<< Other Photo Pages >> Tak'alik Ab'aj - Ancient Village or Settlement in Guatemala
Submitted by bat400 on Sunday, 09 February 2014 Page Views: 4464
Multi-periodSite Name: Tak'alik Ab'aj Alternative Name: Abaj Takalik, KoojaCountry: Guatemala
NOTE: This site is 23.648 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Retalhuleu Nearest Village: El Asintal
Latitude: 14.637000N Longitude: 91.734W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Ancient Town in Guatemala.
Tak'alik Ab'aj was occupied from 900 BC through 1000 AD and has both Olmec and Mayan features. The latest structures are representative of the the Preclassical and Classic Periods (200BC - 200 AD, and 200 AD - 1000 AD.)
The site includes monumental structures arranged around a dozen separate plazas. Two ballcourts, an early Maya royal tomb, Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions on monuments, and are among the many finds. Clay and stone lined canals drain the area, protecting the foundations of buildings and terraces.
The central area of major buildings and structures covers 2 by 4 kilometers. The full extent of residential ares has not yet been determined.
Excavations at the site have occurred periodically since the 1920's. The current excavations have been ongoing since the late 1980's through the Guatemalan Instituto de Antropología e Historia (IDAEH.) Over two hundred monuments and alters have been discovered.
In 2002 Takalik Abaj was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative Lists, under the heading of "The Mayan-Olmecan Encounter".
A Wikipedia website includes a list of structures and monumnets and an extensive bibliography.
Note: Guatemala finds grave of king who ushered in Mayan rule from an Olmec origin.
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