IN Guatemalaceramic pieces, human burials and lead bullets from Spanish arquebuses have been found by archaeologists in a new excavation project in tayasal park, north of that country, the last Mayan city that resisted the conquest of the Europeans, informationmaron this friday responsible for the project.
Archaeologists are making progress with the excavation of the last Mayan bastion, what is known?
Excavations at the park began last June to investigate “long occupation” of this city whose inhabitants settled in 900 BC, during Preclassic Maya periodsaid Suarlin Cordova, responsible for the research.
The park is located in Municipality of Floresabout 500 km north of Guatemala Cityin the department fiveborder with Mexico.
Cordova explained that the specialty of Tayasala or “place of itza“, is that it was the last city in the Maya region to succumb to Spanish conquest in 1697, a century after Europeans entered the western highlands of what is now Guatemala.
“More than 100 years passed in which the northern part of Guatemala was completely outside of Spanish rule, and this happened mainly because the jungle functioned as a natural border that made it difficult for the Spanish to reach these places”
Suarlin Cordova
Also, In 1525, Tayasal was part of the route used by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés on his way to present-day Honduras.
How is this area?
most buildings, the plazas and platforms on site are located underground and vegetation in a perimeter of 7 km2 and surrounded Lake Peten Itza.
Among the partially exposed structures there is an acropolis about 30 meters high, which, according to research, functioned as a residence of the ruling elite. Also visible is a pool of water that has been used since pre-Hispanic times.
One of the goals of the research is to empower the site so that tourists “appreciate” the sites to be discovered in this vast region of Mayan archaeological sites, added Jenny Barrios, director Cultural and natural heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The Mayan culture It had its greatest splendor in the so-called Classic period (250-900 AD), until it declined in the Postclassic period (900-1200 AD) and covered the Mesoamerican area, which includes southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize.
