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Day 14 Last Day in Tikal (continued)
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Day 15 The Dusty Road to Seibal

Into Guatemala 1989 [Part 8 of 11 Parts]

Jo
2004-03-05 23:04:58

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"Wow! This is a real jungle!" exclaimed Madjid, redoubling his pace.

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[Photo 7]

The main temple at Seibal is flanked by four stelae, one on each side. This temple exhibits several non-Maya architectural features. For example, it is set in the middle of the plaza, not, as with the Tikal pyramids, along the sides. Moreover, the "veneer masonry" of this structure, formed by putting flat stones over a rough core, is at odds with the traditional Maya "block masonry". The figures on the stelae bear costumes with many Mexican or non-Maya features. Currently, archaeologists believe that non-Maya or "Mexicanized Maya" had once penetrated and established ascendancy over this region.

[Photo 8]

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[Photos 9 and 10]

Two of the stelae beside the main temple which display the unique Seibal ceremonial style. (The dress, ornamentation, and facial features are non-Maya.) Occupying generals from the Mexican highlands, perhaps? Since the Maya were in many ways the most advanced people in Pre-Columbian America, it is not surprising that their conquerors might try to adopt some Maya customs-- indeed, even the practice of erecting stelae.

Seibal was first occupied around 800 BC, and throughout its history, has warred continually with its neighbors. Yich'ak Balam, the king of Seibal, was captured-- and probably sacrificed -- in 735 AD by the Maya city of Dos Pilas, leading to about sixty years of foreign rule. In the ninth century, waves of non-Maya or "mexicanized Maya" peoples came to settle, ushering in a new period of prosperity and "hybrid vigor" for the weakened kingdom. Perhaps as a result, Seibal lasted longer than most other cities in the Petén, and was permanently abandoned only around 930 AD. The city has some of the last erected stelae in the ancient Maya heartland.

After the fall of the Classic lowland centers, Maya civilization would endure in a form often mingled with the cultural and military symbols of the northern conquerors. The chief example is Chichen-Itzá in the Yucatan, where Toltec warrior statues and colonnades stand beside traditional Maya pyramids.

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[Photo 11]

The dark jungle that surrounded us gave way to a small clearing where we saw this stela of a monkey god (or some similarly fantastic being). In Maya religion, monkey gods are the patrons of scribes and artisans. Nonetheless, the sudden appearance of this carved monument, with its fierce expression and grotesque features, alone in its forbidding corner of Seibal, was an awesome experience. To me, it seemed to possess a primitive magic, even a demonic, power.