Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lodge. It's a good place for grilled meat dishes. Though they close at 4 P.M., you can have
dinner here if you call ahead.
Minibuses leave every hour for Chisec with continuing service to Cobán until 4 P.M.
Buses and minibuses head north to Sayaxché with similar frequency.
CANCUÉN
The Mayan site of Cancuén (8 A.M.-5 P.M. daily, $8) lies north of Raxrujá, just across the
border of the northern Petén department. It is treated in this section because it is actually
more accessible from Alta Verapaz. Cancuén's rediscovery dates to the early 1900s, but it
is only recently that archaeologists have begun piecing together its rich past and the full
extentofitspower,alongwithitscorrespondingsignificanceintheplaceofMayanhistory.
Cancuén was largely overlooked by archaeologists for much of the 20th century because
it lacked large temple pyramids and defensive structures like those found elsewhere in the
Mayan world. It is thought that Cancuén existed as a mostly secular trading center, which
gained much of its prosperity from its enviable position on the Río La Pasión at a strategic
geographic transition zone between the southern highlands and the northern lowlands. Its
importance as a trade center is substantiated by large amounts of pyrite (for making mir-
rors), jade, obsidian, and fine ceramics found here. It has been speculated that the absence
of large temple pyramids may be a product of the site's proximity to the Candelaria caves,
whichcertainlyheldspiritualsignificancefortheMayanslivinghereinthosetimes,asthey
still do today.
Adding to Cancuén's splendor is a paved plaza covering two square kilometers. It may
have doubled as a marketplace. Among the incredible finds uncovered in recent years by a
U.S.-Guatemalan team working under the direction of Vanderbilt University's Arthur De-
marest is the largest known Mayan palace. Built in A.D. 770 during the reign of Taj Chan
Ahk, the three-story palace covers about 23,000 square meters and has 200 rooms built
around 11 courtyards. The archaeologists working here have also recently uncovered the
third and final marker from a royal ball court, which has been gradually excavated during
the last century. The markers served as goalposts. The first of these markers was unearthed
in1915andcanbeseeninGuatemalaCity'sarchaeologymuseum.Thesecondmarkerwas
looted from the site in 2001 but recovered two years later thanks to unprecedented col-
laboration betweenGuatemalan undercoveragents,localvillagers, andarchaeologists. The
third marker is an elaborately carved stone altar uncovered from the stucco surface of the
ball court.
Aseparate,100-poundstonepanelwithhieroglyphicsandcarvedimageswasalsofound
at the ball court, the second such panel to be unearthed here. It depicts Taj Chan Ahk in-
stalling a subordinate ruler at the smaller state of Machaquilá. The panel is interesting in
that it confirms Taj Chan Ahk's status as a great Mayan king who was able to maintain
