<< Other Photo Pages >> Plan de Ayutla - Ancient Village or Settlement in Mexico in Chiapas

Submitted by davidmorgan on Sunday, 25 September 2011  Page Views: 6027

Multi-periodSite Name: Plan de Ayutla
Country: Mexico
NOTE: This site is 36.496 km away from the location you searched for.
Region: Chiapas Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
 Nearest Village: Velasco Suárez
Latitude: 16.785077N  Longitude: 91.279823W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4
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Plan de Ayutla
Plan de Ayutla submitted by john_op_stap : Photo : Courtesy Luis Alberto Martos, the archaeologist in charge of the site (Vote or comment on this photo)
The important and still comparatively unknown site of Plan de Ayutla is located in the Selva Lacandona in the vicinity of a number of strategically important sites along the upper Usumacinta River. It was first reported in 1974 by Peter Schmidt. Visited again in 1988 by Alejandro Tovalín Ahumada, Plan de Ayutla is currently being investigated by Luis Alberto Martos and prepared for eventual opening to the public.

Given its location, impressive size and ambitious architecture, Plan de Ayutla is a "strong candidate" to turn out to be the ancient site of Sak Tz'i' ("White Dog"), known from the Classic Period inscriptions but so far unlocated on the ground (Peter Mathews, personal communication 2004). Although there is no evidence as yet to tie Plan de Ayutla firmly to Sak Tz'i', its site design seems almost an imitation of the grand Acropolis at Piedras Negras, the Usumacinta powerhouse for which Sak Tz'i' seems to have served as a regional adminstrative center from time to time.

Information from Mesoweb.

Note: 2,000-year-old palace discovered in Mexico
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Plan de Ayutla
Plan de Ayutla submitted by john_op_stap : Photo : Courtesy Luis Alberto Martos, the archaeologist in charge of the site (Vote or comment on this photo)

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"Plan de Ayutla" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Bonampak lineage might have come from Plan de Ayutla by davidmorgan on Friday, 27 January 2012
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Recent explorations conducted by experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) point out that Plan de Ayutla Archaeological Site, in Chiapas, could have been the political center where the lineage that founded Bonampak originated,more than 1,400 years ago. This hypothesis is based on interpretation of inscriptions at different monuments.

The archaeological zone that will be open to public before 2012, according to the compromise of President Felipe Calderon, could have been in Prehispanic times one of the legendary cities didentified by epigraphic as Sak T’zi or Ak’e.

The first hypothesis regarding Plan de Ayutla identity points out that it might have been Sak T’zi, city that between 600 and 800 AD struggled with Maya metropolis of Tonina, Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan, informed archaeologist Luis Alberto Martos.

The site located in Ocosingo municipality “is key to understand development and political integration in Bonampak and Lacanha”, commented Martos, director of Plan de Ayutla Archaeological Project.

Sak T’zi (white dog in Maya) was described in different carved monuments, such as Lintel 2 at Yaxchilan were the defeat of the city by Yaxchilan and Bonampak, in 787 AD, is described.

According to inscriptions, Luis Alberto Martos recalled, “it must have been a site bigger than Bonampak but smaller than Yaxchilan. Some authors have traced its area of influence between seigniories of Yaxchilan, Bonampak, Piedras Negras, Tonina and Palenque, and given its features, Plan de Ayutla might have been Sak T’zi”.

“One of Sak T’zi rulers, K’ab Chan Te (the one who holds the sky), named himself seignior of 2 katunes, corresponding to 40 years approximately in our calendar, and warrior at the ballgame; this means ballgame was important at Sak T’zi.”

The aforementioned data makes sense if we consider the greatest ballgame court of High Usumacinta region is at Plan de Ayutla. Located at the center of the city, it measures, including the structures that limit it, 85 meters long and 40 wide. It has enclosed end-zones and is covered with slabs.

The second theory refers to Plan de Ayutla as the ancient city of Ak’e; Martos, also head of INAH Direction of Archaeological Studies, pointed out that this ancient political center was subordinated to Tonina in different stages.

We find at Plan de Ayutla architectural elements similar to those at Tonina, such as the aforementioned ballgame court, the frets that adorn Structure 13, and the frequent use of column altars, which could indicate this is ancient Ak’e, which means turtle in Maya.

Nearness with Bonampak (only 25 kilometers away) points out that if this is the ancient Ak’e, from where the founding lineage of Bonampak came from. Apparently, the dynasty moved out taking with them the “Ak’e” emblem glyph.

Dr. Luis Alberto Martos remarked neither place has been archaeologically located but, according to epigraphic studies, both were important in the history of the High Usumacinta region.

Archaeological evidence reveals there was human occupation at Plan de Ayutla since 150 BC, although its history as an integrated city began 100 or 150 years later. Regardless most of Usumacinta cities were abandoned towards 800-850 AD, material dated from 1000 AD have been located, which indicates the relevance of the site.

Part of the Sierra de Jalapa region, near the Biosphere Reserve of Montes Azules, this Maya site has particular features that provide its character, such as monumentality and quality of the Usumacinta style buildings.

Archaeologist Luis Alberto Martos remarked that Structure 13, located at Acropolis Norte, has the form of a hut. “It is a superb construction with two 8-meters-high roofed spans, an unusual feature in the region. Apparently, it was an observatory, since, from mid July (beginning of Maya calendar), it m

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Plan de Ayutla Archaeological Zone by Andy B on Sunday, 25 September 2011
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For all the attention paid to must-see archaeological sites like Palenque and Yaxchilán, the ruins of Plan de Ayutla rank as one of the most fascinating and memorable in the region and the state. Seven kilometers outside Nueva Palestina and way off the beaten path, the ruins consist of twin pyramids, ensconced in trees and vegetation, and crowned by a complex of remarkably well-preserved structures that are a thrill to explore and clamber about.

What’s more, there is growing evidence that these are the remains of the ancient Maya city of Sak Tz’i’, whose location has been one of the enduring archaeological mysteries of the Río Usumacinta and Lacandón region.

For decades, archaeologists have known of Sak Tz’i’ (Tzeltal Maya for Perro Blanco, or White Dog) from inscriptions at Piedras Negras and Bonampak, but could never find the city’s location or remains. The city seems to have played the role of ancient swing voter (or “catalyzing agent” in archaeological parlance), never a major player itself, yet capable of tipping the balance of power among the dominant cities through strategic alliances.

Read more at Moon Travel
http://www.moon.com/destinations/chiapas/the-rio-usumacinta-valley/along-the-carretera-fronteriza/nueva-palestina/sights/plan-de-ayutla-archaeologic
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2,000-year-old palace discovered in Mexico by davidmorgan on Thursday, 22 September 2011
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A team of Mexican specialists discovered remnants of a 2,000-year-old Mayan palace at an archaeological site in the southeastern state of Chiapas.

“The discovery constitutes the first architectural evidence of such an early occupation of the ancient Mayan cities of the Upper Usumacinta basin” in the Lacandona Jungle, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement Wednesday.

The project’s director, Luis Alberto Martos, said this new discovery was made in a sunken courtyard located in the northern part of the the Plan de Ayutla archaeological site and represents the first evidence of occupation of that area between 50 B.C. and 50 A.D.

Martos added that the earliest concrete evidence of Mayan occupation of that region before now had dated back only to 250 A.D.

He said the palace consists of “rooms with walls almost one meter wide, whose corners are rounded, an early characteristic of Mayan architecture”.

The archaeologist added that Mayans of a later era dismantled the palace and filled in the courtyard to raise the level of the other buildings, and that is why “the remains of the early palace remained below and were preserved”.

The later constructions were built between 250-800 A.D. and correspond to the Classic period, when this site played an important political role.

This research will provide a deeper look at political interaction and integration in this region, “an area where several kingdoms were in conflict and battles were waged and alliances formed”, Martos said.

http://news.bioscholar.com/2011/09/2000-year-old-palace-discovered-in-mexico.html

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