Kinal

Not to be confused with KINAL.
This article is part of a series on the
Maya civilization
Drawing of a Mayan stone carving with elaborate decoration.
History
Spanish conquest of the Maya

Kinal is a major pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the Petén Department of the modern-day Petén Department of northern Guatemala.[1] The major occupational phase for the site dates from the Late Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology (c.600–900 AD),[2] with evidence for a substantial and expansionary building program dating from the first half of the 8th century AD.[3] Kinal was discovered in the 1960s by archaeologist Ian Graham while he was carrying out an archaeological survey of the region, although no excavations were undertaken at the site at that time.[4]

The name Kinal means "something that heats" in the Yucatec Maya language. In the Kʼicheʼ Maya language, kinal is used to refer a sacred fire.[4] The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1990 by the Proyecto Regional Ixcanrio ("Ixcanrio Regional Project"), directed by Richard Adams of the University of Texas.[4] The site has suffered significant damage at the hands of looters but is now protected by custodians.[5]

  1. ^ Adams et al. 2004, 2005, pp. 324-326.
  2. ^ Adams 2000, p.34.
  3. ^ Adams 1999, p.125.
  4. ^ a b c Grazioso Sierra 1992, p.98.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Grazioso92p99 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).