Kaminaljuyu

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Kaminaljuyú

Mounds at KaminaljuyuThis site was first reported by Alfred P. Maudsley in the  late nineteenth century, but its importance was not fully  recognized until the 1940's, when the first of many excavations were done there.  Lying inside present day Guatemala City, much of the site has been covered by serious urban sprawl, but part of it still remains mostly as mounds. Most items of interest about the site are at the museums, including the Museo Popol Vuh, but a good amount of structure and standing walls can be seen under shelters now. 

There were 350 buildings known and all were made of adobe, but many have been lost to encroaching neighborhoods. What remains is enclosed in a park. Some of the remaining site has been excavated. It does not make dramatic impression like Tikal does, but for the enthusiast, there is some happiness in strolling through all the mounds of this patch of greenness in Guatemala City. 

This site dates back possibly to the early Preclassic period (800 BCE-300 CE), but by its end, the city was abandoned. During the Early Classic (300-600CE, it became a major center and soon came under the influence of Teotihuacan and remained so until around the end of that era. The city has been described as a miniature Teotihuacán and it clearly had ties to that city so far to the north. In fact, it was abandoned at about the same time that Teotihuacan collapsed.

We took cabs to get there and back. When returning, walk out of the entrance toward the left and continue until you see a major street. There you can get another cab back.