Seibal

Seibal, known as El Ceibal in Spanish, is a Classic Period archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala, about 100 km SW of Tikal. It was the largest city in the Pasión River region.

The site was occupied from the Preclassic Period through to the Terminal Classic, with a significant hiatus. The principal phase of occupation dates to the Late Preclassic (400 BC – AD 200), followed by a decline in the Early Classic (AD 200–600). Seibal experienced a significant recovery in the Terminal Classic immediately prior to its complete abandonment, reaching its second peak from about 830 to 890, with a population estimated at 8–10,000 people. The dates on the stelae at Seibal are unusually late, with monuments still being dedicated after the Classic Maya collapse had engulfed most of the Petén region. Many of Seibal's late monuments show artistic influence from central Mexico and from the Gulf Coast of Mexico.

The early history of the site is lost due to the catastrophic defeat of the polity in AD 735 by the nearby Petexbatun kingdom with its capital at Dos Pilas, resulting in the destruction of its earlier sculpted monuments. Seibal was reduced to being a vassal state until the destruction of the Petexbatun kingdom in the late 8th century AD. In AD 830 a new elite installed itself at the site with the arrival of Wat'ul Chatel from Ucanal to the east. This new arrival reinvigorated Seibal and allowed it to last to the dawn of the 10th century, well after the Classic Maya collapse had engulfed most of the region.

Paddler God.
Among the various gods we know from ancient Maya religion, the paired deities known as the Paddlers are among the most important and enigmatic.

The two elderly-looking characters are probably best known as the canoe rowers depicted on several incised bones from Burial 116 at Tikal, and they nearly always operate in tandem. One has jaguar-like characteristics and resembles the so-called “Jaguar God of the Underworld” (JGU), whereas the other shows piscine features, as well as a diagnostic stingray-spine stuck through the septum of the nose. They are the Jaguar Paddler and the Spine Paddler, respectively.
From the Tikal bones we easily gather that the Paddlers were “underworld” figures of great importance, steering the Maize God and his animal companions — a parrot, monkey, iguana and some odd mammal (representing an ancient Maya faunal taxonomy) — into the depths of the water.
The Paddler gods actively oversaw and participated in royal world-renewal ceremonies at Period Endings. Evidently this role perpetuated their far older mythological role as ritual celebrants in primordial time.
This sculpture is on the shore of Lake Peten Itza in the Hotel y Restaurante El Muelle, in El Remate, Flores, Petén.

Boat crossing in Sayaxche.
In Sayaxche we leave the bus and take the boat to cross to the other side of the river.

Traveling in open-top vans.
On the other side of the river, we board open-top vans to travel from Sayaxche to Seiba.

During the trip we found roadblocks set up by demonstrators who are protesting against the government due to the increase in the cost of living.

Arriving at Seibal.

Entering Seibal.
Seibal, known as El Ceibal in Spanish, is a Classic Period archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala, about 100 km SW of Tikal. It was the largest city in the Pasión River region.

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

The visit started west (left) and went south (bottom) returning through the Ballcourt.

Archaeological model of Seibal.
Seibal is a medium-sized site. The site core is divided into three principal hilltop groups (Groups A, C and D) connected by causeways and covers a little over 1 km2.

The causeways were faced with masonry and had parapets in places.
Causeway I is the western causeway, Causeway II is the south causeway and Causeway III is the eastern causeway.
Group D is a fortress refuge concealed above the river frontage.
Group B is a small complex located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the site core.
Group A is smaller than Group D but has most of the sculptured monuments.
Various small housemound groups lie beyond the site core. They are spaced between 50 and 100 metres (55 and 109 yd) apart, extending for several kilometers to the north, south and west.
Only two structures have been restored at Seibal, the A-3 temple platform and the C-79 circular platform, topped with the Jaguar Altar.

Group A.
Starting the visit with Group A.

Group A is in the site core. It features three squares, the North, South and Central Squares and lies at the west end of Causeway I.
Group A has more than fifty mounds arranged around the three squares.
Monuments dating to the period when Seibal was a vassal of Dos Pilas (AD 735–761) are situated in the Central Square of the group.
In this group, there is also a ball court that is dated to the Terminal Classic and stylistically resembles that at Uxmal.

Structure A-3.
Structure A-3 is a temple platform located in the centre of the South Square. Structure A-3 was built over an earlier platform structure.

It has a stairway ascending each of its four sides.
Five stelae are associated with this structure, one located at the base of each stairway and a fifth inside the building surmounting the platform. Three large jade cobbles were interred under the central stela.
This structure and its associated stelae were dedicated in AD 849 by king Wat'ul Chatel (also known as Aj B'olon Haab'tal).
Structure A-3 has the remains of a corbeled vault, the only surviving example at Seibal.
The arrangement of the radial pyramid with its associated stelae was highly innovative. The radial temple form was ancient in the Maya region, dating back to the Late Preclassic, but Wat'ul Chatel placed upon it a square shrine with four doors, one opening onto each of the stairways.
The temple building contained three vaulted chambers oriented north–south, with doors joining each chamber along an east–west axis.
The cornice of the temple supported a brightly coloured stucco frieze. The frieze collapsed with the temple in ancient times. Archaeologists were able to recover portions of the fallen frieze and attempt a reconstruction of how it originally appeared.
Each of the four doors was originally topped by a larger-than-life sculpture of king Wat'ul Chatel.
Twelve smaller figures were spaced around the cornice, one at each corner with an additional figure positioned half-way between each corner and the central figure of the king. It is not known who these smaller figures represented. The spaces between the figures were occupied by panels with cross-hatch designs and sculpted vegetation and animals. Old gods sat in the centre of each of the sixteen panels, including Itzamna and Pawatun.

Stela 9.
Stela 9 was erected on the west side of Structure A-3. It is badly damaged and one section is missing.

The stela depicts Wat'ul Chatel with the attributes of the Maize God and describes him invoking the Vision Serpent.
The Maize God is a Mesoamerican deity. Like all Mesoamerican peoples, the traditional Maya recognize in their main food, corn, a vital force with which they strongly identify. See more at Maya maize god - Wikipedia.
The Vision Serpent is thought to be the most important of the Maya serpents. It was usually bearded and had a rounded snout. It was also often depicted as having two heads or with the spirit of a god or ancestor emerging from its jaws. During Maya bloodletting rituals, participants would experience visions in which they communicated with the ancestors or gods. These visions took the form of a giant serpent "which served as a gateway to the spirit realm." The ancestor or god who was being contacted was depicted as emerging from the serpent's mouth. The vision serpent thus came to be the method in which ancestors or gods manifested themselves to the Maya. Thus for them, the Vision Serpent was a direct link between the spirit realm of the gods and the physical world. See more at Vision Serpent - Wikipedia.

Stela 8.
Stela 8 is a well-preserved monument on the south side of Structure A-3.

Here king Wat'ul Chatel wears jaguar claws on his hands and feet, together with other attributes of the Bearded Jaguar God.
In one hand the king holds the head of the god K'awiil.
The text describes a visitor named Hakawitzil, an early form of Jacawitz, the name of one of the patron gods of the Postclassic K'iche' Kingdom of Q'umarkaj in the Guatemalan Highlands.
Schele and Mathews propose that the event depicted on this stela gave rise to the foundation legends of the K'iche' people.
God Kʼawiil is a Maya deity identified with lightning, serpents, fertility and maize. He is characterized by a zoomorphic head, with large eyes, long, upturned snout and attenuated serpent foot. A torch, stone celt, or cigar, normally emitting smoke, comes out of his forehead, while a serpent leg represents a lightning bolt. In this way, Kʼawiil personifies the lightning axe both of the rain deity and of the king as depicted on his stelae. See more at Kʼawiil - Wikipedia.

Stela 11.
Stela 11 is on the east side of Structure A-3.

Stela 11 describes the refounding of Seibal on 14 March 830 and the installation of its new lord, Wat'ul Chatel, as a vassal of Chan Ek' Hopet of Ucanal.
A panel beneath the portrait of the ruler depicts a bound captive.
The hieroglyphic inscription describes how Wat'ul Chatel arrived with his palanquins and his patron deities.

Stela 19.
Stela 19 demonstrates the foreign influences prevalent at Seibal during the Late Classic.

It depicts a lord wearing a mask representing the central Mexican wind god Ehecatl.
God Ehecatl is a pre-Columbian deity associated with the wind, who features in Aztec mythology and the mythologies of other cultures from the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. He is most usually interpreted as the aspect of the Feathered Serpent deity (Quetzalcoatl in Aztec and other Nahua cultures) as a god of wind, and is therefore also known as Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl. Ehecatl also figures prominently as one of the creator gods and culture heroes in the mythical creation accounts documented for pre-Columbian central Mexican cultures. Since the wind blows in all directions, Ehecatl was associated with all the cardinal directions. His temple was built as a cylinder in order to reduce the air resistance, and was sometimes portrayed with two protruding masks through which the wind blew. See more at Ehecatl - Wikipedia.

Stela 10.
Stela 10 is on the north side of Structure A-3.

It depicts Wat'ul Chatel, dressed in Terminal Classic Maya style, although his foreign-looking face bears a moustache, which is not a typically Mayan characteristic.
The text on this stela displays the emblem glyphs of Tikal, Calakmul and Motul de San José, describing how he received visitors from those cities. Among the visitors are named Kan-Pet of Calakmul and Kan Ek' of Motul.
Wat'ul Chatel wears a headdress associated with the patron gods of Seibal, the heron god and K'awiil, deities that were also the patrons of Palenque. This appears to be an attempt by this foreign king to identify himself more closely with the city he came to rule.

Stela 1.
Stela 1 is on the north side of the South Square near Structure A-3.

Stela 1 names someone called "Knife-Wing", who is also known at distant Chichen Itza.
It is dated to AD 869.

Walking towards Group C.

Aphonopelma.
As we walked we came across an Aphonopelma passing on the jungle floor.

Aphonopelma is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America.
Most are fairly large tarantulas with leg spans of 16 cm (6 in) or more.
Like most New World tarantulas, all species of Aphonopelma have urticating hairs.
See more at Aphonopelma - Wikipedia.

Stela 2.
Stela 2 is believed to date to around AD 870 although it bears no hieroglyphic text.

It depicts the frontal view of a masked figure and is the only monument at Seibal to show a frontal portrayal.
It was broken into six or seven pieces and has been restored.

Walking towards Stela 14.

Stela 14.
Stela 14 dates to about AD 870 and stands at the junction of two causeways and is in a good state of preservation.

It has stylistic similarities with sculptures at distant Chichen Itza in the extreme north of the Yucatán Peninsula.

Walking towards Structure C-79.

Structure C-79.
Structure C-79 is a circular three-tiered platform built during the Terminal Classic on top of a pre-existing structure dating to the Late Preclassic Period. Circular structures such as this have their origin in central Mexico, where they are typically temples of Ehecatl, the god of wind. However, the structure at Seibal was surmounted by a rectangular building platform, whereas the temple buildings of Ehecatl were also circular.

Structure C-79 has two stairways, the larger ascends the west side, the smaller is on the east side.
A circular jaguar altar rests on three pedestals before the structure, two of these are crouching figures that originally supported the altar, the third central column is modern and was put in place as an additional support during restoration of the ruins.
The altar has the crude representation of a jaguar's head carved onto its edge.
Structure C-79 and the associated altar are dated to about AD 870.

Ballcourt Structure C-9.
Structure A-19 and Structure C-9 are ballcourts. They have a resemblance to ballcourts at Chichen Itza.

Both ballcourts are aligned east–west, an unusual feature in the Maya area, although the topography of the site severely restricted the layout of the city to a principally east–west orientation.
Ballcourt A-19 lies on the west side on the North Square.