa divided into two sucategories: Near Threatened (NT) and Least Concern (LC).

Guatemala’s last stronghold for large-bodied, wide-ranging endangered species: jaguar, puma, white-lipped peccary, tapir, and Guatemalan black howler monkey

11The Maya Biosphere reserve. why is it important?


Extint


Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

EX

CR

EN

VU

NT

LC

Jaguar (Panthera onca)

The jaguar is the largest cat that inhabits the Americas. Jaguars are top predators and are considered a keystone species because of their impact on the populations of other animals in the ecosystem.

Humans are the primary predators of jaguars, victims of illegal poaching for their pelts, paws, and teeth. The species is currently classified by the IUCN as Near Threatened, facing serious threats because of habitat destruction and direct hunting due to their interaction with domestic animals and cattle.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve has been identified by the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Jaguar Conservation Program as the largest Jaguar Conservation Unit (JCU) Type 1 in Mesoamerica: an area with a stable community of prey, known to contain a large enough resident population of jaguars (at least 50 reproductive individuals) to be potentially self-sustaining for the next 100 years.

Animals were an important part of Maya iconography and often represented gods, the underworld, or supernatural powers.

Zoomorphic depictions such as jaguars, monkeys, and frogs dominate polychrome ceramic images and may display human or animal characteristics. Maya art also had many representations of birds, serpents, crocodiles, and deer, revealing the importance of animals in their daily life.

For the Maya, the jaguar was believed to facilitate communication between the living and the dead. They saw these powerful felines as their companions in the spiritual world, a symbol of strength and courage.

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The last refuge of the Scarlet Macaw in Guatemala (only 399 birds remain)

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)


The MBR supports one of the highest levels of endemism worldwide — ranging from 3.8% for bird species to 28.9% for amphibian species.

During the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, millions of migratory birds take shelter here.

The MBR contains at least twenty types of forest, with hundreds of tree species including mahogany, ceiba, and Spanish cedar.

3,000 vascular plants

300 species of trees

800 vertebrate species

500 bird species

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1 Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas)

2 Yucatan Banded Gecko (Coleonyx elegans)

3 White Fronted Parrot (Amazona albifrons)

4 Central American Tree Snake (Imantodes gemmistratus)

5 White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)

6 Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata)

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The Maya Biosphere Reserve holds a remarkable 569.5 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)

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The Maya Biosphere Reserve serves as a source of water for the surrounding communities and as a major carbon sink for the entire planet, in addition to conserving biodiversity.

As part of the largest wilderness area in Mesoamerica, the Maya Biosphere Reserve is of great environmental value and has a significant influence on climate change.

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National park

Biotope

Buffer zone

Rivers

Lakes

Major Maya cities

Minor Maya cities

Maya cities in the Maya Biosphere Reserve

This unique area is one of mankind’s most important archaeological treasures and includes some of the largest pyramids by volume in the world.

The highest concentration of Ancient Maya Cities

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Source: CONAP / IDAEH

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Belize


Outstanding sites in the Maya Biosphere Reserve

•Tikal•El Mirador•Nakbe•Uaxactun

•Río Azul•Piedras Negras•Naachtun•El Zotz

•Waka’•La Corona•Yaxha•San Bartolo

Tomb I, Río Azul

Temple I, Tikal

Structure A-2, La MuertaRed Hands Temple, Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo

West wall mural, San Bartolo

Structure 34, El Mirador

Photo: Ricky López

Photo: José Hosttas

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Belize


Early Preclassic

2000 BCE

-1900-2000 -1800 -1700 -1600 -1500 -1400 -1300 -1200 -1100 -1000 -900 -800 -700 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 100 200

1000 BCE 350 BCE 250 CE

Middle Preclassic

Ancient Greece

El Mirador

El Tintal

Nakbe

Cival

Holmul

Olmec

Ancient Egypt

Indus Valley

Mesopotamia

Ancient China

150 CE

Late Preclassic

Cities located in the Maya Biosphere Reserve

Believed to have beenKan Kingdom cities

Birth of Jesus Christ

Ancient Rome

400 BCE

800 BCE

800 BCE

150 CE

300 BCE

350 BCE

1000 BCE

800 BCE

800 BCE

800 BCE

753 BCE

1100 BCE

3000 BCE

2600 BCE

3100 BCE

4500 BCE500 BCE

332 BCE

332 BCE

1700 BCE

1500 BCE

146 BCE

150 CE

200 CE

Home of the earliest cities of the Maya civilization

Thousands of archaeological sites, dating from1000 BCE to 1000 CE

Attracts tourists from around the globe

Takalik Abaj900 BCE


300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1600 1697

250 CE 500 CE 950 CE 1250 CEEarly

Postclassic

El Peru - Waka’

Naachtun

El Zotz

Chichen Itza

Byzantine Empire Aztec

Inca

950 CE

Middle Postclassic

Late PostclassicEarly Classic

Other Major World Cultures

Late Classic

Tikal

Columbus arrives in the Americas (1492 CE)

Conquest ofGuatemala (1523 CE)

Uaxactun

400 CE

350 CE 950 CE 1200 CE

1470 CE 1535 CE

1520 CE

900 CE

400 CE

800 CE

900 CE Maya Civilization

Timeline

950 CE

1250 CE900 CE

900 CE250 CE

La Corona 900 CE250 CE

1500

1550 CE

1000 CE


Search for the Snake Kingdom

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Panel I, La Corona

21Search for the Snake Kingdom

Days of GloryThe great advances in Maya archaeology and epigraphy reveal how much more we have to discover and understand about this complex civilization.

In recent years academic experts have fo-cused on the history of the most successful of the Maya political states. The Kan Kingdom, by the Maya themselves, means “serpent,” and was identifi ed in the Classic period by its “emblem glyph” representing the head of a snake.

Since epigraphers fi rst noted the existence of the Kan Kingdom at the end of the 1970s, it has become a key area of interest for many experts. Its snake emblem is the glyph with the widest distribution in the entire Maya Lowlands.

The presence of the snake emblem glyph over such a territorial expanse points to the impor-tance of the Kan Kingdom. It is widely accepted that it was the closest the Maya came to creat-ing an empire.

According to ancient Maya texts found on ceramics and stone monuments, the Kan King-dom controlled most of the region of Petén and southern Campeche (Mexico) for almost two hundred years (sixth and seventh centuries CE). Inscriptions also suggest that its dynasty traced its roots back several centuries into the Preclassic period to the very beginning of Maya civilization. The Kan Kingdom rose to power in the lowland jungles as the fi rst cities were being built by the Maya.

King of Waka’Found in Burial 39 at Waka’, along with 22 other ceramic fi gurines. These fi gurines represent the king and the queen with their entire royal court.

El Tigre complex, El Mirador

The Kan emblem glyph represents the head of a snake

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Kan petroglyph, La Muerta

22 Search for the Snake Kingdom

With the rise of El Mirador and its many neighboring centers in the heart of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, we see the development of the fi rst centralized state of the ancient Maya. In fact, it is possible that this early state was the seat of the great Kan Kingdom itself.

After dominating the Petén region during the Late Preclassic period (ca. 150 CE), the monu-mental center of El Mirador was abandoned in the second century CE; soon thereafter, Tikal became the principle Maya city of the Early Classic period. During this period, the Kan King-dom was seated at the distant site of Dzibanche (Quintana Roo, Mexico), and then later moved to Calakmul (Campeche, Mexico).

Rivalry between Tikal and the Snake Kingdom grew as both cities expanded their domains. The inevitable clash between these titans start-ed as series of confrontations during the sixth century CE. The Kan Kingdom’s aggressive diplomatic and military policies soon gained it numerous allies who helped it defeat Tikal several times and consolidate the most extensive state in all of Classic Maya history.

The long reach of the dominance of the Snake kings was proclaimed in the monuments at Calakmul and in inscriptions by vassal kings of its allied cities.

The unprecedented success of the Kan Kingdom fi nally ended when it was defeated twice by a fortifi ed Tikal in 695 and 743 CE. Fragmented, it managed to survive until the end of the ninth century CE.

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All of the ancient maya cities faded away, hidden under the jungle

23# nombre de secciónPalatial scene on a polychrome vase depicts what appears to be Ta Ye ‘Chan K’inich, governor of Motul de San José, sitting on a throne, accompanied by two members of his court. According to researchers he appears in several painted vases found at different Maya Lowland sites. (Late Classic)

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Saving the Maya Biosphere Reserve is urgent

Threats to the Maya Biosphere Reserve

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At least 20% of forest lost in the last twenty years

25Threats to the Maya Biosphere Reserve

The Maya Biosphere Reserve is in dangerHuman activity presents severe threats to its environmental and cultural

richness . . . drug trafficking, illegal logging and ranching, illegal road

construction, new settlements, wildlife poaching, archaeological looting,

and other associated and opportunistic criminal activity.

Fire Destroys what is left of the tropical forest, along with wildlife and archeological treasures

Poaching Puts endangered species under more stress

Looting The information we need is destroyed

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Destrucion in structures caused by looters Poaching of endangered species

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15,000 hectares of forest destroyed by fires every year

Jaguar killed by ilegal hunters

Pacunam and its partners are working to . . .

Protect intact areas and restore degraded ones

Create economic incentive programs to increase the quality of life of local communities and enlist them as allies in conservation

Promote transparent management of the Maya Biosphere Reserve and support governance mechanisms that enhance conservation

Support archaeological work in the Kan Kingdom

Three strategic areas

Archaeological research

Conservation of the environment

Development of sustainable economic activities

Strategic Approach

Pacunam works closely with highly effective organizations that can provide financial support and share technical expertise, best practices, and other resources to save the Maya Biosphere Reserve and all that it contains.

Photos at left: restoration and consolidation projects at El Mirador

Support for archaeological projects

The Maya Biosphere Reserve is a tantalizing prize for those engaged in illegal human activities . . . Maya ruins for looters, jungles filled with hardwoods for wildcat loggers, virgin land for squatters, new routes for drug traffickers.

Archaeological projects are proving to be a key component in holding the line.

Pacunam is concentrating its support on sites that contribute to a defensive human shield because of the worldwide attention their discoveries attract and their geographic location on Guatemala’s MBR frontier.

28 Preserving the Kan Kingdom

El Mirador Original name: unknown Emblem glyph

Project directorDr. Richard Hansen Idaho State University

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The Danta complex is the largest pyramidal construction

ever built by the Maya, 300 meters wide, 600 meters long

and 72 meters tall. Also it is one of the largest structures in the

ancient world in terms of volume. The fi rst platform is equivalent

to seventeen football fi elds.


The largest of Preclassic Maya cities, it was the first regional state to emerge in the Petén forests.

It is located at the southern edge of a karstic elevation called the Central Yucatan Plateau. It is known as “The Mirador Basin,” which is filled with swamp lands that provided the rich soil that once sustained thousands of farmers.

The population was controlled by a central au-thority that resided in El Mirador and neighboring cities (Nakbe, Tintal, Wakna, Xulnal), as well as in many secondary centers.

Monumental causeways built to connect these centers reflect the huge labor force controlled by El Mirador’s rulers.

Early divine kings also built massive pyramids, considered the largest building complexes con-structed by the Maya: Danta Complex, El Tigre, Cascabel, Monos, León, and the Acropolis.

Classic period inscriptions suggest that El Mira-dor could have been the origin and first capital of the Kan Kingdom, one of the most important politi-cal entities of Maya history.

El Mirador has been studied for more than 30 years. The work of Richard Hansen has highlighted the importance of El Mirador both as evidence of a fully developed Preclassic Maya civilization and as one of the best preserved natural areas within the Maya Biosphere Reserve.

Recent excavations have uncovered a unique stucco frieze that depicts the watery underworld, including one of the earliest depictions of the hero twins of the Popol Vuh.

If you look at this photo closely you will notice a straight line of higher trees defining what was a causeway that connected building complexes and cities, now covered by nature.

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Restauration process of hero twins stucco frieze (shown below)


El Perú Original name: Waka’

Project director Dr. David Freidel Washington University of St. Louis

The fi gurine of the queen found in Burial 39 depicts a

young woman who, like the other human fi gures found with her,

lacks eyes because she is in the supernatural world. She will be

able to see through a magical shawl that has eyes on it. Five of

these shawls are carried by women participating in the ritual. She has

a green royal insignia in her crown that depicts the Maize God. She is carrying a battle shield on her left arm, showing that she is a warrior

queen; this shield is actually a divining mirror for casting lots and

predicting the future.

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Emblem glyph


Polychrome vessel, Burial 24, found in Structure 014-04 during the excavations in 2004

Above photo: Stelae 15 and 16Stela 15 narrates the arrival to the city of war leader Sihyaj K’ahk’s in 378 CE, one week before he conquered Tikal. Stela 16 is the only documented portrait of the conqueror.

Royal court figurines, Burial 39

El Perú-Waka’ is located near the San Pedro River, which was the most important communication route connecting central Petén with the Usuma-cinta River and the Gulf of Mexico to the west.

The city, originally called Waka’, was inhabited during the Classic period, between the third and ninth centuries CE.

Its significance lies in its alliances with the two most powerful Classic kingdoms: Tikal and the Kan Kingdom.

Waka’ was an important ally of Tikal in the first half of the Classic period. However, during the ex-pansion of the Kan Kingdom (seventh century CE), the king K’inich B’ahlam married a princess from Tikal’s rival Calakmul. This alliance would result in a period of prosperity for Waka’.

Excavations led by Freidel and Dr. Héctor Escobedo (Universidad de San Carlos de Guate-mala) have uncovered extraordinary royal tombs

from the Kan Kingdom alliance period, including one of a queen (Burial 8).

Another royal tomb (Burial 39) from the same period contained an exceptional offering of clay figurines that represent the king, the queen, and their entire royal court.

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La Corona Original name: Sak Nikte’ Toponym glyph

Project director

Dr. Marcello Canuto

Tulane University

Panel 1 detail K’inich [?] Yook, Governor of La Corona, 677 CE

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This comparatively small site is located 27 kilo-meters north of Waka’ and west of the higher karstic plateau of El Mirador, at the edge of the swampy wet-lands of the Laguna del Tigre National Park.

Heavily looted in the 1960’s, many of its finely carved sculptures ended up in private collections and art museums throughout the world. The prov-enance of the sculptures was unknown and, for a long time, they pointed to a lost Maya city dubbed “Site Q.”

With the discovery of a well preserved hiero-glyphic panel in 2005, Sak Nikte’ was finally proven to be the long lost “Site Q.”

La Corona was one of the Kan Kingdom’s most faithful and important allies. As a consequence, the high quality inscriptions from La Corona have provid-ed invaluable information about the Kan Kingdom, in-cluding the fact that local kings of Sak Nikte’ married three princesses from the Kan capital of Calakmul.

This proves the importance of marriage alliances during the Classic period and points to the strategic importance of La Corona during the expansion of the Kan Kingdom in the seventh century CE.

Recent investigations directed by Canuto and Dr. Tomás Barrientos (Universidad del Valle de Gua-temala) have begun to help scholars understand how the Kan Kingdom went about expanding its domain.

Buryal ??

Jade and spondylus shell offerings, Burial 3, Structure 13Q-3, Main Plaza

Excavation of Structure 13R-10

“Laguna Curvada” on the north side of La Corona. The city is surrounded by numerous bodies of water like this one, which may have played an important role, as a defensive barrier.

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Photo: Tomás Barrientos


Naachtun Original name: unknown

Project directors

Dr. Dominique Michelet

and Dr. Philippe Nondedeo

CNRS / University of Paris 1

Panthéon Sorbonne

Emblem glyph: unknown

Restoration of the main facade of Structure XXV by San Carlos

University students.

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35Naachtun

Although the site of Naachtun has been known since 1922, it has only been under excavation since 2004 (originally under the direction of Kathryn Reese-Taylor of Calgary University and Ernesto Arredondo of La Trobe University).

The site is located in a very important and remote part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, which rendered it vulnerable to looters for decades.

It was given the name Naachtun, which means “distant stone,” by Sylvanus Morley; however, its original name is still unknown, which is a focus of the current project.

During the beginning of the Classic period, after the abandonment of El Mirador (just a few miles to the west), it became an important center in the northern Petén.

The monumentality of its buildings and the large number of carved stelae tell us that Naachtun was prominent in the region and played a key role dur-ing the confl ict between Tikal and the Kan Kingdom.

Its location midway between the two rivals may have allowed it to maintain political neutrality. It also may have taken sides at certain times. Unfortu-nately, so far the poor state of the inscriptions have made precise historical interpretation diffi cult.

The excavations are carried out in collaboration with Carlos Morales-Aguilar (San Carlos University of Guatemala).

Miniature vessel with shell beadsLate Classic (600–900 CE)

Two anthropomorphic whistlesLate Classic (600–900 CE)

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El Zotz Original name: Pa’ chan Emblem glyph

Project director

Edwin Román, MA

University of Texas

Stucco mask inside El Diablo Solar Structure

(Temple F8-1)

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37El Zotz

The site is located just 20 km west of Tikal and occupation dates mostly to the Classic period.

Inscriptions found in different cities indicate their close affiliation with El Zotz, as well as a politi-cal alliance with the Kan Kingdom.

During the expansion of the Kan Kingdom, El Zotz seems to have been a vassal to Waka’, making it a stra-tegic center due to its proximity to Tikal.

Recent excavations led by Dr. Stephen Houston (Brown University) have uncovered an early royal tomb in the pyramid known as “El Diablo,” richly decorated with stucco masks and friezes.

Natural karstic wall

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Stela 4

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Cival Original name: unknown

Mask found inside Structure 1, representing the Maya sun deity


Project director Dr. Francisco Estrada-BelliBoston University

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39Cival

The city was discovered in 2001 after being lost to archaeology for 100 years. It is one of the earliest cities in the Maya Lowlands and has revealed many secrets about the earliest beginnings of Maya civilization.

It was founded in 800 BCE with a massive con-struction project that remodeled an entire hilltop into a large plaza featuring an astronomically oriented architectural complex in its center (image below).

The dedication ritual of this complex included the offering of an unprecedented amount of wealth in the form of polished jade axes and pebbles (the largest amount of jade ever recovered from a single context).

For the next 1000 years the ceremonial center grew into a large city of the Preclassic Maya. Each generation built larger pyramids and palaces, attesting to great cultural sophistication centuries prior to the Classic period.

The city features five separate astronomical ritual plazas, water management works, royal palaces, and towering temple pyramids. Around 200 BCE the image of a Cival king was carved on a stela, initiating a long tradition of royal images that would continue throughout the Classic period.

At its peak, Cival had a population of over 10,000 and controlled a large territory. Urban life came to an abrupt end around 200 CE which coincided with the fall of its great ally, or patron, El Mirador. The long wall that encircles the ceremonial hilltop is our only clue to the cause of abandonment. It came to a violent end at the hands of an unknown rival.

Royal power and urban life continued at nearby Holmul for another 800 years.

Above: an offering of five jade axes were placed upright amid a bed of jade pebbles. Five water jars sat above them. Dated at 800 BCE, this is the earliest offering found at Cival and the largest single offering of jade ever found in the Maya Lowlands. The offering inaugurated Cival’s first astronomical plaza.

Head fragment of the oldest Maya figurine from Cival, 900 BCEAstronomically oriented ritual complex


Holmul Original name: unknown

Project director Dr. Francisco Estrada-BelliBoston University

Stucco frieze inside a deep tunnel conserved on the

facade of an earlier temple (Building B 1st, 350 BCE)


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41Holmul

This Classic period city replaced Cival as a regional capital in an important region between cental Peten and the Caribbean coast. Known since the first scientific expe-dition to Peten in 1909, thereafter it went unnoticed by archaeologists. Like Cival, Holmul had very early ori-gins. The first occupants settled here around 1100 BCE, centuries earlier than most other sites in the Maya Lowlands. Under the aegis of Cival rulers, Holmul became a seat of royal power at the onset of the Classic period.

During the same period, we see the power of the distant city of Teotihucan (Mexico) in this region with the portrayal of its distinctive warriors on Holmul’s palace walls, on carved monuments, and in artifacts imitating Teoti-huacano style. These distant foreigners may have played a role in the shift of power from Cival to Holmul, as well as in other Maya sites.

During the Early Classic period, strong ties existed between Holmul, Tikal, and Teo-tihuacan. The vast body of evidence from

Holmul sheds new light on the long debated role played by Teotihuacan in Classic Maya polities, pointing to direct political influence by Mesoamerica’s first superpower.

Throughout the Classic period, Holmul became contested ground between the kingdoms of Tikal and Naranjo. It eventually fell under Naranjo kings who built several provincial royal palaces at Holmul. One of Holmul’s rulers may be a lord that was sacrificed at Tikal in 748 CE during the Naranjo dynasty’s final capitulation.

The final abandonment of Holmul occurred around 1000 CE, later than most other lowland sites.

Holmul’s Classic period pyramids hide inside their bulk great examples of decorated Preclassic architecture, making this site one of the best laboratories for studying the continuity—over 2000 years—of the art, architecture, history, and environmental dynamics of the Maya Lowlands.

Excavation in progress on Building N, one of the earliest Maya temple-pyramids ever found (July 2009) is completely buried under the plaza of Group II. (ca. 400 BCE)

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Allies in conservation

Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Co-sponsor with Pacunam of the Conservation Incentives Program for the communities of Carmelita and Uaxactun, aimed at protecting the rainforest through economic and social development.

United States Department of the Interior Aides in the protection of cultural resources in strategic locations through support of archaeological fi eld seasons in projects funded by Pacunam. By increasing fi eld presence and year-round security, Pacunam and USDOI promote social benefi t, conservation, and protection of the area.

Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala Promotes and supports scientifi c research, restoration, and conservation of archaeological sites in the Maya Biosphere Reserve.

Hitz FoundationHelped Pacunam fi nalize the legal framework for managing the Carmelita-Mirador access route and is currently helping develop the visitor program for the area.

Rainforest Alliance Works with Pacunam to develop a voluntary carbon offset market.

The Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank (MIF-IADB)Works with Pacunam in a joint project to develop the Kan Kingdom area as a tourist destination through strategic planning, marketing, technical assistance, and vocational education for tour operators.

Global Heritage Fund and Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies Partner with Pacunam in support of scientifi c research, restoration, and conservation of the Central Acropolis of El Mirador site, as well as numerous studies of Tintal and Nakbe archaeological sites.

Together with these foundations, Pacunam has developed the Archaeological Development Plan for the Mirador Cultural and Natural System.

Wildlife Conservation Society, Asociación de Comunidades Forestales de Petén, and Asociación BalamSupport for the Conservation Incentives Program for the communities of Carmelita and Uaxactún.

Thanks to the support and investment of our allies, the Maya archeological sites funded by Pacunam have received acclaim and international coverage in prestigious media, such as Smithsonian Magazine, Archaeology Today, National Geographic Channel, CNN, and Discovery Channel. Artifacts from these sites attracted more than 250,000 visitors at the spectacular exhibit at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris in 2011.

Fundación para el Desarrollo de Guatemala In charge of implementing the project “Definition and Management as a Tourist Destination of the Kan Kingdom Area in Petén, Guatemala.” The goal is to contribute to the conservation, development, and positioning of the Kan Kingdom as a tourist destination, by strengthening the capacity of local communities to provide tourist services that ensure an enriching experience and quality standards.

National Council on Protected Areas (CONAP)Facilitates the implementation of joint strategies with Pacunam for biodiversity conservation in the Maya Biosphere Reserve.

CNN

Smithsonian Magazine and conferences

Quai Branly Exhibit

Few people rewrite history to preserve the future . . .

Will you join us?

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Documents

Pacunam Foundation Maya Culture