| This article is part of a series on the |
| Maya civilization |
|---|
 |
| History |
| Spanish conquest of the Maya |
|
|
El Tintal is a Maya archaeological site in the northern Petén region of Guatemala, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of the modern-day settlement of Carmelita, with settlement dating to the Preclassic and Classic periods.[1] It is close to the better known sites of El Mirador (20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north), to which it was linked by causeway, and Nakbé (20 kilometres (12 mi) to the northeast).[2] El Tintal is a sizeable site that includes some very large structures and it is one of the four largest sites in the northern Petén;[3] it is the second largest site in the Mirador Basin, after El Mirador itself.[4] El Tintal features monumental architecture dating to the Middle Preclassic similar to that found at El Mirador, Nakbé and Wakna.[5] Potsherds recovered from the site date to the Late Preclassic and Early Classic periods, and construction continued at the site in the Late Classic period.[6]
The causeway system linking the sites of El Tintal, El Mirador and Nakbé involved a significant labour investment and an enormous quantity of construction materials, indicating an accomplished engineering programme in the Preclassic Period.[7]
Although the site's existence was known to archaeologists for decades, due to its remote location no thorough investigation of the site took place until 2004, when the Mirador Basin Project carried out the first systematic excavations.[8]
- ^ Hansen et al 2006, p.739.
- ^ Demarest 1984, pp.14-32.
- ^ Hansen 1998, p.54. CONAP:Plan Maestro Parque Nacional Mirador-Río Azul[permanent dead link], p.16. (in Spanish) Hansen 1993, p.100.
- ^ Estrada Belli 2011, p.50.
- ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.214.
- ^ Hansen 1992, p.22.
- ^ Hansen 1998, p.75.
- ^ Hansen et al 2006, p.740.