Lagartero
Lagartero Chiapas-Guatemala · Lakamtuun Lagartero
Classic Maya Late Classic 300–900 CE·Maya (Lakamtuun polity)·🇲🇽 Chiapas, Lagos de Colón, Mexico
About
About Lagartero
Island wetland Maya city (300–1200 CE) on Lagos de Colón karst lakes: 30 islands linked by causeways, 200 structures, temples on limestone islets, ballcourt, chultún cisterns and raised causeways over water. Upper Chiapas frontier adapting Petén models to swampy lake archipelago agriculture, hydraulic raised fields. Guarded by INAH camp, looted 1980s, now Petén–Chiapas research reserve with howler monkeys.
Why it mattersOnly island Maya city with functional hydraulic archipelago; tests wetland urbanism model.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01How causeways remain above lake seasonal flood
- 02Lake garden productivity vs slash-burn
Theories
- 01Lagartero as Comitan lake merchant entrepôt
- 02Causeway as social defense across lakes
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.300–600 CE; peak 600–900 CE
- Period
- Classic Maya Late Classic 300–900 CE
- Culture
- Maya (Lakamtuun polity)
- Builders
- Maya
- Purpose
- Island causeway city, wetland agronomy and lake trade control
- Abandoned
- c.1200 CE
- Rediscovered
- 1920s Lacandon chicleros; INAH Sonia Rivero 2000s
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
300
First island temples
800
Hydraulic raised field expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
15.8181° N · 91.8831° W · 580 m · 2 mapped features
Central Island Temple
temple12 m temple on central lake islet, stucco masks
15.8185° N · 91.8830° WNorth Causeway Complex
causewayCauseway linking islands with chultún cisterns
15.8190° N · 91.8820° W