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Ancient Maya Ritual Complex Unearthed Near Tikal in Guatemala

Recent excavations at Los Abuelos revealed pyramids, an observatory, altars, ancestral sculptures illuminating early Maya ceremonial life

Tikal war die wichtigste Statt der antiken Maya-Zivilisation in der Provinz Peten. In der Nähe der Stadt haben Archäologen jetzt eine große Entdeckung gemacht.
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In Guatemala sind die Überreste einer fast 3000 Jahre alten Maya-Stadt entdeckt worden. Der Fund wurde im Norden des mittelamerikanischen Landes in der Nähe der Grenze zu Mexiko gemacht.

Overview

  • An international team led by Milan Kováč discovered Los Abuelos, a Maya site dating to around 900 BCE in Guatemala’s Petén region
  • The site covers roughly 16 square kilometers near Uaxactún, situated about 40 kilometers north of the UNESCO World Heritage site Tikal
  • Archaeologists uncovered an ancient observatory alongside multiple pyramids, altars, stelae fragments and intentionally broken ceramics
  • Two 1.5-meter anthropomorphic stone sculptures of a man and woman from 600–400 BCE highlight ancestor veneration traditions
  • Los Abuelos served as a ritual hub for about a millennium before its abandonment and reuse around 800 CE, and related digs at Petnal and Cambrayal yielded a 33-meter pyramid and other ceremonial structures