Ancient site · City
El Mirador
A huge Preclassic Maya city deep in the forest of northern Petén, Guatemala, linked to neighbouring towns by raised stone causeways. Its La Danta pyramid rises about 72 metres above the forest floor and, counting its giant platform, is one of the largest ancient structures in the world by volume.
El Mirador flourished from the 6th century BCE, peaked from the 3rd century BCE, and was abandoned around 150 CE, centuries before Classic cities such as Tikal reached their height; it was partly reoccupied in the Late Classic. Reaching it still takes a long hike or a helicopter.
- Dates
- main city c. 600 BCE – 150 CE (later reoccupied)
- Still standing
- Yes
- Location
- 17.75° N, 89.92° W
How we know
Dated mainly by radiocarbon and pottery; very few inscriptions survive from its peak.
Nearby sites
- San Bartolo c. 400 BCE – 400 CE (murals c. 100 BCE)
- Tikal (early phase) first farmers c. 1000 BCE; major building from c. 400 BCE; abandoned c. 900 CE
- Kaminaljuyu c. 1500 BCE – 1200 CE (peak c. 400–100 BCE)
- Paso de la Amada c. 1800–1000 BCE
- La Venta c. 1200–400 BCE (main centre c. 900–400 BCE)
- San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán Olmec centre c. 1400–900 BCE
Related
- Preclassic Maya archaeological culture
- The world in 700 BCE: The Assyrian Colossus chapter