Balberta is a major

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

n archaeological site on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coastal plain of southern Guatemala, belonging to the

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, a ...

. It has been dated to the Early Classic period and is the only known major site on the Guatemalan Pacific coastal plain to have exposed Early Classic architecture that has not been buried under posterior Late Classic construction. The site was related to the nearby site of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, which lies to the west. Balberta first appears to have been occupied in the Late Preclassic period, when it was a small site of minor importance. After a period of rapid growth it became one of the largest Early Classic sites on the Guatemalan Pacific coast and reached the height of its power between AD 200 and AD 400, after which it rapidly declined and was replaced by a new capital at the nearby site of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. It traded with the distant metropolis of

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as t ...

in the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico w ...

, with other recovered artifacts having their origin on the

Gulf coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Cacao was probably one of the city's main exports, being a particularly valued perishable product in Mesoamerica. At its height Balberta demonstrated true state-level political organisation and dominated a wide swathe of the Guatemalan coast.Sharer 2000, pp. 468-469. Balberta was suddenly abandoned around AD 400.Bove & Medrano Busto 2003, p. 53.

Location

Balberta is located in the municipality of La Democracia in the department of

Escuintla Escuintla () is an industrial city in Guatemala, its land extension is 4384 km², and it is nationally known for its sugar agribusiness. Its capital is a minicipality with the same name. Citizens celebrate from December 6 to 9 with a small fair ...

,Lou P. 1994, p.53. approximately equidistant between the La Gomera and Achiguate rivers flowing down from the

Guatemalan Highlands The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern Guatemala, lying between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north. Description The highlands are made up of a series of high valleys enclosed by mou ...

and about from the coast and southeast of the contemporary site of

Kaminaljuyu Kaminaljuyu (pronounced ) is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization that was primarily occupied from 1500 BC to AD 1200. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World by Michael Coe ...

. Balberta lies at an altitude of

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

on a flat coastal plain with a width of approximately . The soils of the plain are sandy

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

ary deposits, they are fertile and well-drained, supporting tropical vegetation and suitable for the cultivation of a variety of crops. The site lies on the lands of four plantations, the Santa Rita, San Carlos, Santa Mónica and San Patricio plantations, with the majority of the site occupying the first three of these. The plantations are dedicated to the cultivation of sugarcane, with the exception of the Santa Mónica plantation, which grows

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

and

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

, depending on the season.Lou P. 1994, p.54. The entire area is crossed by north-south water-courses and there are some low-lying areas that form stagnant

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es in the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

. The local

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

is subject to constant change due to the seasonal flooding of the Achiguate River.

Economy and trade

Obsidian recovered at Balberta was brought over long distances from central Mexico, with its origins at the

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

source in Puebla

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and the

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whi ...

source in

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

, near to Teotihuacan itself. In fact the concentrations of green Pachuca obsidian are the highest recorded in Guatemala in the Early Classic. Most of the obsidian artifacts were associated with caches of ceramic vessels that contained ceramic effigies of cacao beans, all found within the site core and also containing small quantities of ceramics imported from Puebla in central Mexico.Bove & Medrano Busto 2003, pp. 50-51. Although there is evidence that the site's wealth can be attributed at least in part to its far flung trade, there is no evidence that Teotihuacan directly intervened in order to found Balberta as a polity. Pachuca obsidian from Balberta and the surrounding area represents the earliest evidence of contact with central Mexico in the region and its association with ceramic effigies of cacao probably marks the beginning of trade relations with Teotihuacan. Investigators have speculated that the cacao effigies and associated Pachuca obsidian may have been offerings to celebrate a trade agreement between the two cities, with cacao likely to have been the product being exported from Balberta.

Balberta and Teotihuacan

As Teotihuacan became the dominant power in the Mesoamerican cultural region, the rulers of Balberta probably used their trade with central Mexico to gain an economic and military advantage over its own immediate neighbours and it is notable that the major city of Kaminaljuyu in the nearby Guatemalan Highlands showed a marked decline in wealth and population during the period of Balberta's zenith from AD 200 to AD 400.Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 289, 292. Ten green Pachuca obsidian projectile points have been recovered from the Balberta site core, half of them from the area containing the ceremonial architecture and the rest from other ritual contexts or residential areas and all are in a pure Teotihuacan style. Pachuca obsidian and the associated ceramics have been dated to the period from AD 150 to AD 275, roughly contemporaneous with the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan and the last period of construction of the

Pyramid of the Moon The Pyramid of the Moon is the second-largest pyramid in Mesoamerica, after the Pyramid of the Sun, and located in modern-day San Martín de las Pirámides, Mexico. It is found in the western part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics the ...

. The evidence from Balberta suggests that Teotihuacanos were physically present in the Balberta area for reasons of trade. At first Teotihuacan was attracted to the region in order to acquire exotic goods such as cacao, with commercial agreements benefiting Balberta. However, Teotihuacan eventually became more aggressive, resulting in the collapse of its former trading partner.Bove & Medrano Busto 2003, pp. 72-73. The fall of Balberta as a major centre may be attributed to a change in the external politics of Teotihuacan as it became a more aggressive player on the Mesoamerican stage and began to intervene directly in the Maya area, such as at

Tikal Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-C ...

. Teotihuacan appears to have founded Montana as a direct colony in the region, undermining Balberta's power and influence and leading to its decline. It has been suggested that the new Teotihuacan-controlled Montana polity engaged in expansionist warfare that resulted in the abrupt collapse of the Balberta state.

The site

Balberta was a fortified site controlling a wide area, which it probably came to dominate through a process of aggressive

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regul ...

.Bove & Medrano Busto 2003, pp. 49-50. The site has been investigated extensively by Frederick J. Bove. The centre of the site consists of a number of mounds built upon a large platform. The architectural style of the site shows a continuation of local tradition consisting of plazas with aligned structures that dates as far back as the Middle Preclassic, with some adaptation to the changing political situation in the region which necessitated the construction of defenses around the site core.Medrano Busto 1994, p. 51. The site core consists of 22 structures occupying an area of .Medrano Busto 1991, p. 53. The site core was defended by a wall starting at the southwest corner of Structure 1, surrounding the Mound Plaza on three sides, standing from tall. Additionally, a deep ditch marks the east side of the site core, formed by redirecting a natural watercourse.Medrano Busto 1994, p. 49. A wide causeway started near Structure 3 and ran eastwards to a group of small structures.Medrano Busto 1994, p. 50. Four projectile points were recovered from the Balberta site core that were fashioned from grey obsidian originating in central Mexico, three from Zaragoza in Puebla and one from Otumba in

Mexico State The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

. A number of burials at the site had small jade beads placed inside the mouth of the interred individual. More than 400 ceramic effigies of

cocoa bean The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substance ...

s have been recovered during archaeological excavations of the site core. Archaeologists have recovered 124 pieces of green obsidian from the site, most of which were blade fragments. The majority of the green obsidian artifacts were found in Structure 1, with 65% of them being contained in four caches in the structure.Spence 1996, p. 26. During investigations carried out between 1984 and 1987, 26 burials were excavated, of which 23 were found under domestic structures. 24 of the burials were oriented east-west with the skull towards the west; the remaining 2 burials were oriented north-south with the skull to the north. The majority of the burials were covered with red pigment.Arroyo 1994, p.64. The Mound Plaza is a high platform measuring supporting 16 structures arranged in five rows. The westernmost row of structures is the only row containing Terminal Preclassic material in its fill, for which reason it is considered to be the original area of occupation at Balberta. This row consists of four structures; the rest consist of three structures each. Structure 1 or the Great Platform is found immediately to the north of the Mound Plaza. It has sloping sides and a very wide upper surface. It underwent three main phases of construction. The earliest version of the structure consisted of a low platform of compacted

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

, only high. Its exact dimensions are unknown but it was not as large as in the later phases. The second phase involved a major construction effort, the platform being expanded to in height and covering almost the same surface area as the final version of the platform. This final version was built up by using layers of compacted clay separated by thin layers of sand and soft clay. The final dimensions of the platform were , divided between two levels known as the Low Platform and the High Platform, the higher level being high and the lower part being high. The higher section of the platform consists of of fill deposited in a single construction phase. It is topped by various low mounds that have been identified as elite residences. The lower section was non-residential in nature although elite burials were discovered as well as ceremonial offerings. One of these elite burials was accompanied by a green obsidian projectile point, a black obsidian spear point, ceramic earspools, an urn, a spindle whirl and a ceramic bowl. Structure 4 is located in the Mound Plaza. Structure 8 is also located in the Mound Plaza. Structure 10 occupies the centre of the Mound Plaza. It is the highest structure in the plaza and is a

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

measuring high and across at the base. The structure had at least six phases of construction, each being built on top of the previous and with the earliest yet identified being high. Structure 13 is located in the Mound Plaza. It demonstrates several construction phases. Structure 21 is the second largest structure at the site, after Structure 1.

Notes

References