Iximche

Iximche (or Iximché using Spanish orthography) is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the western highlands of Guatemala. Iximche was the capital of the Late Postclassic Kaqchikel Maya kingdom from 1470 until its abandonment in 1524.

The architecture of the site included a number of pyramid-temples, palaces and two Mesoamerican ballcourts. Excavators uncovered the poorly preserved remains of painted murals on some of the buildings and ample evidence of human sacrifice. The ruins of Iximche were declared a Guatemalan National Monument in the 1960s.

The majority of visitors to Iximche are indigenous Maya, at the weekend the site attracts about 250 visitors per day. Comparatively few tourists visit the ruins and the majority that do are Guatemalan nationals. Modern aj qʼijab' (Maya priests often referred to as "daykeepers" in English) arrive as pilgrims at Iximche from throughout the Guatemalan Highlands.

Arrival in Iximche.
Today the ruins are accessed via the modern town of Tecpán Guatemala, which replaced Iximche when it was destroyed.

The modern entrance to the site is on the northern side of the ruins and includes visitor parking, a small museum, a picnic area and a football field, as well as the custodian's house.
In an area of woodland to the south of the central portion of the ruins is a modern ceremonial area used by the modern Kaqchikel to carry out their rituals.
This ceremonial area is linked to the ruins by a footpath and includes six concrete altars arranged around an unexcavated building.
Flowers, food and drink are placed on these altars as sacrifices.

Holy Places poster.
The following can be read on this poster.

«HOLY PLACES»
«The spiritual guides or Ajq'ijab, (individual or accompanied), have the right to enter the Sacred Places, PRIOR IDENTIFICATION THAT CERTIFIES THEM as such to practice ancestral spirituality.»
«For cleaning and hygiene of the sacred places and altars, the participants of the ceremonies must collect natural and artificial waste, generated after each event; except for the ashes; and deposit them in the containers located for the purpose.»
«All people of other religious denominations must respect the spiritual guides or Ajq'ijab', the sacred places and the practice of ancestral spirituality.»
«Only the following GENUINE offerings will be allowed: Flowers, Pom [Protium copal], Sugar, Honey, Oregano, Ocote [Pinus montezumae], Myrrh, Sesame, Pericón [Tagetes lucida], Rosemary, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Chocolate, Pan, Incense, Aromatic Natural Waters, Candles, Cuilco, Resin, Sticks (utza'm xik'a'y), Menjuí - Storaque (rijche'), Raxpon.»
«Legal Foundation, Ministerial Agreement Number 981-2011, September 23, 2011, Ministry of Culture and Sports.»

Iximche map.
On this map north is at the top and south is at the bottom.

The red arrows indicate the route that was taken.

Entering Iximche.
The site's central core is flanked by deep ravines and is separated from the main residential area by a defensive ditch.

The site center consists of four large and two small squares, each of which contained at least two temples.
Along with elite palaces, there are two ballcourts, the larger of which is 40 metres (130 ft) long and had zoomorphic markers.
The squares are named A, B, C, D, E and F, running from northwest (A) to southeast (F).
The ceremonial centre of the city was separated from the residential areas by a wall.

Ballcourt Structure 8.
Structure 8 is located at the southwestern side of Square A. It is a 40-metre-long (130 ft) I-shaped ballcourt with a 30 by 7 metres (98 by 23 ft) playing area.

The end-zones are enclosed and accessed via stairways.
The two lateral platforms enclosing the playing area were extended by building onto the outermost side.
In Kaqchikel ballcourts were called hom and were seen as gateways to Xibalba, the underworld.
Structure 8 has been excavated and restored. Excavations uncovered two levels of plaster flooring, indicating that the ballcourt had been built during the second of the three main phases of construction at Iximche, dating it to about AD 1500.

Temple 2.
Temple 2 (also known as Structure 2) is a tiered pyramidal platform on the west side of Square A.

It has a stairway that climbs the east side of the structure, providing access from the square. Structure 2 faces the sunrise on the summer solstice. The structure is the best preserved of the excavated temples. Like many buildings at Iximche it had three construction phases dating, from oldest to newest, from the reigns of Wuqu-Batzʼ, Oxlahuh Tzʼiʼ and Hun-Iqʼ. The earliest of these phases was located by archaeologists tunnelling into the interior of the structure. It is poorly preserved because the facing stones were stripped in order to be reused. The middle phase is the best preserved of the three phases of construction and consisted of four stepped tiers supporting high talud-tablero style walls consisting of a sloping wall topped by a vertical panel. The temple had recessed corners and a steep stairway climbed to the topmost tier, at the top of the stair was a 40-centimetre-high (16 in) sacrificial altar measuring 45 centimetres (18 in) wide by 18 centimetres (7.1 in) deep. The altar was made from stone and stucco and the top was slightly concave, it is of a type used in human sacrifice.
The temple floor is elevated 9 metres (30 ft) above the square and the temple superstructure, including both the temple walls and the roof, would have added another 5 metres (16 ft) to the total height of the structure at the time of the Spanish Conquest. The temple shrine had benches built against three sides of the interior and a hearth in the middle. A small rear chamber also had benches, this chamber may have been where the gods of the Sotzʼil were kept. A small section of the temple floor had been opened as if to receive a burial but the tomb was never used and was covered over again. The remains of a turtle were excavated from the square immediately in front of the temple and may have represented one of the bacabs (a class of mythical being) that supported the temple. Turtles also played an important part in the Classic Period Maya myth of the rebirth of the Maize God.
The temple shrine was built on a final platform on top of the fourth tier. The exposed remains of the shrine date to the reign of Oxlahuh-Tzʼiʼ. It had a triple doorway divided by columns and was built from adobe covered with plaster, the columns and walls on eithers side of the doorways were painted with decorations, traces of red, yellow and blue were found by archaeologists, these colours were applied to designs marked out onto a thin cap of clay with a pointed instrument. The quality of the work was very fine and indicated execution by a specialised artist. There were ten painted figures on the front of the building with further murals on the back. The designs consist of two rows of discs on top of a row of vertical stripes with figures painted against the striped background with the discs above them. The painted figures are performing various actions, one of which is tongue piercing, and they probably represent a Kaqchikel ritual in progress. The painted murals are very poorly preserved due to deterioration caused by damp combined with damage caused by tree roots. The style of the paintings is very similar to that of Postclassic Mixtec art. Exposed parts of the middle phase of construction were damaged and the second phase was covered by the final construction phase, which was badly damaged by the stonework being stripped away for building the nearby town of Tecpán.
At the southwest corner of Temple 2 is a low platform that bore painted murals that had a skull with crossed longbones upon two bands of decoration. This platform may have been an itzompan or "skull place", a Kaqchikel version of the Aztec tzompantli skull racks. Two skulls bearing evidence of decapitation were found in a cache to the southeast of Temple 2 together with some obsidian blades.

Square A.
Panoramic view of Square A.

Square A and B are thought to have comprised a single complex belonging to the Sotzʼil clan and included the palace of the Ahpo Sotzʼil.
Square A possesses a ballcourt, two temples and ten palace structures, five of which are interconnecting.

Structure 22.
Structure 22 is a range structure on the north side of Square A. The bases of pillars survive that once separated five doorways. Structure 22 is one of the best preserved palace platforms at Iximche and had benches set against the inside of three of the walls and hearths set into the floor.

Temple 3.
Temple 3 (also known as Structure 3) is a pyramid-temple located on the east side of Square A, opposite Temple 2, and is similar in form to that building. The stairway climbs the west (square) side of the temple platform.

In front of the stairway, at the level of the square, is a small rectangular platform.
A large amount of ceramic remains were found associated with this building, these were pieces of large cylindrical incense-burners, of which more than twelve were used in the temple.
One represented an elderly god emerging from the jaws of a serpent, another two show the same deity in a standing position. They may represent one of the patron deities of the Kaqchikel, Bʼelehe-Toh or Hun-Tihax.
The incense burners were found exactly where the Kaqchikels had left them when they abandoned Iximche. Some of these incense-burners bore a suspended solar disc with modelled rays.
Fragments of an Early Postclassic plumbate ware vessel were recovered scattered around three sides of the temple that were probably the remains of a relic from within the temple itself. There is no evidence of such early occupation at Iximche and may have been plundered from Zaculeu, a city with a long occupational history that was conquered by the Kʼicheʼ-Kaqchikel alliance.
A sacrificial flint knife was also recovered from Structure 3.
Two low platforms stand in front of the temple, they were likely to have been used either as altars or as dance platforms.

Temple 1.
Temple 1 (also known as Structure 1) is a pyramid temple facing onto Square B.

It is the only temple at Iximche to have been completely restored.

Moving from Square A to Square B.
Moving from Square A to Square B between Structure 13 (left) and Temple 1 (right).

Structure 13, lying between Squares A and B, had an internal patio with the structure enclosing it on three sides, much like Structure 10.

Square B.
Square A and B are thought to have comprised a single complex belonging to the Sotzʼil clan and included the palace of the Ahpo Sotzʼil.

In the background are Structure 10 (left) and Structure 9 (right).
Structure 9 had two pillars separating three doorways.
Structure 10 had an internal patio with the building surrounding it on three sides.

Great Palace I and Structure 14.
The Great Palace I (or Gran Palacio I in Spanish) is a large residential complex on the northeast side of Square B. Structure 14 is a circular altar in Square B measuring 3.5 metres (11 ft) across.

The surviving remains of the Great Palace I consist of a sunken patio and some low house platforms. Excavation revealed three construction phases, the earliest of which dates to the founding of the city by Wuqu-Batzʼ and Hun-Toh. This phase covered approximately 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft) and came to form the core of the palace. The first phase consisted of four long single-roomed residential range structures arranged around a courtyard, which possessed an altar in the middle. The residential units possessed inset benches against the walls and hearths in the middle of the floorspace. The walls were originally built of adobe covered with painted murals. Artifacts recovered from this phase included obsidian knives, comals, metates and domestic ceramics. Fragments of incense burners were recovered close to the altars in the palace. The Palace expanded in all directions around this early core with the addition of new buildings and courtyards. The early courtyard was later divided into several smaller patios. The last phase of construction at the Palace dates to the joint reign of Hun-Iqʼ and Lajuj Noj, by the end of which the palace covered an area of more than 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft). On the southwest of the palace courtyard there were some low platforms, possibly ritual dance platforms, and on the southeast side was a building with benches against three of the walls and hearths at each end. This may have been the room where the Ahpo Sotzʼil held court and received visitors and tribute.
Structure 14 is a circular altar in Square B measuring 3.5 metres (11 ft) across. It is very similar to those used for so-called "gladiatorial sacrifice" by the Aztecs and it may have served this purpose. This hypothesis is supported by the presence of a noble burial interred with three companions.

Temple 1.
Temple 1 (also known as Structure 1) is a pyramid temple facing onto Square B.

It is the only temple at Iximche to have been completely restored.

Climbing to Structure 9.
Structure 9 had two pillars separating three doorways.

Square B from Structure 9.
Square B seen from southeast to northwest, from the top of Structure 9.

From this vantage point, Temple 1 is on the left and Structure 13 is on the right.
In the background, you can see Temple 2.

Square C from Structure 9.
Square C was separated from Squares A and B by a 0.91-metre (3 ft) wall and was the palace complex of the Ahpo Xahil, the junior co-ruler.

Square C also had two temples facing each other across the square.
The Xahil ballcourt was on the southwest side of Square C and the palace proper of the Ahpo Xahil was on the southeast side of the square.
The Xahil Palace was built with an east-west alignment with the entry courtyard on the western side of the palace and had a central altar.
The main palace was entered from the eastern side of the entry courtyard. The rooms and courtyards of the Xahil Palace contained a great deal of domestic artefacts.
The Xahil Palace was destroyed by a major fire that resulted in the collapse of the adobe walls and it may be that this was the complex where Pedro de Alvarado was lodged with his Spanish soldiers. It would also be the same building that Spanish deserters burned in 1526.
The collapse of the building preserved the domestic contents of the palace for archaeologists, unlike the palace of the Ahpo Sotzʼil where comparatively few artefacts were recovered.

Structure 4.
Structure 4 is another pyramid-temple base on the west side of Square C.

It has a low platform at its southeastern corner, where 48 severed heads were excavated immediately to the west.
Schele and Mathews have speculated that these may be the heads of the Kʼicheʼ kings Tepupul and Itzayul together with other members of the Kʼicheʼ court who were captured by the Kaqchikels and decapitated.
Most of the skulls were found with associated obsidian blades.
Most of the skulls had been individually buried in pits cut into the floor of the square, although a few were grouped into small lots.

Structure 5 and Structure 6.
Structure 5 is to the left and Structure 6 is to the right.

Structure 5 was a pyramid-temple. Excavation revealed at least two phases of construction and the pyramidal platform had a single stair that divided into two as it approached the summit shrine.
Structure 6 is an unrestored temple-pyramid platform to the southwest of Square C.

Walking towards the Ballcourt.

Ballcourt Structure 7.
Structure 7, at the southwest side of Square C, is a ballcourt of similar dimensions to Structure 8.

It was the ballcourt of the Xahil clan and may have been the older of the two ballcourts.
Each end of the ballcourt had a projecting stairway and there was an additional stairway to the southeast.
A tenoned head sculpture recovered from Square C may originally have been a ballcourt marker from this ballcourt.

Looking back.
Looking back, in the distance to the left, Ballcourt Structure 8 and Temple 2 can be seen. Temple 1 is in the center. Square B is on the right. This photo is taken from the northwest end of Ballcourt Structure 7.

Structure 4 and Structure 5.
Structure 4 can be seen on the left and Structure 5 on the right. Between Structure 4 and Structure 5 we can see Structure 38 in the background.

Structure 38 is a 61-metre (200 ft) long platform that completely enclosed the north side of Square C.
It supported three residential structures, each of which had its own stairway.
Domestic ceramics were found associated with these buildings. An incense burner was also found with an effigy of Tlaloc, the central Mexican rain god.

Structure 5 and Great Palace II.
Structure 5 (left) and Great Palace II (right) in Square C.

The Great Palace II (or Gran Palacio II in Spanish) is another large residential complex, it is located on the southeast side of Square C.
The palace is formed by a large number of small rooms arranged around seven interior courtyards.
A large quantity of ceramic remains were recovered from within this palace.
The rooms around the northeast courtyard within the Great Palace II may have been the royal apartments of this complex, owing to their position near the central courtyard while at the same time being closed off from it.
The ceramics from this area were of exotic origin and elite nature.
The royal apartments may also have included the rooms around the north courtyard of the palace.