Yaxha
Yaxha is a Mesoamerican archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén Basin in modern-day Guatemala. As a ceremonial centre of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Yaxha was the third largest city in the region and experienced its maximum power during the Early Classic period. The city was located on a ridge overlooking Lake Yaxha. The name of the city derives from the Mayan for "blue-green water"; it is a notable survival of a Classic period place-name into the modern day. The Yaxha kingdom is estimated to have covered an area of and to have had a peak population of 42,000 in the Late Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology.
Yaxha had a long history of occupation with the first settlement being founded sometime in the Middle Preclassic period. It developed into the largest city in the eastern Petén lakes region during the Late Preclassic and expanded into an enormous city during the Early Classic. At this time, in common with other sites in Petén, it shows strong influence from the distant metropolis of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico. It was eclipsed during the Late Classic by neighbouring Naranjo but was never completely dominated. The city survived well into the Terminal Classic but was abandoned by the Postclassic period.
The ruins of the city were first reported by Teoberto Maler who visited them in 1904. The site was mapped in the 1930s and again in the 1970s and stabilisation work began in the late 1980s. The ruins include the remains of more than 500 structures with a number of major archaeological groups linked by causeways. Approximately 40 Maya stelae have been discovered at the site, about half of which feature sculpture.
Etymology
The name Yaxha derives from the Mayan yaxa', which means "blue-green water". Yaxha is notable for the survival of its toponym from the Classic period, when it was a thriving city. David Stuart first proposed that the emblem glyph of the site should be read Yax-ha and that the name of the city is of ancient origin.Location
Located in the modern-day department of Petén, northern Guatemala, it is approximately southeast of Tikal; Yaxha is situated on the north shore of Lake Yaxha; the ruins extend roughly along a hilltop parallel to the lake shore. The ruins fall within the borders of the Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park, which encompasses an area of and incorporates the remains of four ancient Maya cities: Yaxha, Topoxte, Nakum and Naranjo, as well as 10 intermediate sites and more than 280 smaller settlements.Known rulers
All dates A.D.History
Preclassic
Yaxha was already significant in the Late Preclassic, and was a large site as far back as the Middle Preclassic. Archaeological investigations indicate that the earliest, Middle Preclassic, settlement was in what developed into the southern and western sectors of the city. In the Late Preclassic the city became the largest settlement in the Yaxha-Sacnab basin, with a marked increase in population and in construction activity.Early Classic
The city reached the height of its power during the Early Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, during which period the city expanded enormously. The city's Early Classic monuments are poorly preserved, meaning that the history of its period of maximum power is poorly understood. The influence of the distant metropolis of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico is evident in Early Classic imagery following Teotihuacan's decisive intervention at Tikal in AD 378. At the end of the Early Classic, seismic activity caused movement of the Yaxha Fault, resulting in damage to buildings in the East Acropolis. The same earthquake appears to have caused damage across the city and at neighbouring Nakum. The earthquake may have resulted in the temporary abandonment of the East Acropolis.During this period the city established itself as an important centre on the trade routes that crossed the Petén lakes region.
Late Classic
In the Late Classic the city developed with major construction projects taking place across the city centre, especially during the 8th century; the twin pyramid complex is an example of one of the major construction projects undertaken at this time. At this time the city became an important trading centre to the southeast of the great city of Tikal. During the Late Classic the city fought several wars against the neighbouring city of Naranjo, which had eclipsed Yaxha in power but was never able to complete dominate it. In 710, king K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak of Naranjo sacked Yaxha, captured its king and sacrificed him.In the latter 8th century, king K'ak' Ukalaw Chan Chaak of Naranjo took a Yaxha princess as his wife; Lady Shell Star provided the king with his heir. This heir was unable to maintain peace between the cities and Itzamnaaj K'awiil of Naranjo went to war against Yaxha and its allies in AD 799, launching assaults against his mother's city in July and September of that year, some months after defeating a number of Yaxha's satellites. He managed to capture K'inich Lakamtuun, Yaxha's king.
Terminal Classic
There is no evidence of the rapid collapse of the Yaxha polity in the Terminal Classic as took place at other cities in the vicinity. Instead there is evidence of renewed and widespread construction activity. It is apparent that the local elite made every effort to prolong the city's Late Classic political system. Some entry controls to the city were removed in order to encourage the flow of visitors to Yaxha from surrounding areas that were more immediately affected by the Classic Maya collapse.Postclassic
During the Postclassic there is some evidence of activity at the site associated with the inhabited islands of Lake Yaxha but these were not in any way associated with occupation of the city itself, rather consisting of pieces of ceramic and food refuse left at the city by the islanders.Modern history
first reported Yaxha's existence after visiting the ruins in 1904. The Carnegie Institution of Washington mapped the ruins in the 1930s and the site was again mapped in the early 1970s, at which time test excavations were undertaken. The Proyecto Nacional Tikal carried out a survey of architectural damage at Yaxha in 1987 and in 1988 the first work was undertaken in order to stabilise some of the structures. Archaeological excavations have continued into the 21st century; The South Acropolis was excavated from 2005 through to 2007. The early 21st century excavations of Yaxha formed a part of the Peten Sustainable Development Programme funded by the Banco Interamericano de Desarollo.Site description
Yaxha is the third largest ruin in Guatemala, with only Tikal and El Mirador being larger. The centre of the city consisted of a number of plazas and architectural groups, with outlying groups and the lake shore linked by causeways. The main architectural groups are the Maler Group to the north, linked to the central area by the Blom Causeway; the South Acropolis, the West Group, the Northeast Acropolis, the East Acropolis and a number of plazas and lesser groups make up the site core. The city was linked to the shore of Lake Yaxha by the Lake Causeway. Plaza A is a twin pyramid complex. Ten main communication routes have been identified in the city, with the four principal routes having been classified as causeways by archaeologists, with the remainder classed as "vias". Yaxha was more densely occupied than most other Maya cities.The site has more than 500 structures, including about 40 stelae, 13 Altars, 9 temple pyramids, 2 Mesoamerican ballcourts, and a network of sacbeob that connect the central, northern, and eastern 'acropoleis', and the Lake causeway that was the main entrance in the past. The top of Temple 216 provides a view of the two lakes on one side and the jungle and the stepped-pyramids on the other.
Yaxha possesses one of very few twin pyramid complexes outside of Tikal; the fact that the site holds a twin-pyramid complex provides a visible insight into the political alliances that eventually influenced the architectural style of the city at its peak, although it appears that the complex at Yaxha was unfinished.
Architectural groups
Plaza A is a twin pyramid complex to the north of the East Acropolis. It was built during the 8th century AD.Plaza B is on the west side of the East Acropolis.
Plaza C is an E-Group astronomical complex to the southeast of the site core, linked to the city centre by the Lincloln Causeway. Three Early Classic stelae were erected on the east side of the plaza.
Plaza D is in the site core, at the northwest end of the Lincoln Causeway and immediately north of the South Acropolis. It is bordered to the north by the Northeast Acropolis.
Plaza E is situated in the site core, on the north side of the South Acropolis and linked to it via a stairway rising from the plaza.
The East Acropolis is on the east side of the city centre, to the south of the Twin Pyramid Complex. It occupies the highest area of the city and is surrounded by Plazas A, B and C. The area that was to become occupied by the East Acropolis was first levelled from the limestone bedrock in the Middle Preclassic. In the Preclassic the East Acropolis was laid out as a triadic pyramid complex but was radically modified during the Early Classic. In its final form the East Acropolis formed a closed complex with twelve structures covering a total area of. The main buildings of the East Acropolis were Structure 216, a pyramid-temple, and Structure 218, a palace. The East Acropolis plaza featured a west-facing monumental stairway built in the Late Preclassic and remodelled in the Late Classic. The first version of the temple was built in the Late Preclassic, while the earliest version of the palace dates to the Early Classic. The East Acropolis appears to have been temporarily abandoned at the end of the Early Classic due to destruction caused by an earthquake, but was reoccupied and developed during the course of the Late Classic. During the Terminal Classic great quantities of ash and domestic ceramics were deposited in the East Acropolis. At this time a small platform was built against Structure 219, which blocked access to the southwestern terrace of the complex.
The Northeast Acropolis dates back to the Late Preclassic and incorporates an arrangement that includes a triadic pyramid forming a part of an E-Group astronomical complex.
The South Acropolis, sometimes referred to as the Main Acropolis, was built upon a high karstic hill. It had a long history, with construction starting at the end of the Middle Preclassic period and continuing through to the Terminal Classic. The acropolis is a complex consisting of six patio groups upon an artificial platform and includes a Mesoamerican ballcourt. The patios are separated by corbel-vaulted structures that were probably elite residences; the exception is Structure 363, which is a temple between Patio 5 and Patio 6. The South Acropolis is located in the southern portion of the site core near the junction of various causeways and vias. The acropolis is bordered on the north side by the ballcourt and plazas D and E. It is bordered on the western side by Via 5 and on the southern side by Via 6. In its final form during the Terminal Classic the basal platform formed an irregular rectangle measuring east-west by north-south. The platform had stepped levels and rounded corners; the principal access appears to have been a stairway on the west half of the north side, which linked Plaza E with Patios 5 and 6 of the acropolis. Excavations of the acropolis took place in 1996 and 2006; excavators found evidence of earlier archaeological investigation that had not been recorded and suggested professional investigation in the 1970s.
The Maler Group is located to the north of the site core, linked to it by the Blom Causeway.