Pajaral, otherwise known as El Pajaral, is the modern name for a mid-sized ruined city of the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

located to the south of the San Pedro Martir river in the Petén department of Guatemala. The name ''El Pajaral'' was coined by archaeologist Ian Graham, who discovered the site in the 1970s, and refers to the numerous birds he encountered there during his survey. Pajaral, along with the ancient Maya site of Zapote Bobal, has recently been the focus of an archaeological project, the Proyecto Peten Noroccident
(PNO).
Endeavors in the area are being directed by James Fitzsimmons ( Middlebury College) and Laura Gamez (

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

). The increased attention being paid to these sites is largely the result of a discovery made by

epigrapher Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

David Stuart, who connected the archaeological site of Zapote Bobal with a name repeatedly mentioned in the inscriptions of sites like

Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to: * Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico ** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city * Piedras Negras (Maya site) Piedras Negras is the ...

and

Yaxchilan Yaxchilan () is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Pi ...

. That name was the toponym ''Hix Witz'', or "Jaguar Hill" Versions of that name occur on monuments recovered at Pajaral as well, suggesting that the two sites were related during the apogee of

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 ...

.Stuart, David (2003). The immediately visible architecture at Pajaral is characterized by temple-mounds ranging from between in height. Some of these are built atop natural hills: the upper plaza at the site, for example, was constructed on a modified hill long by high. Although the map of the site is far from complete, it appears that settlement here is rather dispersed and in keeping with other large settlements in the area, including the

La Joyanca La Joyanca is the modern name for a pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Maya archaeological site located south of the San Pedro Martir river in the Petén (department), Petén department of Guatemala. It is east of the Maya site of La Florida (Namaan) ...

. Such settlement is not the norm in many places around the

Petén Basin The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, primarily located in northern Guatemala within the Department of El Petén, and into Campeche state in southeastern Mexico. During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods of pre-Colum ...

. Even Zapote Bobal, the likely regional capital, is more centralized and characterized by a royal palace proper. However, the architecture at the heart of Pajaral is massive: for example, the Main Plaza at Pajaral is accessed by a well-preserved, enormous staircase wide and perhaps long. Based upon inscriptions and feline iconography at this site, scholars have suggested that this staircase, and its accompanying hill, was the basis for the name ''Hix Witz'' and that Pajaral, not Zapote Bobal, was the original regional capitalFitzsimmons, James (2006). In any event, the scale of construction at Zapote Bobal clearly indicates that by the 7th century it had eclipsed its western neighbor and taken the name ''Hix Witz'' for its own.

References

External links

Hix Witz Polity Photos and Maps
{{Maya sites Maya sites in Petén Department Archaeological sites in Guatemala Former populated places in Guatemala