Key Places in Maya Archaeology

Key Places to Study

• Dos Pilas: Classic Maya site, known for warfare and political dynamics.
• Ceren: Well-preserved Maya village buried by volcanic ash, providing insights into daily life.
• San Andres: Important ceremonial center with evidence of early Maya rituals.
• Copan: Famous for Altar Q and stelae detailing dynastic history.
• Quirigua: Known for large stelae and connection to Copan.
• Bonampak: Famous for murals depicting Maya warfare and rituals.
• Aguateca & Punta de Chimino: Fortified sites reflecting military strategies.
• Ceibal: Significant Terminal Classic site.
• Uxmal: Exemplary Puuc architectural style.
• Chichen Itza: Major Postclassic site featuring the Great Ballcourt, Temple of the Warriors, and Caracol; exhibits Toltec influence.
• Tula: Site showing Toltec influence on Chichen Itza.
• Mayapan: Postclassic political and cultural hub of the League of Mayapan.
• Tulum: Coastal Postclassic site with trade connections.
• Tayasal: Last independent Maya city, conquered in 1697.
• Quetzaltenango: Colonial-era hub in the Guatemalan Highlands.
• Q'umarkaj: K'iche' Maya capital, destroyed during the Spanish conquest.
• Dos Erres: Site of a civil war massacre, significant to modern Maya history.

Significant Buildings, Events, and Deposits

• Popol Nah: Maya council house, varied across time and regions.

Altar Q & Altar L at Copan

• Commemorate dynastic successions.

Chilam Balam

• Post-conquest Maya texts blending indigenous and colonial narratives.

Palace of the Governors

• Architectural masterpiece at Uxmal.

El Castillo & Caracol

• Astronomical and ceremonial significance at Chichen Itza.

Great Ballcourt

• Largest Maya ballcourt, symbolic of power and cosmology.

Temple of the Warriors & Tzompantli

• Highlight militaristic and ritualistic themes.

Treaty of Tordesillas

• Divided New World territories between Spain and Portugal.

Conquests

• Tenochtitlan: Key Spanish victory over the Aztecs.
• Guatemala: Pedro de Alvarado's brutal campaigns.
• Yucatan Caste War: Indigenous Maya resistance to colonial systems.
• Operation PBSUCCESS: U.S.-backed coup in Guatemala (1954).
• Guatemalan Civil War: Devastating internal conflict; legacy of inequality and displacement.

Urbanism

• Defined by centralized planning, monumental architecture, and social stratification.
• Top-down vs. bottom-up models: Centralized vs. community-led urban development.

Collapse Theories

• Environmental degradation (overuse of resources).
• Endemic warfare (inter-city conflicts destabilized society).

Drought Hypothesis

• Supported by climatic and archaeological evidence.

Malnutrition

• Evidenced by skeletal remains.

Postclassic Changes

• Puuc architecture: Ornate, distinctive facades.
• Old vs. New Chichen Itza: Shift from Maya to Toltec influence.
• Mutepal: Council-based governance replacing divine kingship.

Spanish Conquest

• Goals: Resource exploitation, religious conversion, political domination.
• Tactics: Superior weaponry, alliances, and disease outbreaks.
• Encomienda System: Forced labor in exchange for Christian instruction.

Modern History

• United Fruit Company: Controlled Guatemalan land and politics.
• NAFTA and USMCA: Economic agreements with regional impacts.
• Pseudoscience: Misrepresentation of Maya culture in modern media.

Notable People

• Maya Figures: Yax Pac, U Cit Tok, Putuun, Itza, and Puuc peoples.
• Spanish Conquistadors: Hernan Cortes, Pedro de Alvarado, Francisco de Montejo.
• Cultural Mediators: Malinche (translator for Cortes).
• Colonial Critics: Diego de Landa (chronicler) and Bartolome de las Casas (advocate for indigenous rights).
• Guatemalan Leaders: Rafael Carrera, Jacobo Arbenz.

Media Resources

• BBC Documentary: The Maya Collapse (focus on collapse theories).
• Conquest of Tenochtitlan: Illustrates Spanish strategies.
• Finding Oscar: Explores the legacy of the Guatemalan Civil War.

Essay Topics (Short Answer Preparation)

• Causes of the Late Classic Collapse: Environmental degradation, warfare, drought, societal response.
• Spanish Conquest: Goals, methods, effects.
• Guatemalan Civil War: Causes, effects.

E. Rios Montt & Rigoberta Menchu

• E. Ríos Montt: Military dictator, responsible for civil war atrocities.
• Rigoberta Menchú: Indigenous rights advocate, Nobel laureate.