Chactún (Maya: Red stone) is the name of an archaeological site of the

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 ...

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 ...

in the state of Campeche,

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, in the northern part of the

Calakmul Biosphere Reserve The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve ( es, Reserva de la Biósfera de Calakmul) is located at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, in Calakmul Municipality in the state of Campeche, bordering the Guatemalan department of El Petén to the sou ...

. The site of approximately is located in the lowlands of the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

, between the regions of

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and Chenes. There are some significant differences that have yet to be explained completely, which distinguish it from some of the other nearby sites.

Discovery

A team of Mexican and foreign experts from the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
ZRC SAZU
and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), headed by archaeologist Ivan Sprajc, discovered the site in 2013 by aerial photographs and named it ''Chactún'', "Red Stone". The name was based on an inscription which translated to "K'inich B'ahlam erected the Great Red Stone in (what would have been AD 751)". The project was financed by the

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and Villas and Ars Longa, two private companies, and supported by

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, Mexico. It is one of 80 sites detected by the Southeast Campeche Archaeological Reconnaissance Project, which launched in 1996. Prior to this discovery by archaeologists, very little was known about this part of the region. Evidence of logging suggests locals were aware of the site. This is because of the difficulty in accessing the area due to difficult terrain and overgrown vegetation. To reach the area, the team of archaeologists spent four weeks reopening an abandoned and heavily overgrown dirt-road. Without the discovery with aerial photography, it is likely this site would have remained hidden for much longer. The project surveyed the three urban cores of the site to create maps and three dimensional models. Further research based on airborne laser (lidar) scanning of the surrounding area of about 240 sq km revealed a thoroughly modified cultural landscape, with a number of residential clusters and extensive landscape modifications related to water management and intensive agriculture.

Ancient use

Chactún is believed to have been an ancient city that served as a government seat for a large area. The researchers dated the site to 600 to 900 AD. The site contains three complexes of monumental architecture. The West Complex is the largest one, making up about half of the total area of the site. There are many pyramids throughout the site, with the tallest one reaching a height of , as well as two ball courts, a number of large palace-like buildings surrounding several plazas, and various residential areas. There are also many sculpted stone stelae and altars. While some of them are plain and others eroded, a few monuments have well preserved reliefs, including hieroglyphic inscriptions. A unique case is a standing stela with remnants of stucco glyphs attached to the stone. There is also evidence that the site may have been inhabited by a different group after the collapse of the Maya. There are several monuments that were turned upside down as though the people living there did not understand their significance, but there is also evidence that the reused monuments were worshiped up to the Postclassic period, as indicated by some ceramic offerings. A significant amount of artifacts dating to these second inhabitants were found in the ball court areas.Ivan Šprajc (2020), Lost Maya Cities: Archaeological Quests in the Mexican Jungle. Texas A&M University Press. .

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chactun Maya sites in Campeche Maya Classic Period 7th-century establishments in the Maya civilization 8th-century establishments in the Maya civilization 9th-century establishments in the Maya civilization 2013 archaeological discoveries 2013 in Mexico

Discovery

Ancient use

See also

External links

References