Mixco Viejo
Mixco Viejo (also written Mixcu Viejo ) are two archaeological Mayan cities in the Chimaltenango administrative district in Guatemala , which are historically described by the same name.
Distinction
As with many Maya sites, historically incorrect archaeological interpretations were made for Mixco Viejo , which led to confusion and hindered research (as of 2013). In Mixco Viejo, over 120 larger buildings were discovered, which are divided into 15 groups. The buildings include temples, palaces and Mesoamerican ball courts . The name "Mixco Viejo" ( Old Mixco ) is often used for two sites, although, archaeologically, they have been separated as follows since around 2006:
- 1. Mixco Viejo (Chinautla Viejo)
The capital of the kingdom of the Poqomam Maya , which was attacked and conquered by Spanish conquistadors in 1525 . There are some ruins near the capital Guatemala City .
- 2. Mixco Viejo (Jilotepeque Viejo)
The capital of the Kaqchikel- speaking Chajoma Mayas is located about 50 kilometers north of Guatemala City and was founded around 1450.
In the following, both are treated separately here. However, since a large part of the academic literature, like the government of Guatemala, describes both places as Mixco Viejo , errors are also contained here, which can only be corrected with further archaeological finds and their publication (status 2013).
Chinautla Viejo
location
Chinautla Viejo is located near the suburb Mixco near Guatemala City , Guatemala . According to the Guatemala Travel Guide , this site on the hills outside Guatemala City is very little visited (despite a short distance) and has not been excavated or rebuilt. The site consists mainly of elevations, which are covered with maize plantations .
history
Shortly before the arrival of the Spaniards, Mixco Viejo / Chinautla Viejo was one of the largest Mayan centers in the Guatemalan highlands and had at least nine temples and two ball courts. At that time, Mixco Viejo had a population of around 9,000. In 1525 the Spanish conquistador and later governor of Guatemala, Pedro de Alvarado , sent a small army to conquer Mixco Viejo (Chinautla Viejo), the capital of the Poqomam. This attack was repulsed and Alvarado himself led a second attack with 200 Tlaxcalan -Maya allies. The Chinautla Viejo Poqomam also received reinforcements, presumably from the Chinautla tribe, and went to battle outside the city.
Jilotepeque Viejo: famous archaeological site
This is the touristic well-known archaeological site Mixco Viejo, also from the post-classical Mayan era. Mixco Viejo was described as the Pocomames Maya capital until around 2006, but is now assigned as the capital of the Cakchiquel (also Kaqchikel ) -speaking Chajoma Maya people. For this reason, the Mixco Viejo archaeological site was renamed Jilotepeque Viejo .
This site was allegedly known to the Chajoma Mayas ( akajal vinak from the Popol Vuh ) under different names:
- Saqik'ajol Kaqapek ,
- Chuapec Kekacajol Nima Abaj ,
- Chuwa Pek Q'eqak'ajol Nima Ab'aj (which means "big stone in front of the cave of the night children"),
- Zakicajol and
- Nimcakajpec .
Jilotepeque Viejo is open to the public and has a small museum. On June 12, 1970, the Guatemala Ministerio de Educación ("Ministry of Education") protected this site with the Ministerial Accord 1210 as an archaeological zone.
location
The ruins are in the far northeast of the administrative district of Chimaltenango within the municipality ( large municipality or district ) of San Martín Jilotepeque.
history
Jilotepeque Viejo was smaller than the other Mixco Viejo and probably only had between 1450 and 1600 inhabitants. It was abandoned around 1525, allegedly without the direct intervention of the Spaniards.
Well-known rulers
estimated dates
| Surname | Ruled | other names |
|---|---|---|
| Lajuj No'j | 1450-1480 | Ichalkan Chi Kumkwat, Ychal Amollac Chicumcuat |
| Achi Q'alel | early 16th century | - |
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Foundation and decline
Around 1450, also during the post-classical Mayan era, the Chajoma tribal king Lajuj No'j led his people from Ochal to Mixco Viejo and founded his new capital here. This new place should offer better protection against Chajoma enemies. Mixco Viejo was abandoned shortly after 1524 and the residents were relocated to San Martín Jilotepeque, ( Chimaltenango Department ) by the Spanish conquistadors . After that, this Maya site was never colonized again.
Rediscovery and origin of confusion
In 1896 the German Karl Sapper visited the ruins of Jilotepeque Viejo and in 1898 published the 6-page booklet The Ruins of Mixco, Guatemala about the Mixco-Viejo site with a map in Leyden , Holland .
literature
- Robert M. Carmack: Kik'aslemaal le K'iche'aab ': Historia Social de los K'iche's Guatemala: Iximulew, 2001, ISBN 99922-56-19-2 . (Spanish)
- Robert M. II Hill: Eastern Chajoma (Cakchiquel) Political Geography: Ethnohistorical and archaeological contributions to the study of a Late Postclassic highland Maya polity Cambridge University Press, New York, USA, 1996, 7 : pp. 63-87. ISSN 0956-5361
- Robert M. II Hill: Los Otros Kaqchikeles: Los Chajomá Vinak [The Other Kaqchikels: The Chajoma Vinak] Mesoamérica, Antigua Guatemala: El Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica (CIRMA) in collaboration with Plumsock Mesoamerican Studies, South Woodstock, VT, June 1998 35 : pp. 229-254. ISSN 0252-9963 . OCLC 88113844 (Spanish)
- Henri Lehmann : Guide to the Ruins of Mixco Viejo . Andrew McIntyre and Edwin Kuh. Guatemala: Piedra Santa, 1968.
Web links
- Ciudades Mayas: Mixco Viejo (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lehmann 1968, p. 7.
- ↑ Carmack 2001, p. 153.
- ↑ http://www.feguatemala.com/tag/archaeological-site-chinautla-viejo ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Lehmann 1968, pp. 11-13.
- ↑ Hill 1998, pp. 229-230 and 250-252. Sharer 2006, pp. 621 and 625. Love 2007, p. 305.
- ↑ Araujo 2006, pp. 31-32.
- ↑ Lehmann 1968, pp. 7-8.
- ↑ Carmack 2001, p. 153. Hill 1996, p. 67. Hill 1998, p. 237.
- ↑ a b Carmack 2001, p. 155.
- ↑ Carmack 2001, p. 149.
- ↑ Lehmann 1968, p. 15. American Philosophical Society.
Coordinates: 14 ° 52 ′ 15.6 " N , 90 ° 39 ′ 50.4" W.