Museo Regional Del Sureste De Petén
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The Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén ("Southeastern Petén Regional Museum") is an
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
museum in the town of Dolores in the
Petén Department Petén (from the Itza' language, Itz'a, , 'Great Island') is a Departments of Guatemala, department of Guatemala. It is geographically the northernmost department of Guatemala, as well as the largest by area at it accounts for about one third o ...
of
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
.REDCAMUS. The museum is located from
Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...
, the departmental capital, among the
Maya Mountains The Maya Mountains are a mountain range located in Belize and eastern Guatemala, in Central America. Etymology The Maya Mountains were known as the ''Cockscomb'' or ''Coxcomb Mountains'' to Baymen and later Belizeans at least until the mid ...
in an area rich in archaeological sites.Corzo 2007, p.80. It is open daily from 8am to 5pm. The museum is operated by the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala ("Archaeological Atlas of Guatemala"), a part of the Dirección General del Patrimonio Cultural y Natural ("Department of Cultural and Natural Heritage"), under the Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes ("Ministry of Culture and Sports").Corzo 2007, p.82. The collection consists of artefacts belonging to the ancient
Maya civilization The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writin ...
.


Development

Construction of the museum was first proposed by the Dirección General de Caminos ("Highways Department") in 1998 as part of its plans to build a highway from San Luis to Flores in order to offset any damage to Guatemala's
cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...
caused by the construction project.Corzo 2007, p.79. The land upon which the museum was built was donated in 1998,Corzo 2001, p.218. and had originally been used for the first seat of the municipal council.Corzo 2007, p.80. Construction began in December 1999,Sierra García 2008, p.55. with the fabric of the building being completed in November 2000. In 2001, the Dirección General de Caminos officially handed the building over to the Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes. In 2000, the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala petitioned the Agencia Española de Cooperación International ("Spanish Agency for International Cooperation") for funding to restore excavated artefacts ready for display in the museum. The agency responded positively and the Atlas Arqueológica was able to contract archaeologists from the
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 archaeological sites and urban centers of the Pre-Col ...
National Park to carry out the restoration work. This restoration process lasted two years. The museum was officially opened on 17 March 2005 and is administered by staff of the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala.Corzo 2005, p.724.


Facilities

The building consists of the exhibition halls, administrative facilities, a warehouse, guardroom, sanitary services and a community hall.


Collection

The museum is dedicated to the display of objects excavated by the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala within the southeastern Petén region. It displays approximately 125
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
pieces and eight stone sculptures. The display of artefacts is divided into periods, ranging from the Late Preclassic through to the Postclassic, covering a span from 900 BC through to 1524 AD. The collection is not limited to the
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
of Dolores, it also includes pieces from the municipalities of La Libertad,
Melchor de Mencos Melchor de Mencos is a municipality in the Petén Department of Guatemala with population 23,813. It is situated on the eastern border with Belize, and is the only major border crossing from Guatemala to Belize. The city was established in April 1 ...
, Poptún, San Luis, Santa Ana and
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
.Corzo 2007, p.89. Twenty-two archaeological sites are represented at the museum, they include Calzada Mopan, Copoja, Curucuitz, El Chal, El Ocote, El Reinado, Itzimte, Ix Ak, Ixcoxol, Ix Ek',
Ixkun Ixkun (Ixcún or Ixkún in Spanish orthography) is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site, situated in the Petén Basin region of the southern Maya lowlands. It lies to the north of the town of Dolores, in the modern-day department of Petén, ...
,
Ixtonton Ixtonton is a Maya archaeological site in the department of Petén in northern Guatemala.Laporte et al 1991, p.210. It is located in the northwestern portion of the Maya MountainsLaporte 1993, p.231. in the municipality of Dolores. The ruins ar ...
,
Ixtutz Ixtutz () was an important Classic Period Maya city located south of Ixkun in southeastern Petén, Guatemala. Ixtutz is situated in the valley of the Poxte River in the western portion of the Maya Mountains. The site was inhabited during the Pr ...
, La Gloria-Sacul, Limones,
Machaquila Machaquila (or Machaquilá, using Spanish orthography) is a major ruined city of the Maya civilization in what is now the El Peten department of Guatemala. Location The ruins of Machaquila fall within the municipality of Poptún, in the Petén ...
, Maringa, Pueblito, Sacul, Suk Che',
Ucanal Ucanal is an archaeological site of the ancient Maya civilization. It is located near the source of the Belize River in the Petén department of present-day northern Guatemala. Location Ucanal is located inside a bend of the Mopan River. It i ...
and Yaltutu. There are also pieces recovered from the caves of Aktun Ak'ab, Balam Na and El Chapayal. File:Ixtonton Stela 2.jpg,
Stela 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 ...
2 from Ixtonton File:Ixtutz Panel 2.jpg, Fragments of Panel 2 from Ixtutz File:Maya sculpture from Pueblito, Petén.jpg, Sculpture from Pueblito File:Ixtutz Late Classic Vase.jpg, Late Classic vase from Ixtutz


Bowl from Suk Che'

This artefact (catalogue number PSPA-507) is a flat based ceramic bowl of the Saxche variety of the Saxche Naranja Polychrome type, belonging to the Palmar-Danta ceramic group.Corzo 2005, p.756. It was excavated from Group 9 at Suk Che' and was associated with a burial. The bowl has been dated to the Late Classic Period.


Vase from Curucuitz

This item (catalogue number PSPA-625) is a ceramic vase excavated from the ruins of Curucuitz.Corzo 2005, p.757. It was found buried in the North Structure of Group 24, where it was associated with a burial. the vase has been dated to the Late Classic and is of the Paixban variety of the Paixban Ante Polychrome ceramic type, belonging to the Zacatal-Joyac ceramic group.


Vase from Sacul

This ceramic vase (catalogue number PSPA-708) was excavated from the ruins of Sacul. The piece is of the Palmar variety of the Palmar-Naranja Polychrome type, belonging to the Palmar-Danta ceramic group.Corzo 2005, p.758. It has been dated to the Late Classic Period. It was a funerary offering accompanying Burial 193 at Sacul, it was interred in front of Structure 1 of Group 26 of that city.Laporte & Mejía 2006, p.192. The vase was a drinking vessel for chocolate and depicts a mythological scene featuring what looks like the moon goddess,Laporte & Mejía 2006, p.215. but is more likely the tonsured maize god, who, functioning as a lunar deity, carries a rabbit in his arms.cf. Chinchilla Mazariegos, Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya, Yale UP 2017: 202-208 The god is seated upon a throne, which is decorated with a celestial band. Below him are three jars of
pulque Pulque (; ), occasionally known as octli or agave wine, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, ...
. Only about half of the original scene has survived, and the text next to the maize god is illegible. Only slight traces remain of a second person seated upon the same throne, to the left of the maize god. Two rows of supernatural beings are seated on the floor before the throne, indicating that they are visiting the enthroned principal figures. Three of these visitors can be identified, including two versions of God N, represented as separate individuals, and a being that is a man-bird hybrid. These figures are also accompanied by hieroglyphs, although they are also illegible. The vase includes a dedicatory hieroglyphic text around the rim that identifies it as the drinking vessel of a lord of the city of
Naranjo Naranjo (Wak Kab'nal in Mayan) is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 BC to 950 AD, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. ...
.Laporte & Mejía 2006, p.216.


Notes


References

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Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén The Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén ("Southeastern Petén Regional Museum") is an archaeology, archaeological museum in the town of Dolores, El Petén, Dolores in the Petén Department of Guatemala.REDCAMUS. The museum is located from Flores ...
Museums in Guatemala Archaeological museums in Guatemala Mesoamerican art museums Art museums and galleries established in 2005
Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén The Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén ("Southeastern Petén Regional Museum") is an archaeology, archaeological museum in the town of Dolores, El Petén, Dolores in the Petén Department of Guatemala.REDCAMUS. The museum is located from Flores ...