June 2011, Daily News

A Massive Early Maya Center and a Race Against Time

By Dan McLerran   Thu, Jun 23, 2011

Shrouded mostly in jungle overgrowth, the ancient pyramidal structure known as "La Danta" is arguably among the largest pyramidal structures in the world. It marks the cultural centerpiece of what this early (beginning around the 6th century B.C.E.) Maya city has to offer to the world. In a very literal sense, it also represents only the tip of the iceberg -- most of the rest of this ancient city lies unseen, hidden by the green canopy of the Mirador Basin in the far northern Petén Region of Guatemala. In time it will disappear, even from the grasp of its protective jungle shroud, if nothing is done about it.  

Called "El Mirador" today (spanish for "the look-out", but anciently known as the Kan Kingdom), the city had its beginnings in the 6th century B.C.E. but flourished from the 3rd to the 1st century B.C.E., the civic center of the city covering approximately 10 square miles with several thousand structures and a peak population estimated at perhaps more than one hundred thousand people. This makes it one of the earliest and largest ancient Maya centers in Mesoamerica. Only a fraction of the site has been excavated.

Discovered in 1926, El Mirador was first photographed from the air in 1930 and mapped in 1962 by Ian Graham. The first full-scale investigations and excavations began in 1978 under the direction of Bruce Dahlin of the Catholic University of America and Ray T. Matheny of Brigham Young University. During these excavations, archaeologists determined that many of the site's sophisticated Classic-period style structures were dated considerably before the Classic time period of the other better-known monumental centers of the Maya, such as Tikal and Uaxactún. They had discovered a massive Pre-Classic Maya city that rivaled other Classic period centers in architecture and easily exceeded the size and scope of most other Maya settlements. In fact, it was gigantic, but shrouded in secrecy by the jungle and virtually inaccessible to most travelers but the hardiest of explorers and scientists.

In 2003, Richard Hansen of Idaho State University began large-scale investigations, including conservation and stabilization efforts, utilizing a global force of scientists and other experts from a consortium of 52 universities and research institutions. As of today, studies and efforts under his coordination have produced hundreds of scientific reports and presentations and have raised El Mirador's profile as one of the world's great cultural treasures and Guatemala's leading candidate for a UNESCO World Heritage designation.

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An excavated pyramid structure at El Mirador. Courtesy Geoff Gallice, Wikimedia Commons.

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According to officials familiar with the site and its environment, however, time may be running out on saving this ancient city, most of which remains unexplored and unseen by human eye. Large-scale clearing and destruction of the surrounding environment by a ranching industry financed in part by drug trafficking, slash-and-burn clearing for agricultural purposes, logging, and extensive looting of El Mirador and surrounding archaeological sites have all combined to place El Mirador on the list of sites endangered for extinction. Hansen has been at the forefront in championing and marshaling the resources to reverse this trend and to stabilize and conserve the site for future generations. Thus far, he and the organization he has founded, the Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES), have been the recipient of over $5,000,000 in funds over the past 5 years from the California-based Global Heritage Fund (GHF), a non-profit organization dedicated to community-based initiatives to conserve and develop important archaeological sites in developing countries.  

"Today, thanks to contributions from GHF, FARES, and PACUNAM (Foundation for Cultural and Natural Patrimony), a new 880,000 Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve has been proposed - the largest park in Central America - and a new Archaeological Management Plan for Mirador Natural and Cultural System has been completed with the cooperation of all major stakeholders and government ministries," reports GHF in a recent News Wire release. "A key goal of the Mirador Project is to aid the Guatemalan government in securing permanent protection and UNESCO World Heritage site designation for the park, which would place it on an international stage for large-scale conservation and promote significant tourism growth." 

Much has already been accomplished: The La Danta Pyramid has seen improvement through excavation, consolidation and stabilization of walls, along with repair and stabilization of an access stairway; the El Tigre pyramid complex main platform has been stabilized and consolidated; Structure 34, the Temple of Jaguar Paw, has been consolidated in its tunnel feature and mask sculptures; the great Tintal Causeway has been partially cleared with test pit excavations and structural analysis; and archaeologists have mapped and explored 35 additional sites within the surrounding Mirador Basin.      

The Project's goals include additional economic benefits aimed at building a sustainable future for stakeholder communities and thus providing an alternative to the destructive activities that have up until now endangered the important cultural heritage and biosphere of the area. "Funding has also helped to employ hundreds of local conservation workers, park guides and guards (some of whom are former looters), provide literacy classes to local workers, support local schools with computers and computer training, and install water purification filters in villages," reports GHF. Preserving and developing El Mirador thus means raising a population into economic prosperity. It is hoped that this will provide a model for many other archaeological sites and associated communities and economies, leading to, in a sense, a cultural and economic renaissance.

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Stucco panels discovered at El Mirador. Courtesy Geoff Gallice, Wikimedia Commons.

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Walking the area today, one encounters mostly jungle. The visitor would be hard-pressed to visualize a massive monumental complex and city housing over 100,000 inhabitants. Much more needs to be done to determine the full extent and features that still lie shrouded beneath the overgrowth and canopy. But this picture of dense jungle is deceptive. Deforestation is one step away, as approximately 70% of the Maya Biosphere has already been lost. Despite the new resources that have been marshaled and executed to save El Mirador and its surrounding Basin, it may not be enough to rescue everything from an uncertain future.

Efforts are being made to raise global awareness. A major exhibition at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, France, for example, showcases some of the many finds at El Mirador and other archaeological locations as part of a drive to focus the visiting public on the national legacy of the Guatemalan Maya. The exhibition, entitled "The Maya: From Dawn to Dusk", runs from June 21 to October 2, 2011. El Mirador was also the subject of a recent Smithsonian Magazine cover story. Entitled "El Mirador: The Lost City of the Maya," it may be accessed online at the Smithsonian website.

Individuals interested in learning more about the GHF El Mirador Project may do so by going to the GHF website.

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    The mostly shrouded massive pyramid of La Danta (rising in distance, center), as seen from a distance within the Mirador Basin. The Mirador Basin, its archaeological treasures and critical biosphere, may be lost to posterity without extensive efforts to reverse the current trends. Photo courtesy Rony Rocael, Wikimedia Commons.

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Cover Photo, Top: A pyramidal structure at least partially uncovered at El Mirador. Courtesy Geoff Gallice, Wikimedia Commons.

By Dan McLerran

As Founder and Editor of Popular Archaeology Magazine, Dan is a freelance writer and journalist specializing in archaeology.  He studied anthropology and archaeology in undergraduate and graduate school and has been an active participant on archaeological excavations in the U.S. and abroad.  He is the creator and administrator of Archaeological Digs, a popular weblog about archaeological excavation and field school opportunities.