Uaxactun
17 23'36 .82 "N 89 38'4 .32" W / 17.3935611, -89.6345333 Uaxactun (pronounced "ouachaktoun," according to the alphabetic transcription of the Mayan languages ) is a site archaeological Maya , located in the Peten in Guatemala , twenty miles north of Tikal. Its present name means "eight stones" in Mayan and was given by archaeologist Sylvanus Morley , in memory of the stele 9, which dates from the eighth baktun. In the classical period, the city would be called Siaan K'aan.
Summary |
History
Uxactun seems to have been the rival of Tikal at the end of the Preclassic Period and the beginning of the Classic Period. It seems to have been conquered by Tikal in 379 AD and have become a satellite of Tikal.
The site
Uaxactun has an architecture characteristic plattform decorated with large stucco masks. The best known of these is plattform Structure E-VII sub, which is famous for several reasons. It presents a typical feature of Maya architecture: each reconstruction covers the previous building. As the last state of the structure E-VII was very dilapidated, it was decided to restore the building that stood below, which is one of the finest examples of architecture Preclassic. This structure is part of a group E , with each side has a stairway flanked by sixteen masks representative of lords and monsters Witz. The themes of these masks are closer to those found at Cerros , in Belize. This pyramid was an astronomical observatory: its east side faces three small temples aligned position to observe the sunrise at the solstices and equinoxes.
Bibliography
- SHARE (Robert J.), The Ancient Maya, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 5th edition, 1994 (encyclopedic work on the Maya in English)
See also
Related articles
External Links
- (En) The Maya civilization
- (En) The history of Maya
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