City was named “Los Abuelos” due to the discovery of two anthropomorphic sculptures that “represent an ancestral couple”
Traces of a Mayan city over 2,800 years have been discovered in an archaeological area in northern Guatemala, near Mexico, today the Central American Ministry of Culture announced.
The Mayan civilization has spread through territories that currently occupy the south of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras, and their existence dates back to at least 2000 BC, reaching its peak during the classic period, between 400 and 450 AD
The discovery was made 21 kilometers (km) of the UAXACTÚN archaeological site, in the department of Petén, the main archaeological site of Guatemala and one of the most visited places in the country, the Guatemaco Ministry said in a statement.
The discovery, which covers approximately 16 square kilometers, date of the average pre-classic (800-500 BC) and “proved to be one of the oldest and most important ceremonial centers” of this period of Mayan civilization in the Petén Forest Region, the ministry explained.
The archaeological site has a “remarkable architectural planning”, with pyramids, astronomical observatories and “carved with a unique iconography of the region”.
The city was named “Los Abuelos” due to the discovery of two anthropomorphic sculptures that “represent an ancestral couple.”
“These figures, dating from 500 to 300 BC, may be linked to ancient ancestor ritual ritual practices, reinforcing their cultural and symbolic relevance,” added the Ministry of Culture.
In addition to the city, another area known as “Petnal” was discovered, home to a 33-meter-high pyramid adorned with freshly dating from the pre-classic period, as well as an archaeological site called “Cambrayal”, which features “a unique channel system” for water transportation.
“These three sites together form an hitherto unknown urban triangle (…) the findings allow us to rethink our understanding of the ceremonial and sociopolitical organization of the pre-history Petén,” said the Guatemala government in the statement.
