El Mirador is a large pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization, located in the north of the modern department of El Petén, Guatemala. The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas continent. ... This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... Guatemala is divided into 22 [1] departments (departamentos): Alta Verapaz Baja Verapaz Chimaltenango Chiquimula Petén El Progreso Quiché Escuintla Guatemala Huehuetenango Izabal Jalapa Jutiapa Quetzaltenango Retalhuleu Sacatepéquez San Marcos Santa Rosa Sololá Suchitepequez Totonicapán Zacapa In addition, Guatemala has in the past claimed that all or part... El Petén El Petén is a department of the nation of Guatemala. ...

"El Tigre Complex", in El Mirador

The site was first discovered in 1926, and was photographed from the air in 1930, but the remote site deep in the jungle had little more attention paid to it until Ian Graham spent 10 days here making the first map in 1962. A detailed investigation was begun in 1978 with an archaeological project under the direction of Bruce Dahlin (Catholic University of Washington) and Ray Matheny (Brigham Young University). To the surprise of the archaeologists, it was found that a large amount of construction was not contemporary with the large Maya classic cities of the area like Tikal and Uaxactun, but rather from centuries earlier in the Pre-Classic era (see: Mesoamerican chronology). El Mirador flourished from about the 6th century BC, reaching its height from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD, with a peak population of perhaps 80,000 people. They then experienced a hiatus of construction and perhaps abandonment for generations, followed by re-occupation and further construction in the late classic era, and a final abandonment about the end of the 9th century. The site covers some 10 square miles (26 km²). There are a number of "triadic" structures (around 30 structures), consisting of a large low artificial platform topped with a set of 3 step-pyramids. The most notable such structures are three huge complexes; one is nicknamed "El Tigre", with height 55.8 metres (183 ft); the other is called "La Danta" (or Danta) temple, is also the name of the largest Maya temple. The temple get up to 79 metres (259 ft) high^[1], and with a volume of 2,800,000 cubic meters, maybe making it the one of the largest pyramid in the world^[2], and including the large platform the pyramid is set upon, an artificially-built base covering some 18,000 square meters of ground, the largest in the world, Also the "Los Monos" complex is very large although not as famous. Most of the structures were originally faced with cut stone which was then decorated with large stucco faces depicting the deities of Maya mythology. Carlos Morales-Aguilar, a Guatemalan archaeologist, suggests the existence of an extraordinary alignment between the architectural groups, main temples and carved monuments, related to the trajectory of the sun and the moon. The study reflects an importance of urban planning and sacred spaces since the first settlers. Image File history File links El_mirador_tigre. ... Image File history File links El_mirador_tigre. ... Ian Graham (born January 5, 1943) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the VFL during the 1960s. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... For other uses, see Tikal (disambiguation). ... Uaxactun (pronounced Wash-ak-toon) is an ancient ruin of the Maya civilization, located in the Peten department of Guatemala, some 40 km (25 miles) north of Tikal. ... Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ... This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... For other meanings, see pyramid (disambiguation). ... Stucco is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water which is applied wet, and hardens when it dries. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Although containing striking examples of Pre-Classic Maya civilization, the remote location of El Mirador has prevented it from becoming a popular tourist site.

Structure 34 in El Mirador: as reconstructed by Richard Hansen

In the late Classic c700 AD, at least part of the site was reoccupied and enclosed by a wall which reused some stone from earlier structures, and become the only known source of the "Codex style Ceramic", a particularly fine painted ceramic. Image File history File links Nakbe2. ... Image File history File links Nakbe2. ... Fixed Partial Denture, or Bridge The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos). ...

The site is the center of a series of ancient sacbeob {meaning "white road"}, a raised stone pedestrian causeways, up to 4 mts. above the Jungle level, and 40 mts. wide, one linking it to the site of Nakbe some 12 km away. Dr. Richard D. Hansen, a distinguished archaeologist from Idaho State University, is the current director of the Mirador Basin Project, and according to his discoveries here, he thinks that the more than 27 sites in El Mirador Basin, form the first political state in America, and that The northern Petén gives Guatemala legitimate claim to the title "Cradle of Maya Civilization."[1] Sacbe, plural Sacbeob, or white ways are raised paved roads built by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. ... Box Log Falls, Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia Jungle usually refers to a dense forest in a hot climate, such as a tropical rainforest. ... // Overview Nakbe is an ancient lowland Mayan city that is located in the Peten region of Guatemala. ... Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph. ... Idaho State University (ISU) is a public university operated by the U.S. state of Idaho. ... The Mirador Basin is a geographically defined elevated basin found in the remote rain forest of the northern department of Petén , Guatemala. ... The Mirador Basin is a geographically defined elevated basin found in the remote rain forest of the northern department of Petén , Guatemala. ... The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, located in the northern portion of the modern-day nation of Guatemala, and essentially contained within the department of El Petén. ...

See also

• La Danta
• El Tigre
• Los Monos
• List of tallest ancient structures

List of ancient structures by height List of buildings Categories: | ...

Reference

The National Geographic Channel is a subscription television network that features documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society. ...

External links

• The United States Department of the Interior and the Government of Guatemala Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Protect Major Maya Archaeological Sites at El Mirador
• Global Heritage Fund (GHF) Working to Establish a 525,100 acre Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve in the Heart of the Maya Biosphere
• German ZDF Video
• Mirador Basin Project (formerly RAINPEG): updates Archaeological and preservational work at El Mirador and surrounding sites by the Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES).
• Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve: information on El Mirador from the Global Heritage Fund
• Photo galleries and descriptions of El Mirador
• El Mirador on MostlyMaya.com
• Photo diary of hike to El Mirador, May 2003