From A Forest of Kings to the Forests of Petén: The Mirador Group at El Perú-Waka’

Summary

More than 10 years of research at El Perú-Waka’, carried out under the co-direction of David Freidel and several Guatemalan collaborators, has resulted in a wealth of information about this ancient city and the role its rulers and residents played in the Classic Maya world. Enhanced through his work with Linda Schele, Freidel’s persistent focus on the interplay between ancient history and archaeology—on stelae, buildings, and people—has shaped research at Waka’, located in Guatemala’s Laguna del Tigre National Park. The Mirador Group, one of the site’s principal civic-ceremonial settings, was an initial focus for the El Perú-Waka’ Regional Archaeological Project. While the Mirador Group’s stelae are either blank or largely eroded, archaeological investigation of the monumental architecture has shed light on topics explored in A Forest of Kings, including the role of Teotihuacan, Tikal, and Calakmul in Classic period interactions. This paper will explore Waka’s involvement in these relationships, particularly as evidenced by the Mirador Group’s royal interments and the narrative figurine scene depicting an elaborate courtly ritual.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Contextualizing Maya History and Archaeology Part I: Reflections on the 25th Anniversary of Forest of Kings   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage