Ancient site · City
Kaminaljuyu
A large Maya city in the highland Valley of Guatemala, now mostly buried under Guatemala City. When first mapped it had about 200 platforms and pyramid mounds built of hardened adobe.
Its peak came in the Miraflores period, about 400–100 BCE, when rulers were buried in rich tombs inside a series of mounds, and the southern Maya area it led is thought to have shaped later Maya culture. Only a small part survives as a city park of about 0.5 km².
- Dates
- c. 1500 BCE – 1200 CE (peak c. 400–100 BCE)
- Still standing
- Yes
- Location
- 14.63° N, 90.55° W
How we know
Known mainly from excavation and radiocarbon dates; much of the site was destroyed by building before it could be studied.
Nearby sites
- Paso de la Amada c. 1800–1000 BCE
- Tikal (early phase) first farmers c. 1000 BCE; major building from c. 400 BCE; abandoned c. 900 CE
- San Bartolo c. 400 BCE – 400 CE (murals c. 100 BCE)
- El Mirador main city c. 600 BCE – 150 CE (later reoccupied)
- 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 1500 BCE: Chariots and Empires chapter