Quiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately 3 square kilometres along the lower Motagua River. It shares its architectural and sculptural styles with the nearby Classic Period city of Copán, with whose history it is closely entwined.
About Quiriguá in brief
Quiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately 3 square kilometres along the lower Motagua River. It shares its architectural and sculptural styles with the nearby Classic Period city of Copán, with whose history it is closely entwined. The ceremonial architecture is quite modest, but the site’s importance lies in its wealth of sculpture, including the tallest stone monumental sculpture ever erected in the New World. The population density of the site has been estimated at 400 to 500 per square kilometer in the centre of the city during the Late Classic with an estimated peak population of 1200–1600; surveys have revealed an average of 130 structures per square kilometers at the site, compared with 1449 structureskm2 in central Copán. In the 9th century there was a severe decline in population, culminating in the abandonment of theCity. The city suffered damage in ancient times as a result of major earthquakes. The site lies on the southern periphery of the Mesoamerican area and the population was at least bi-ethnic, with ethnic Maya in a minority. The majority of the population belonged ethnically to the less complex Intermediate Area lying beyond the eastern border of mesoamerica. Although little jade has been recovered, there is evidence for trade in obsidian obsidian originating from the Ixtepequepeque source near the upper reaches of theMotagua. In addition, the site would have placed maize on a central role in the Mayan diet due to its central location on the Motaguan River, which was the main source of cacao.
It was never a heavily populated site, although the population levels increased rapidly after the successful rebellion against Copán in 738, although it was never heavily populated. The local bedrock is a hard red sandstone, which the inhabitants used in the construction of monuments and architecture. QuirigUá is named after the nearby village of the same name, and is located a little over 200 km northeast of Guatemala City; it lies in the municipality of Los Amates in the department of Izabal and has an elevation of 75 m above mean sea level. Although the river passed close to the site during the period of the City’s occupation, it has since changed course and now flows 1 km south of the ceremonial centre. The Motaguá River flows down from the western Guatemalan highlands, and Quirguá was ideally positioned to control the flow of uncut uncut cacao, the majority of which was found in the middle of the river, as well as other important commodities. Although cacao was produced as a local cash crop, the primary crop was maize, which remained a key part of the local diet. Although there is little evidence of maize production at the time, maize remained a central crop in the Maya diet. It has been suggested that the city’s tribute payments to its overlords at Copán probably formed an important component in the site’s tribute payments.
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This page is based on the article Quiriguá published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
