Altun Ha
Altun Ha Archaeological Reserve · Rockstone Pond
Preclassic 900 BCE–1000 CE (plazas 200–900 CE; jade tomb early 300 CE)·Maya (northern coastal Belize, Altun Ha polity, Lowland–Caribbean zone)·🇧🇿 Belize District, Belize
About
About Altun Ha
Coastal-plain trade port city controlling Caribbean shell, salt and jade routes near Rockstone Pond wetlands: twin Temple of the Masonry Altars (B4, 16 m high) with three altar superstructures and Temple of the Green Tomb (A1) yielding Belize’s most famous artifact – 4.42 kg (9.75 lb) solid jade carving of Kinich Ahau sun god, largest Classic Maya jade (150–300 CE precursor + Classic 600 CE core). Royal Ontario Museum excavations by David Pendergast 1964–71 opened 270 structures and 13 temples illustrating E-Group–style Temple B4 equinox curation. Classic entrepot linking Central America to Teotihuacan-linked ceramic trades.
Why it mattersTrademark Maya jade art provenience source; model coastal–wetland adaptation not purely rainforest Maya; E-Group plaza implications.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Altun Ha concentrated so much jade far from jadeite sources (Motagua 300 km) if merely riverine port
- 02Whether Green Tomb pre-dates Temple B4 founding as ancestral curated heirloom
Theories
- 01Altun Ha as redistribution node for Teotihuacan-linked thin-orange trade – Pendergast thin-orange sherds at Altun Ha and Teotihuacan interaction
- 02Jade head as heirloom worshipped 200 years before entombment indicating deep lineage curation
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.900 BCE–1000 CE; Temple B4 600 CE; Green Tomb 550–600 CE
- Period
- Preclassic 900 BCE–1000 CE (plazas 200–900 CE; jade tomb early 300 CE)
- Culture
- Maya (northern coastal Belize, Altun Ha polity, Lowland–Caribbean zone)
- Purpose
- Coastal trade capital controlling wetlands canoe routes to Caribbean
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.900 BCE–1000 CE; Temple B4 600 CE; Green Tomb 550–600 CE
Initial construction
c. 1056 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
17.7639° N · 88.3472° W · 9 m · 3 mapped features
Temple of the Masonry Altars (Structure B-4)
temple16 m pyramid with three altars
17.7639° N · 88.3472° WTemple of the Green Tomb (Structure A-1)
pyramidTomb yielding 4.42 kg jade Kinich Ahau
17.7645° N · 88.3478° WRockstone Pond reservoir
reservoir500×300 m water reservoir and causeway
17.7632° N · 88.3465° W
Gallery