Where is Temple? : Construction and Use of Ceremonial Group at Tayasal

Summary

Since the 1970s, a ceremonial group dating to the Late Postclassic period at the archaeological site of Tayasal has been excavated by several archaeological projects. These efforts have greatly contributed to the understanding of the Late Postclassic period and the Itza Maya communities in the Petén lakes region. The ceremonial group includes a Postclassic "basic ceremonial group" on the west and a probable Late Preclassic E-group on the east. Excavations revealed architectural arrangements and use of ceremonial group by the Itza during the Postclassic period.

The basic ceremonial group and a modified arrangement called "temple assemblage" were first identified in Mayapán, Yucatán. The presence of Mayapán-style temple assemblage supports a connection between Yucatán and Petén. This paper examines construction and use of the ceremonial group by the Itza and explores probable location of temple in the ceremonial group at Tayasal, compared to other Postclassic sites with temple assemblages.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Current Investigations in the Petén Lakes Region, Guatemala

Keywords

Spatial Coverage