El Mirador — South Group Second Site
El Mirador South Grupo Sur
Late Preclassic Mirador 300 BCE–150 CE·Maya (Preclassic Mirador Basin)·🇬🇹 Petén, Mirador Basin, Guatemala
About
About El Mirador — South Group Second Site
Southern satellite center of Preclassic Mirador metropolis (300 BCE–150 CE): triadic pyramid 18 m, causeway 800 m linking to El Tigre, stucco mask cache with Ajaw mask 1.8 m high, codex-style stucco. Part of 217-km Mirador causeway network connecting Tintal, Nakbé, Wakna, Richard Hansen FARES research. Demonstrates sprawl of largest Preclassic Maya city, looted but stabilization ongoing.
Why it mattersShows Mirador was 36 km² metropolis not single pyramid; causeway network implies state labor.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Mask cache hidden before collapse — ritual termination
- 02South Group autonomy vs ward
Theories
- 01Mirador as first lowland Maya state
- 02Causeways as social procession ways
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.300–100 BCE
- Period
- Late Preclassic Mirador 300 BCE–150 CE
- Culture
- Maya (Preclassic Mirador Basin)
- Builders
- Maya (Preclassic)
- Purpose
- Satellite ceremonial center linked by sacbe to El Mirador
- Abandoned
- c.150 CE (Mirador collapse)
- Rediscovered
- 1979 Hansen Chicxulub Basin survey; LiDAR 2015 reveals density
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
300 BCE
South Group triadic built
150 CE
Collapse with Mirador core
On the ground
Structures & features
17.7483° N · 89.9153° W · 250 m · 2 mapped features
South Group Triadic
pyramid18 m triadic pyramid with Ajaw stucco masks
17.7488° N · 89.9150° WSacbe to El Tigre
causeway800 m raised causeway linking South to central El Mirador
17.7475° N · 89.9155° W