Architectural Aesthetics, Orientations, and Reuse at the Terminal Classic Maya Site of Ucanal, Petén, Guatemala

Ucanal Stela 29 and the Cosmopolitanism of Terminal Classic Maya Stone Monuments

“…In addition to its monuments, Ucanal's ceremonial architecture exhibited ties with peoples and places from afar. For example, its circular and semicircular shrines in Group A (Halperin and Garrido 2019; Laporte and Mejia 2002:Figure 15a) exhibited trends shared by both small and large centers throughout northern Belize, northern Yucatan, and the Gulf Coast running all the way up to the Huasteca (Alarcón and Ahuja 2015; Halperin 2017c; Harrison-Buck and McAnany 2013; Pollock 1936). Likewise, Ucanal's adoption of a half-enclosed or “T”-shaped ballcourt, Ballcourt #1, during the Terminal Classic period was part of a new ballcourt style found not only at a small handful of centers in the Southern Maya Lowlands, such as Jimbal, Calzada Mopan, and Xunantunich, but also at centers farther away in northern Yucatan (Chichen Itza and Sayil) and Chiapas, Mexico (Halperin, Garrido, et al 2020; Montmollin 1997; Scarborough 1991; Taladoire and Colsnet 1991).…”

“…More recent archaeological research at the site by the Proyecto Arqueológico Ucanal (PAU; 2014, 2016-2019) directed by Christina Halperin and Jose Luis Garrido has revealed that the site of Ucanal was much more urban than previously considered: it has a core zone of at least 7.5 km 2 of continuous settlement and a wider periphery that extends at least to a zone of 26 km 2 (Halperin and Garrido 2019;Halperin and Garrido, ed. 2016, 2020.…”

“…Ucanal Miscellaneous Monument 1 was located 5 cm below the ground surface in the center line of Ballcourt #1 at the northern side of Plaza A (note: its location on the map [Figure 1] is approximate). Subsequent excavations of the ballcourt (see Halperin, Cruz Gómez, et al 2020; Laporte and Mejía 2002a) revealed that its construction dates to the Terminal Classic period, indicating that the monument's placement in the ballcourt was done during this time period or afterward. This monument provides a rare example of the transport of monumental blocks from one site to another.…”

“…Nonetheless, some of the monuments were identified during excavations, providing secure dates for their erection (or re-erection) in their in situ locations of discovery. Most notably, uncarved Stela 13 and its associated Altar 17, Stela 14, and Monuments 2–7 were dated to the Terminal Classic period based on their context in the Terminal Classic stela platforms and plaza foundation just in front of Structure A-4, a pyramidal building with a semicircular temple (see Figure 2; Halperin and Garrido 2019:52–53, Figure 4; Laporte and Mejia 2002a:8–9). Interestingly, all of the six monuments (Monuments 2–7) are noted to have been carved in the round and identified as figures in a squatting position with knees in front of the chest.…”

“…The move away from ostentatious displays and toward a slimmer form began in the early ninth century and became more pronounced through time, as Just (2006, 2007) documented for the site of Machaquilá (see Figure 8e). Likewise, Halperin and Garrido (2019) note a rejection of ostentatious adornment and elaboration in the Terminal Classic architecture at the site of Ucanal.…”