Kaminaljuyu is a Highland Maya civilization site located in the valley of Guatemala, including parts of what is now Guatemala City. At its heyday, it contained over 200 structures in an area of approximately 5 square kilometers, the largest site in the Guatemalan highlands.
Kaminaljuyu was occupied from about 1200 BC to AD 900, the Early Formative to the end of the Late Classic periods in Mesoamerican archaeological parlance. It was prominent first ca. 300 BC, and again ca. AD 600.
Architecture of Kaminaljuyu
Since there is not a lot of native stone in Guatemala, most of the living structures at the site were made of perishable materials, wattle and daub and adobe houses built on top of earthen platform mounds, arranged around plazas or in lines along wide avenues.
An extensive system of canals was built about 750-700 BC to irrigate a zone of raised fields, allowing year-round production of fruits and vegetables, including maize agriculture. Imports included obsidian and jade objects from the Motagua valley to the south; salt, cacao, and fruits from the southern coast of Guatemala and El Salvador.
Many stone sculptures, altars and stele were eventually carved and placed at Kaminaljuyu; most of these are now lodated in museums, including the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala City.
Kaminaljuyu and its Neighbors
Early in its sequence, Kaminaljuyu clearly established trade with the Olmec, evidenced by Olmec-like jade and obsidian objects. It has been advanced that the first expansion of the site was influenced by contact with San Lorenzo, and San Lorenzo's need for obsidian, from the quarry site of El Chayal, controlled by Kaminaljuyu.
Its location along the Pacific coastal route put Kaminaljuyu in an excellent position as a redistributor, and it is clear that salt, cacao, fruits and ceramics flowed through Kaminaljuyu between the Caribbean and Gulf Coasts, to the Maya Lowlands.
By the 5th century AD, Kaminaljuyu was deeply involved with Teotihuacan. Teotihuacano objects are found in Kaminaljuyu tombs beginning about late 5th century, which is also when architectural elements were reflected in Kaminaljuyu buildings.
Archaeology at Kaminaljuyu
Excavations at Kaminaljuyu were first carried out by Manual Gamio in 1925. A.V. Kidder and E.M Shook excavated for the Carnegie Institute between 1935 and 1953. In the 1970s, W.T. Sanders and J. Michels worked at the site. Since that time, INAH has conducted several salvage operations under their maintenance of the site's vicinity.
Sources
This glossary entry is part of the Guide to the Maya Civilization and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Delange, George and Audrey. KaminalJuyu, Guatemala, Tour Pictures And Photos
Doering, Travis and Lori Collins. 2008. The Kaminaljuyú Sculpture Project: An Expandable Three-Dimensional Database FAMSI Report. Free to download.
Kaplan, Jonathan. 1999. The Kaminaljuyú Miraflores II Ground-Penetrating Radar Subproject FAMSI Report. Free to download
Popenoe de Hatch, Marion. 2002. Kaminaljuyu (Guatemala, Guatemala). pp 387-390 Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America, edited by Susan Toby Evans and David L. Webster. Garland, New York City.
