Recent excavations at the Maya site of Ceibal (Guatemala) by the Ceibal-Petexbatun project, directed by Takeshi Inomata from the University of Arizona, have identified what appears to be the earliest E-Group complex in the Maya Lowlands. This building complex even seems to predate by a few hundred years, the similar Plaza-Pyramid complexes at the Olmec site of La Venta. The results of these investigations were the focus of a recent article published in the journal Science by Inomata and his colleagues. This photo essay, built using photos provided to the press by Dr. Inomata, will describe the findings, provide a context for them, and discuss the implications of the research.
- Read more about recent research at Ceibal
To date, the Ceibal-Petexbatun project has concentrated on Group A, the largest building complex at Ceibal. Here, thanks to deep tunnels which have penetrated several meters within the exposed structures and under the Central Plaza, the archaeologists have recovered an early Middle Preclassic (1000-700 BCE) building under Structure A-20, which underwent at least 11 construction phases. The first phase, dating around 1000 BC, consisted of an earthen platform, about 2 meters (~6 feet) high, its foundations carved out of the limestone bedrock from the surrounding plaza. The construction underwent a renovation at around 850-800 BC, eventually re-shaped into a pyramid which reached a height of 3-5 m (10-16 ft).
