Caracol

Caracol or El Caracol is the name given to a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately 25 miles south of Xunantunich and San Ignacio Cayo, at an elevation of 1500 feet (460 m) above sea-level, in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. The site was the most important political centre of Lowland Maya during the Classic Period within Belize.

Discovery

The site was first reported by a native logger named Rosa Mai, who came across its remains in 1937 while searching for mahogany hardwood trees to exploit. Mai later reported the site to the archaeological commission for British Honduras, as the British colony, later to become independent Belize, was known at the time. In 1938 the archaeological commissioner, A.H. Anderson, visited the site along with a colleague H.B. Jex, spending two weeks in preliminary surveys and noting a number of carved monuments, stelae and Maya inscriptions. It was Anderson who gave the site its name —from the Spanish: caracol "snail, shell", but more generally meaning spiral- or volute-shaped— apparently on account of the winding access road that led to the site.

History

Ancient Caracol as a site was occupied as early as 1200 BCE. Its greatest period of construction was in the Maya Classic period, with over 40 monuments dated between 485CE to 889CE which record the dynastic sequence of the rulers. All are in Classic Choltian, the prestige tongue of the Lowland Maya. Its real name is provisionally translated from its glyph, as of 2003, ox witz ha (hispanicised, "Oxhuitza") or "place of three hills"; K'antumaak is also possible.

The town grew into one of the largest ancient Maya cities, covering some 65 square miles (168 km²) with an estimated peak population of about 120,000, or possibly as many as 180,000 people.

Caracol was at first a client of Mutal (at the Tikal site) 70 km to the northwest. Mutal's influence weakened during the mid sixth century; losing control of Naranjo, between the two cities, to rival Calakmul. In 553 CE Mutal's king Double Bird appointed a new lord over Caracol in attempt to outflank Naranjo. But then Caracol also allied itself with Calakmul. Three years later, Tikal declared an "axe war" against Caracol - "a war with intent to destroy" - and defeated it; but not, it turned out, decisively. In 562, Lord Kan ("Water") I of Caracol, alongside Calakmul, declared a "star war" against Mutal - a holy war, planned in accordance with astrology - and captured and sacrificed Double Bird. This event is seemingly concurrent with archaeological and epigraphic evidence indicating the beginning of the Tikal Mid-Classic Hiatus, when an apparent decline in the Tikal site's population, a cessation of monument building, and the destruction of certain monuments in the Great Plaza occurred as Caracol's population and urban development seemingly skyrocketed. After that, the Tikal site took on cultural characteristics of Caracol.

Lord Kan I passed on his throne to the eldest of two brothers 26 June, 599. His younger brother succeeded him 9 March 618 and took the name Lord Kan II. He performed a ritual of alliance in Calakmul's territory the following January.

Caracol's sometime ally Naranjo by this time had meanwhile made feelers toward Mutal. So, in 28 May 626, Lord Kan II pre-emptively attacked Naranjo. He attacked again 4 May 627, and sacrificed its king. This destabilised Naranjo, provoking a third attack 27 December 631. He did it a fourth time 4 March 636. On 24 November 637, he capped it off by celebrating his first katun of reign at Naranjo itself; and, on 6 December 642, he imposed the Hieroglyphic Stairs monument upon it.

In 682, Tok-Chan-K'awil of the Tikal royal family-in-exile at Dos Pilas installed his daughter as queen in Naranjo, removing it again from Caracol's demesne. In 800 CE, Hok K'awil captured the lord of Ucanal. The last recorded date in Caracol (and Choltian-speaking Belize) is 859 CE, on Stele 10.

Known rulers

(Note that this list is not continuous, as the archaeological record is incomplete)

  • 331–349: Te' Kab' Chaak
  • circa 470: K'ak' Ujol K'inich I
  • 484–514: Yajaw Te' K'inich I
  • 531–534: K'an I
  • 553–593: Yajaw Te' K'inich II (Lord Water)
  • 599–613: "Knot Lord"
  • 618–658: K'an II
  • 658–680: K'ak' Ujol K'inich II
  • circa 700: name unknown
  • mid 8th century: name unknown
  • 793: Tum Yohl K'inich
  • 798: K'inich Joy K'awiil
  • 810–830: K'inich Toob'il Yoaat
  • 835–849: K'an III
  • 859: name unknown

Excavations, investigations, and modern development

The site was first noted and documented in archaeological terms in 1937. More extensive explorations and documention of the site was undertaken by Linton Satterthwaite of the University of Pennsylvania in 1951 and 1953. A project of archaeological excavations and restorations of the ancient structures at Caracol started in 1985 and is ongoing. The project is currently directed by Drs. Arlen and Diane Chase of the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The site is maintained by residential wardens from the Belize Institute of Archaeology, a sub-division of the National Institute of Culture and History, a government-run agency.

The site currently accommodates an average of 15-20 tourists per day, with greater numbers during the peak season around Easter. A museum to hold the large monuments found at the site is currently being constructed. A visitor center is already at the site, and recent developments include new directional and informational signs and a house for the residential staff.

The only road Caracol may be accessed by is paved for the last ten miles and leads to the Western Highway between San Ignacio and Belmopan and to Santa Elena.

Caana ("sky-palace") is the largest building at Caracol. It remains one of the largest man-made structures in Belize.

Other area sites

Other Mayan sites within the Cayo province include Xunantunich, Cahal Pech and Chaa Creek.

See also

  • List of Mesoamerican pyramids

Notes

References

External links

Listed in the following categories:
Post a comment
Tips & Hints
Arrange By:
Jill Hammill
23 July 2013
Bring some water to quench your thirst while climbing those temples. This is a very cool site with some replicas and several authentic altars. The view from the tallest temple is awesome.
DéädPixél™ Hä®®is
2 January 2013
Caracol is an important Mayan City that flourished in the 6th AD and now lies in ruins in west-central Belize, near the border with Guatemala. The city, which lay hidden until its discovery in 1938.
Load more comments
foursquare.com
4.9/10
365 people have been here

Hotels nearby

See all hotels See all
Blancaneaux Lodge

starting $289

Mystic River Resort

starting $314

Rumors Resort Hotel

starting $72

Ka'ana Resort & Spa

starting $194

Cahal Pech Village Resort

starting $90

Mariposa Jungle Lodge

starting $166

Recommended sights nearby

See all See all
Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Maya Mountains

The Maya Mountains are a mountain range in Belize and eastern

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Xunantunich

Xunantunich (shoo-NAHN-too-nich) is a Maya archaeological site in

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Hawksworth Bridge

Hawksworth Bridge is a bridge in San Ignacio, Belize. It was built in

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Yaxha

Yaxha (or Yaxhá in Spanish orthography) is a Mesoamerican

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Cahal Pech

Cahal Pech is a Maya site located near the Town of San Ignacio in the

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Topoxte

Topoxte (or Topoxté in Spanish orthography) is a pre-Columbian Maya

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Naranjo

Naranjo is an ancient city of the Maya civilization in the Petén

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Tikal

Tikal (or Tik’al, according to the more current orthography) is one o

Similar tourist attractions

See all See all
Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Uxmal

Uxmal (Yucatec Maya: Óoxmáal) is a large pre-Columbian ruined city o

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Tulum

Tulum ( (Tulu'um in Modern Maya) ; in Spanish orthography,

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza (Шаблон:PronEng; from yua. Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha', 'At the

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Xelha

Xelha (or Xelhá in Spanish orthography, (Xel-Há in Modern Maya) ) i

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Palenque

Palenque (Bàak' in Modern Maya) is a Maya archeological site near the

See all similar places