The site of Ujuxte ( after the Ramón or Breadnut tree ('' Brosimum alicastrum'')) is the largest

Preclassic Maya The Preclassic period in Maya history stretches from the beginning of permanent village life c. 1000 BC until the advent of the Classic Period c. 250 AD, and is subdivided into Early (prior to 1000 BC), Middle (1000–400 BC), and Late (400 BC – ...

site to be discovered on the Guatemalan Pacific coast. It is in the Retalhuleu Department, in western Guatemala.

Site

The site includes approximately two hundred earthen mounds spread over some 200 hectares (494 acres) of farmland. Located from the Pacific Ocean, the site is of particular importance because there has been no Preclassic site of comparable size and period of occupation excavated in this region. The site was probably founded about 1200 BC and was occupied until about AD 200, when it was apparently abandoned in favor of

Takalik Abaj Tak'alik Ab'aj (; ; ) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in Guatemala. It was formerly known as Abaj Takalik; its ancient name may have been Kooja. It is one of several Mesoamerican sites with both Olmec and Maya features. The site flourishe ...

, to the east. The two largest mounds are the focus of the central plaza which is oriented to the raising of the sun on the mornings of the spring and fall equinoxes. Mound 1 is in height and Mound 2 is high. The plaza also consists of an early

ballcourt A Mesoamerican ballcourt ( nah, tlachtli) is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for over 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. More than 1,300 ballcourts have been i ...

formed by Mounds 3 and 4, each over tall. Early occupation of the site was widespread, covering over . Later growth filled in the open spaces, forming the current dense pattern of mounds seen today. The central plaza appears to have a celestial alignment that coincides with the rise and fall of the

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...

. Also, on the summer solstice the sun rises from behind the Tajumulco volcano on the eastern horizon, in a line directly over the plaza. The celestial alignment is only maintained in the central plaza, which is most likely the ceremonial center. The outer edges of the site, however, show no alignment, possibly representing a residential area. Several regional sites, contemporaneous and in proximity to Ujuxte, are smaller copies and appear to be secondary centers to Ujuxte, which indicate its importance and domination in the region.

Study

The Ujuxte Archaeological Project was begun, by E. M. Shook and the

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC, ''University of San Carlos of Guatemala'') is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spani ...

, in order to amplify data on the Early and Middle Preclassic periods along the Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala and to investigate the key questions of regional prehistory following the collapse of

La Blanca La Blanca is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in present-day La Blanca, San Marcos Department, western Guatemala. It has an occupation dating predominantly from the Middle Preclassic (900–600 BC) period of Mesoamerican ch ...

. The research at Ujuxte is centered on the study of the growth and collapse of early states in the region. One nearby secondary center,

Chiquirines Chiquirines is an ancient Pre-Columbian archaeological site, located in the modern-day Retalhuleu Department, Guatemala. It is located near the major Mesoamerican chronology, Preclassic Period site of Ujuxte and is considered to be a satellite of t ...

, had a focal grouping of mounds that replicated the principal grouping at Ujuxte.

References

*Poe, Wm. Clay (2002) ''History of Archaeological Research at Ujuxte'' Sonoma State University. *

External links

Ujuxte - description and photos
{{coord, 14.5385, N, 92.0353, W, type:landmark_region:GT-RE, display=title Maya sites in Guatemala Archaeological sites in Guatemala Former populated places in Guatemala Retalhuleu Department

Site

Study

See also

References

External links