The Maya Mountain Altars of Northwestern Guatemala

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Among the Maya of northwestern Guatemala, modern populations continue to use the mountains found in their territories as places of worship. Often altars are located directly on the peaks of hills and mountains, while in other cases they are found on pilgrimage routes in or around these high sacred points, such as on the mountains from which corn appears in different myths or on those where other supernatural events took place. In some cases, these spaces are marked by archaeological sites that crown the hills, which at times appear to be defensive constructions that can be dated to the Postclassic period (1000–1550 CE). This paper will present a system of classifications and characteristics of these ritual centers, which represent the living traditions of contemporary Maya, particularly among the Jakaltekos, Akatekos, Q'anjob'ales, and Chuj from the department of Huehuetenango, in Guatemala.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40000.0