Cerro Quiac () ( and ) is a small

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

archaeological site located at an altitude of , overlooking the Plains of Urbina in the

Guatemalan Highlands The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern Guatemala which lies between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north. Geographic description The Highlands lie between 6360 ft and 13780 ft and are ...

. When investigated in 1970, it had five stone sculptures, but by 1977 only four were left. The sculptures featured figures and geometric designs. The site is still used for contemporary Maya rituals. Cerro Quiac lies in northeast Cantel, within Chirijquiac’s boundaries.Ajtún Chanchavac 2011. Cerro Quiac contains two small groups of

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

architecture. An ethnohistoric document from the early Colonial period describes the site as a fortress founded by the Mam Maya, who were subsequently driven from the area by Kʼicheʼ expansion. Cerro Quiac has been dated to the Early Postclassic period of

Mesoamerican chronology Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian, prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BC ...

(approximately 900–1200 AD). According to local Kʼicheʼ folklore, the site once served as a training ground for warriors. The Kʼicheʼ hero Tecun Uman is said to have died upon the hill.

Etymology

The name of the hill is variously said to be derived either from the Kʼicheʼ word ''kʼiaq'', meaning "flea", or from the name of a small black flower that grows on the hill.Carmack and Mondloch 2009, p. 46. n. 163. ''Cerro'' means "hill" in Spanish. The name ''k'iaqb'al'' for the archaeological site means "place of throwing/shooting".

Location

The site is situated to the south of the Plains of Urbina, east of the Samala River, upon a prominent hill that is visible for approximately in each direction.Fox 1978, p. 162. The summit of the hill is covered with pine forest. The hilltop consists of a long ridge, varying in width from . The hill is steep-sided, with the easiest approach from the northeast, the direction furthest from the pre-Columbian remains. The western portion of the ridge is the highest, rising above the valley floor; some higher than the rest of the hilltop.Fox 1978, p. 163.

Site description

The site architecture was built on the western portion of the ridge, running approximately northwest to southeast. Large boulders have been arranged into terraces, standing and high respectively. There are two architectural groups, both of which are poorly preserved. The east group possesses three earthwork mounds arranged in a line, with a fourth mound situated off to the south side. There are steep drops on the east and west sides. Plentiful ceramic remains were scattered around the group, which had been exposed by agricultural activity.Fox 1978, p. 165. The west group is situated about from the east group,Fox 1978, p. 164. and about above it. A small temple was built upon a broad high platform. The walls of the platform were built from uncut stone. Five prehispanic

stelae A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

stood upon the platform in the 1970s. The five stelae present in 1970 were arranged in a semicircle approximately across.Iglesias Ponce de León and Ciudad Ruiz 1984, p. 18. It is possible that they were brought to Cerro Quiac from various other sites in the area. The sculptures were badly eroded. A number of pre-Columbian tombs were found on the hill, and various artefacts were recovered.

History

Recovered ceramics date the site to the Early Postclassic period of

(c. 950–1200 AD). The early colonial Kʼicheʼ document entitled '' Título C'oyoi'' describes the site as a fortress built by the Mam Maya of

Zaculeu Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about outside the modern city of Huehuetenango. Occupation at the site dates to the Early Classic period (AD 250–600) of Mesoamerica ...

. There is no archaeological evidence of occupation after the Mam were driven from the site by Kʼicheʼ expansion. The ceramics and stelae are likely to be Mam in origin, and to date to the 13th or 14th century AD.

Modern history

In September 1884, during the presidency of

Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reun ...

, two government artillery pieces were placed on Cerro Quiac in order to threaten Cantel with bombardment, and enforce compliance with government demands for money. In folk memory, this event has been conflated with local resistance to the construction of a textile factory, and central government threats to bombard the local populace into acceptance. In 1968, during the

Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War was fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various Left-wing politics, leftist rebel groups. The Guatemalan government forces committed Guatemalan genocide, genocide against the Maya population o ...

, the municipal authorities of

Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may reach above ...

attempted to purchase the hill to build a military barracks there, but were resisted by the inhabitants of Cantel, who refused to sell the land. As a communal response, the locals argued that Cerro Quiac was an archaeological site,Colop 5 October 2002. and the various churches of Cantel united to establish the hill as an ecumenical prayer ground. The site is the most important Maya ceremonial site in Cantel. On 28 June 2004, it was declared a site of national cultural and natural heritage by ministerial accord.

Folklore

In local folklore, the hill was formed by an eruption of the Cerro Quemado volcano. The great leap from Cerro Quemado to the hill is said to be the origin of its name, K'iaq, as the leap of a flea.Cornejo Sam, p. 264. Traditionally, the archaeological site was called ''Kʼiaqbal'', and is said to have been a training ground for Kʼicheʼ warriors. The hill is also linked in local folklore to the Kʼicheʼ hero

Tecun Uman Tecun UmanAlternate transliterations include Tecún Umán, Tecúm Umán, Tecúm Umam, Tekun Umam, etc. (1500? – February 20, 1524) was one of the last rulers of the K'iche' Maya people, in the Highlands of what is now Guatemala. According to ...

, and his battle against

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...

during the

Spanish conquest of Guatemala In a protracted conflict during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonisers gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of Guatemala into the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. Before the conquest, this te ...

. According to one account, Tecun Uman was killed on the hill.DeSalvo 2008, p. 8.

Notes

References

*Ajtún Chanchavac, Mario (2011
Aldea Chirijquiac, Cantel 2011
(in Spanish) (Guatemala: Alcaldía Comunitaria de Cantel). Archived fro

on 2016-03-06. *Carmack, Robert M.; and James L. Mondloch (2009). Horacio Cabezas Carcache, ed. "Título K'oyoi"
Crónicas Mesoamericanas
(in Spanish) (Guatemala City, Guatemala: Universidad Mesoamericana). Volume II: 15–68. . . Archived fro
the original
on 2016-03-01. Access date 2016-03-01. *CENADOJ (15 July 2004
Sumario Diario de Centro América del jueves 15 de julio de 2004
(in Spanish) (Guatemala City, Guatemala: Organismo Judicial: Centro Nacional de Análisis y Documentación Judicial (CENADOJ)). Retrieved on 2016-03-04. *Christenson, Allen J
"Kʼicheʼ–English Dictionary and Guide to Pronunciation of the Kʼicheʼ-Maya Alphabet"
(PDF). Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI). Retrieved 2016-03-07. *Ciudad Ruiz, Andrés; and María Josefa Iglesias Ponce de León (1995). J. P. Laporte, and H. Escobedo, eds
"Arqueología del occidente de Guatemala: Estado actual y perspectivas del futuro"
rchaeology in Western Guatemala: Current state and future perspectives(PDF). Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala (in Spanish) (Guatemala City, Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología. VIII (1994): 90–101. . Archived fro
the original
on 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2016-02-29. *Colop, Sam (5 October 2002
Ucha Xik Ri K'iaq: Ahora la cúspide del domo volcánico es un centro ceremonial ecuménico
''Prensa Libre'' (in Spanish). Guatemala City, Guatemala. *Cornejo Sam, Mariano. Q'antel (Cantel): Patrimonio cultural-histórico del pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción Cantel: Tzion'elil echba'l kech aj kntelab "Tierra de Viento y Neblina" (in Spanish). Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. *DeSalvo, Lyndon (2008
"Bleeding Earth: Volcanoes as the Prototypical Mountains in Mayan Cosmological Past"
Northfield, Minnesota, US: Carleton College. Archived fro
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on 2016-03-06. Retrieved on 2016-03-04. *Fox, John W. (1978) ''Quiche Conquest: Centralism and Regionalism in Highland Guatemalan State Development'', pp. 162–166. Albuquerque, New Mexico, US: University of New Mexico Press. . . *Iglesias Ponce de León, María Josefa; and Andrés Ciudad Ruiz (1984)
"Exploraciones arqueológicas en la cuenca alta del río Samalá (Guatemala)"
rchaeological exploration in the upper Samala River basin (Guatemala)(PDF). Revista española de antropología americana (in Spanish) (Madrid, Spain: Universidad Complutense de Madrid). Nº 14 (1984): 9–32. ISSN 0556-6533. Archived fro
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on 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-02-29. *Little-Siebold, Todd (1998)
"Monografías, memoria y la producción local de historia"
onographs, Memory, and the Production of Local History(PDF). Mesoamérica (in Spanish). (Wellflett, Massachusetts, US: Plumsock Mesoamerican Studies) Vol 36 (December 1998): 343–369. ISSN 0252-9963. Archived fro
the original
on 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2016-03-01. *Pye, C. 1991
The Acquisition of K'iche' (Maya)
(1991), in Dan Isaac Slobin (Ed.), ''The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition'', Vol. 3, pp. 221–308. Hillsdale, New Jersey, US: Erlbaum. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
Span¡shD!ct.
www.spanishdict.com. Curiosity Media. Retrieved 2016-03-03.

External links

Cerro Quiac record card at CIRMA
{{Authority control Maya sites in Guatemala Quetzaltenango Department K'iche' Mam Maya Maya Postclassic Period