Termination deposits at Aguateca and Ceibal, Guatemala

Author(s): Takeshi Inomata; Daniela Triadan

Year: 2018

Summary

Excavations at Aguateca and Ceibal revealed a series of dense deposits associated with the ritual destruction of buildings. At Aguateca, such deposits were found in and around Structures M7-22 and M7-32 of the Palace Group, probable royal administrative-residential buildings. Excavators also unearthed similar deposits around Structures L8-6 and L8-7, temple pyramids in the Main Plaza. These deposits date to c. AD 810 when enemies attacked Aguateca. At Ceibal, dense deposits of broken objects were found in and around structures surrounding the West Plaza of Group D, the probable royal palace complex of the illegitimate ruler, Ajaw Bot. This complex appears to have been destroyed at the end of Ajaw Bot’s reign around AD 800 or 810. Another set of deposits were revealed in and around Structure A-14 and A-16 of the East Court, Group A, the likely palace complex of Wat’ul K’atel and his successors during the Terminal Classic period. These deposits were most likely made around AD 900 when the Ceibal dynasty collapsed. These examples show certain variability in types and contents of deposits, but they are all tied to the ritual destruction of royal buildings at the time of dynastic disruption or collapse.

Cite this Record

Termination deposits at Aguateca and Ceibal, Guatemala. Takeshi Inomata, Daniela Triadan. Presented at The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC. 2018 ( tDAR id: 444072)

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Spatial Coverage

min long: -94.197; min lat: 16.004 ; max long: -86.682; max lat: 21.984 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18790