Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about outside the modern city of Huehuetenango. Occupation at the site dates to the Early Classic period (AD 250–600) of Mesoamerican history. Zaculeu was the capital of the Postclassic Mam kingdom, and was conquered by the Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj. It displays a mixture of Mam and Kʼicheʼ style architecture.

In AD 1525 the city was attacked by Spanish conquistadors under Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras during a siege that lasted several months. Kayb'il B'alam, the city's last ruler, finally surrendered to the Spanish due to starvation. The pyramids and governmental palaces are grouped around a series of large public plazas. The site also holds a court for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame.

Etymology and location

The name Zaculeu means "white earth" in the Mam, Kʼicheʼ and Q'anjob'al languages, from saq (adj) meaning "white" and ulew (n) meaning "earth". In the Mam language, the site is also called Chinabajul. Zaculeu is located at an altitude of above mean sea level, and is bordered by the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountain range.

Zaculeu is located in an area of fertile soils close to the Selegua and Viña rivers. The site is situated on a plateau overlooking the Selegua River, which flows to the west of the city. Deep ravines bordering the site to the south and east protected its access. The only access to the site is via a narrow land bridge to the north, which unites the plateau to the general level of the valley floor. The Zaculeu plateau measures 11,178 square varas (4191 square metres).

History

Zaculeu was first occupied in the Early Classic Period (AD 250–600), The city was dominated by the Kʼicheʼ until the Spanish Conquest of the early 16th century.

[[File:Zacuelu1.jpg|thumb|left|The ballcourt seen across Plaza 2, with the rear of Structure 13 at right.

The Kʼicheʼ rebuilt over earlier Classic period structures in a distinctively Kʼicheʼ style. The basic Kʼicheʼ layout consists of a westward-facing temple with a steep talud-tablero facade, flanked by two unequally sized wings. This was likely to have been the temple of Awilix, patron goddess of the Nija'ib' Kʼicheʼ. A longer palace structure lies to the north, facing southwards and the ballcourt to the southwest. This Kʼicheʼ layout was somewhat distorted by the reuse of the earlier architecture, because the typical Mam settlement layout was built along an axis running from southeast to northwest. As the Kʼicheʼ did not completely redesign the entire site along a Kʼicheʼ pattern, the juxtaposition of Mam- and Kʼicheʼ-style complexes demonstrates the fusing of the local and intrusive elite lineages.

Spanish conquest

Although hostilities existed between the Mam and the Kʼicheʼ of Qʼumarkaj after the rebellion of the Kaqchikel people against their Kʼicheʼ allies, the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors shifted the political landscape. Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado described how the Mam king Kayb'il B'alam was received with great honour in Qʼumarkaj.

At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the main Mam population was situated in Xinabahul (also spelled Chinabjul), now the city of Huehuetenango. They retreated to Zaculeu as a refuge during the Spanish attacks because of its fortifications. The refuge was attacked by Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras, brother of conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, in 1525, with 120 soldiers, and some 2,000 Mexican and Kʼicheʼ allies. The city was defended by Kayb'il B'alam When the Spanish entered the city, they found 1,800 dead Indians, with the survivors eating the corpses of the dead.

On 24 April 1931, Guatemala declared the site as a National Monument under the name of Tzaculeu. American archaeologist Richard B. Woodbury was part of this excavation team, reporting progress updates in academic journals. The project later included re-coating a number of the buildings with white plaster, as it was known that many were originally finished that way. This has seldom been done in other restorations of Pre-Columbian buildings.

On 12 June 1970 the site was declared a National Precolumbian Monument by accord of the Guatemalan Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).

Site description

thumb|left|Ravine scarp defending the south side of the site

Zaculeu was likely originally developed because of its proximity to the Seleguá River, providing a permanent water supply and transportation waterway, together with its easily defensible hilltop location. Zaculeu has 43 structures. The majority of construction activity took place in one burst in the Early Classic, with minor alterations thereafter. The smaller platforms situated in the plazas were late additions; they show the influence of central Mexican civilization.

The ceremonial centre of the city consisted of 43 structures clustered in an area of . No evidence of corbel vaulting has been found and very little in the way of stone sculpture. The architecture completely lacks stone sculpture. Burials from the Early Classic yielded a rich array of finds, but Late Classic burials were accompanied by a lesser variety of grave offerings. Some of the structures were restored by the United Fruit Company; most of these border Plazas 1 and 2. Structures 1 and 2 are pyramid temples. Structures 4, 6 and 10 are palace structures, long buildings with internal chambers and benches used as residences and for administrative purposes.

Plazas

Plaza 1 is the main plaza at the site. It measures and is closed on all four sides by pyramid temples.

Plaza 2 is a large plaza at the southeast of the site core, south of Plaza 1.

Plaza 3 is a small plaza at the southern extreme of the site core, southwest of Plaza 2 and south of the ballcourt. The earliest phase of construction dates to the Early Classic period.

Structure 2 is a pyramid on the northwest side of the sunken Plaza 8. It is largely unrestored. Structure 3 lies across the plaza to the southeast. It is a platform with a twin stairway facing northwest onto the plaza.

Structure 3 is on the southeast side of Plaza 8, facing onto the plaza opposite Structure 2. A tomb was excavated in Structure 4, it consisted of a complete skeleton with associated offerings that included two tripod earthenware bowls, one with duck effigies, a tripod incense burner, a flint knife, nine obsidian knives, five jade beads and some fragments of gold.

thumb|right|Structure 6 on Plaza 1

Structure 6 is a temple on the northeast side of Plaza 1. It rises in stepped sections topped by a summit shrine and was accessed via a stairway from the plaza that divided in two near the summit. Only the lower sections of the walls and columns of the shrine remain.

The Ballcourt consists of Structures 22 and 23, it was used for the ceremonial Mesoamerican ballgame. It is an I-shaped sunken ballcourt with sloping walls. The two structures forming the sides of the ballcourt once supported buildings, now only the lower sections of their walls remain. The ballcourt is oriented northwest to southeast and is long.

Structure 37 is not associated with any of the eight plazas of the site core, standing about northeast of Structure 4 and a similar distance east of Structure 1. It was investigated by archaeologists but has not been restored, although some of the original stonework and plaster coating is visible.

See also

  • Cerro Quiac
  • Chajoma
  • Iximche
  • Mixco Viejo

Notes

References

  • Description and Photo gallery
  • Photos on anthroarcheart.org
  • Photo Gallery Guatelinda.com