A 2,800 -year -old city has been discovered
Fabulous discovery. The vestiges of a Mayan city dating back over 2,800 years have been discovered in an archaeological area in northern Guatemala, near Mexico, the Ministry of Culture in this central-American country announced on Thursday, AFP reports.
The Mayan civilization has spread on the territories that currently occupy the southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras, and its existence ascends until 2000 BC, reaching its peak in the classical period, between 400 and 450 AD.
The discovery was made 21 kilometers from the UAXACTUN archaeological site, in the Petén department, the main archaeological site of Guatemala and one of the most visited places in the country, the ministry of Guatemalez said in a statement.
The discovery that extends about 16 square kilometers dates from the middle-class (800-500 BC) and has been shown to be one of the oldest and most important ceremonial centers’ during this period of Maya civilization in the forested region Petén, explained the ministry.
The site presents a « remarkable architectural planning », with pyramids, astronomical observers and monuments « carved with a unique iconography in the region ».
The city was called « Los Abuelos » due to the discovery of two anthropomorphic sculptures that « represent an ancestral couple ».
« These figures, dated between 500 and 300 BC, could be related to ancient ritual practices of the cult of ancestors, strengthening their cultural and symbolic relevance, » added the Ministry of Culture.
In addition to the city, another area known as ‘Petnal’ was discovered where a 33 -meter high pyramid is decorated with frescoes dating from the pre -classical period, as well as a site called ‘Cambrayal’ with a ‘unique channel system’ for water transport.
« These three sites together form an anterior unknown urban triangle (…) The discoveries allow us to rethink our understanding of the ceremonial and socio -polytic organization of the prehispanic petén, » the statement said.
Photo: nacion.com
