The Architecture of the Classic Maya Regal Palace of La Corona, Guatemala

Summary

The regal palace of La Corona flanks Plaza A to the west and is the largest construction at the site: a complex of structures sitting atop a sustaining platform extending over ca. 80 x 55m, and 7m in height. This paper describes the architecture of the two northern groups of the regal palace during their two last phases of construction, spanning roughly 750-850 A.D. While the Northeast Group comprised elaborately decorated corbel-vaulted buildings, the Northwest Group featured a mix of sturdy corbel-vaulted rooms and semi-perishable structures. This paper focuses on architectural designs, layout, and features, allowing to reconstruct the functions of the buildings, which include: residential, economic, administrative, ceremonial, and communicational functions. This functional study informs on what activities were performed in this ancient political institution and how those changed over the course of the last century of occupation of this ancient polity.

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): 21860