Caracol — Caana (Sky Palace) Pyramid (Cayo District, Belize)
Caracol · Caana · Sky Palace · B14-B20 pyramid
Preclassic to Late Classic (550 BCE–950 CE)·Maya (Mountain Cow lowland–highland)·🇧🇿 Cayo District, Vaca Plateau, Belize
About
About Caracol — Caana (Sky Palace) Pyramid (Cayo District, Belize)
Apex of Belize's largest Maya city (550 BCE–950 CE, Classic peak 562–800 CE) covering 200 km² and defeating Tikal in 562 CE (Altar 21). Caana ('Sky Palace') is massive 43.5 m pyramid-palace (270x150 m triple-summit complex) in site epicentre, tallest man-made structure in Belize, supporting three vaulted palace temples atop stepped mass with stucco masks. Dendritic causeway system radiates from Caana. Caracol Project (Arlen & Diane Chase since 1985) documented feral warfare history and 120+ tombs; LiDAR shows 177,000-structure hinterland.
Why it mattersTallest Belize structure; documents Caracol–Tikal wars (Tikal hiatus); model of Maya dendritic urbanism with reservoirs.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Caracol causeway road network engineering over karst plateau
- 02Population estimate 140,000— how sustained in water-scarce plateau
Theories
- 01Caana as war-memorial after 562 conquest; water-management as prop up for dense population
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.300–900 CE, Caana summit temples Late Classic 600–800 CE
- Period
- Preclassic to Late Classic (550 BCE–950 CE)
- Culture
- Maya (Mountain Cow lowland–highland)
- Builders
- Maya (Caracol–Kaan dynasty)
- Purpose
- Palatial pyramid sky-mountain for divine kingship and military command; beacon over Vaca plateau trade plateau
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.300–900 CE, Caana summit temples Late Classic 600–800 CE
Initial construction
c. 1578 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
16.7639° N · 89.1176° W · 485 m · 2 mapped features
Caana Sky Palace main massif
pyramid palace43.5 m tripartite pyramid-palace with south stair to summit temples
16.7639° N · 89.1176° WSouthern acropolis palace summit B19
palace templeVaulted palace temple atop southern Caana wing with tomb chamber
16.7642° N · 89.1172° W