The structure extends over 1.5 kilometers and almost 500 meters wide, it is 1.5 meters high and dates back to the year 1,000 BC, as described this Wednesday in an article in the journal Science Advances. To its surroundings almost 500 similar settlements were foundbut smaller in size, which opens a new panorama in the southeastern region of the country.
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The last excavation carried out revealed a cross-shaped pit that housed a good number of ceremonial artifacts, providing researchers a large amount of information and unknown facts about the first Mayan ritualsin addition to confirming the nature of the monument as a cosmogram.
The discovery of this sacred place questions prior knowledge that Mesoamerican cultures grew gradually and makes us question what is known about the construction of large iconic settlements such as Tikal in Guatemala and Teotihuacán in central Mexico. “Aguada Fénix” is almost a thousand years older to the founding of these cities and has the largest known dimensions.
The ‘big bang’ of Mayan construction
“Our discovery implies that at the beginning of 1000 BC there was a kind of ‘big bang’ of Mayan construction that we really didn’t know anything about until now,” says one of the authors, Takeshi Inomata, an anthropology researcher at the University of Arizona.
The Inomata group were no strangers to this region. since 2017 they have carried out explorations in the area using a technique known as “lidar” which uses lasers from an airplane to scan the area, the information captured is subsequently processed into a 3D map of the jungle and forest, where man-made structures are highlighted, even when they are buried.
Inomata and the team have proven their prominence in using this technique during other excavations, for example in 2015 it was used in Guatemala to uncover ancient constructions at the Mayan site of Ceibal.
That experience turned out to be useful due to the similar arrangement with Aguada Fenix. The center line of the monument is aligned with the sunrise October 17 and February 24, a 130-day interval that probably represents half of the 260-day cycle of the Mesoamerican ritual calendar.
Thanks to the analyzes of the ceramics and radiocarbon tests, the researchers They managed to identify the age of the pit in the shape of a cross and the layers of construction that were on top.
Nails Jade axes They were the first pieces found, and thanks to previous excavations they were identified as ceremonial “That indicated to us that it was really an important ritual place,” says Inomata.
Following this, They unearthed more ornaments of jade as representations of a crocodile, a bird and what is believed to be a woman giving birth, relics that demonstrate the prominence that the Mayans had for this material.
In the image, the team excavated axes and jade ornaments that were likely left behind later, after the builders made offerings to the cruciform cache and filled it in. EFE/University of Arizona/Takeshi Inomata
At the bottom of a well there was a smaller crucifix, where they found mineral pigments—small piles of blue, green and yellowish earth—arranged so that they correspond to the cardinal points.
“This is the first time that we have found these pigments associated with each cardinal point. It is very exciting,” says the scientist.
The team thinks that all the elements were placed as an offering and then they covered everything with dirt and sand, creating a huge tomb. The results returned by radiocarbon They estimate that the cache dates back to 900-845 BC. c., but it must have remained a busy place where the Jade objects were later deposited.
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The study also revealed a network of causeways and sunken walkways that Aguada Fénix’s builders used to walk to and across the site, as well as canals and a dam to divert water from a nearby lagoon.
The roads, corridors and canals followed axes parallel to the orientation of Aguada Fénix with respect to the sun and They extended up to six miles away from the main plateau of the settlement.
Monumental achievements without a single ruler
Although some sites, such as Tikal in Guatemala, were presided over by a powerful king, the team No evidence has been found so far. that Aguada Fénix was built following that model.
Researchers believe that the settlement did have leaders, but they were intellectuals who made astronomical observations and directed the design and planning of the site.
“We believe that most of them came voluntarily, because The idea of constructing a cosmogram was very important to them, so they worked together,” says Inomata.
“People have the idea that in the past there were pyramids or large constructions thanks to the existence of powerful kings, but data from the past indicate that great inequality and social hierarchy are not necessary to achieve important things,” concludes the researcher.
With information from EFE
TG