Preclassic Landscape Modifications and Regional Networks at El Tintal, Petén, Guatemala

Summary

The site of El Tintal, located in northern Petén, Guatemala, provides early evidence of monumental construction, initiating with the large-scale transformation of the landscape in preparation for the site’s ceremonial core, followed by construction programs consisting of pyramids, elevated causeways, and a diversity of hydraulic features. Recent investigations at El Tintal have shed light on its Preclassic settlement, organized around what we propose was an ancient lagoon which settlers connected to the larger regional fluvial network by the construction of a 2.4 km-long artificial canal. Preliminary investigations show that this canal, although mostly constructed following a traditional open-channel design, appears to have had two sections flowing underground, with tunnel sections carved into the underlying bedrock, providing the first evidence of complex hydraulic engineering at such an early stage. El Tintal maintained a complex interregional network relying on both foot travel over causeways and trails, as well as canoe transportation across what is increasingly looking like a significantly more humid regional landscape. In this paper, we present our findings and supporting evidence, as well as initial interpretations which we believe are consequential in the understanding of Preclassic geopolitics.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20544