Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1995 - 50

Benque Viejo del Carmen on
the Guatemala
border; from
there, by bus or minibus to Flores. Then, get a minibus at the
airport to Tikal. The archaeological site is open daily 6:00-6:00;
entrance fee. Guides are available; an appointment is recommended. Free permits to view
the sunset from the summit of
the Lost World pyramid can be
obtained at the security station
near the museum. There are several hotels and restaurants, as
well as a campsite, at Tikal. The
more luxurious Camino Real
Hotel is located off the FloresTikal road, and there are hotels
and restaurants in Flores as well.
Contact: Oscar Quintana, Proyecto Nacional Tikal, Instituto de
12
Antropología . e Historia,
Avenida 11-65, Zona 1, Ciudad
Guatemala, (tel.) 502-2-25571,
502-2-25948, (fax) 502-2-25946;
or Rolando Perniilo, Parque Nacional Tikal, Petén.

300 feet, is set up as a solar observatory with stelae aligned with
the summer and winter solstice
sunrises. Getting there: The three
sites are located quite close together; a number of others, including Poza Maya, Ixtinto,
Pochitoca, and San Clemente,
are also nearby. All are accessible by car or bus. From Melchor
de Meneos on the Belize border,
drive 25 miles west on the road
to Flores. From Flores, drive 44
miles east toward Melchor de
Meneos. All sites are open daily
6:00-4:30. Guides are available
by appointment. There is a hotel
and restaurant, the Campanamento El Sombrero, within a
few miles of the sites, and a
campground at Yaxhá. Contact:
Oscar Quintana,
Instituto de
e
12
Historia,
Antropología
Avenida 11-65, Zona 1, Ciudad
Guatemala, (tel.) 502-2-25571,
502-2-25948, (fax) 502-2-25946.
Honduras

and NaYaxhá,
Topoxte,
Petén.
Yaxhá
is
a Maya
kum,
ceremonial center with over 500
structures, mainly of Late Classic
(ca. A.D. 700-900) date. The
core of the site consists of a central acropolis
connected
by
causeways, or sacbeob, to four
satellite pyramid groups, including one on the shore of Lake
Yaxhá. A number of carved
stone stelae have also been found
at the site. Topoxte, located on
an island at the western end of
Lake Yaxhá, was occupied from
about 300 B.c. until the fifteenth
century. It is unique in the Petén
for its restored Postclassic (ca.
A.D. 900-1530) structures. Nakum, situated on the bank of the
Holmul River, is a Terminal
Classic (ca. A.D. 900) Maya ceremonial center with over 200
structures. Temple A has two
rounded "arches" - an architectural feature unknown elsewhere
in Mesoamerica.
The Great
Plaza, measuring about 260 by

Copán, Santa Rosa. Copán,
occupied from the Early Preclassic through the Late Classic periods (ca. 1300 B.C.-A.D. 900), was
one of the greatest Maya centers.
At the heart of the site is the
Acropolis, made up of at least 15
major structures grouped around
two courtyards. Over the past
thousand years the Copán River
has eroded the Acropolis to the
east. North of the Acropolis is
the Main Plaza, more than 800
feet long, with a restored ballcourt and other buildings. A
staircase inscribed with a long
hieroglyphic text dedicated to
Copán 's twelfth ruler, known to
scholars as "Smoke-Imix-Gód
K," climbs the Acropolis facing
the Main Plaza. Structure 22, on
the East Court of the Acropolis,
has an enormous carved doorway representing the Maya universe in the form of a monster's
mouth. Structure
11, on the
West Court, has an even more

elaborate cosmogram. The site's
inscribed monuments document
the history of its kings, several of
whose burials have been unearthed in vaults beneath the
Acropolis. Near the main site,
archaeologists have excavated an
elite residential
compound
known as Las Sepulturas. Current excavations (January-June)
are tunneling into the Acropolis
to determine its construction history, and will be inaccessible to
visitors. Getting there: The town
and archaeological site of Copán
are three hours southwest of San
Pedro Sula by car; the roads are
paved and well-marked. Regular
flights go from Miami to San Pedro. The site and museum are
open daily 8:00-4:00; entrance
fee. Guides speaking many languages are available. There are
many hotels and restaurants in
the town. Contact: Oscar Cruz,
Visitors' Center, Copán Archaeological Park, Copán, (tel.) 50498-30004.
Talgua, Olancho. The site of
Talgua is made up of about 100
unexcavated mounds dating to
the Middle Preclassic period (ca.
800 B.c.). Nearby is the Rio Talgua Cave (closed to visitors), in
which archaeologists have found
spectacular Middle Preclassic
burials. Excavations will run
from June 10 to August 1. Getting
there: Talgua is three miles north
of Catacamas, and is accessible
by car, preferably four-wheeldrive vehicle. Visitors are advised to hire a local guide in
Catacamas.
The site is open
access
is
daily;
by permission of
the landowner. The nearest hotels are the Juan Carlos, the
Central, and the Catacamas; all
are located in Catacamas, along
with several restaurants. Contact:
James Brady, Department of Anthropology, George Washington
DC
University,
Washington,
20052, (tel.) 202-994-6075, (fax)
202-994-609.

Archaeology

Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1995

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1995