CONNECTING SITES: A NEW APPROACH TO ROADWAYS
BETWEEN SETTLEMENTS IN SOUTHEAST PETÉN, GUATEMALA.
Jorge E. Chocón Tun
University of San Carlos, Guatemala
Christian Lygum Christensen
Danish Mission
RESUMÉ
Durante mucho tiempo se ha investigado las características y funciones de las calzadas en el área de Petén, incluso en el sector norte del departamento se registraron calzadas Inter sitios de más de 30 km. de largo.
En el sureste de Petén este rasgo incluso fue característico o asociado a las áreas centrales de los sitios junto a otros conjuntos arquitectónicos como, juegos de pelota, acrópolis o conjuntos tipo E, la tipología propuesta registra calzadas de eje, calzadas hacia fuentes de agua, calzadas que conectan grupos principales del sitio e incluso se ha propuesto que estas rigen el trazo urbano de las ciudades del sureste de Petén.
Ha sido difícil poder estudiar las calzadas inter sitios en el sur de Petén, debido a que la apertura a la ganadería y la agricultura, desde la década de los ochentas ha destruido los vestigios de calzadas en el área, sin embargo, las nuevas tecnologías y la fotografía aérea nos permite en la actualidad, poder inferir los trazos de posibles calzadas o caminos, que no solo interconectan sitios, sino incluso sitios primarios a áreas que han sido consideradas rituales.
Consideramos que esta nueva forma de observar los sitios y su inter relación ayudará a comprender
de una mejor forma la dinámica social de los sitios del sur de Petén.
ABSTRACT
The characteristics and functions of causeways in the Petén region have long been studied. Inter-site causeways measuring over 30 km in length have even been recorded in the northern part of the department.
In south-eastern Petén, this feature was even characteristic of, or associated with, the central areas of sites, alongside other architectural complexes such as ball courts, acropolises, or Type E complexes. The proposed typology identifies central causeways, causeways leading to water sources, and causeways connecting the main groups within the site. It has even been suggested that these factors govern the urban layout of the cities in south-eastern Petén. It has been difficult to study inter-site causeways in southern Petén, as the expansion of livestock farming and agriculture since the 1980s has destroyed the remains of causeways in the area. However, new technologies and aerial photography now allow us to identify the traces of possible causeways or roads, which not only link sites together but also connect primary sites to areas previously considered to be of ritual significance.
We believe that this new approach to observing sites and their interrelationships will help us to better understand the social dynamics of the sites in southern Petén.
KEYWORDS: Sacbe, causeway, aerial photography, south-east Petén.
Sacbeob or causeways are mainly reported on the Yucatán Peninsula; the southernmost example studied to date is the sacbe linking El Mirador with Nakbe, in north-eastern Petén (Suasnávar 1994), and possibly others between El Mirador.
There is another report of a causeway in the Petexbatun region (Navarrete and Luján 1963); however, this has not been confirmed.
In south-eastern Petén (Fig. 1), the causeways follow a basic construction pattern shared throughout the Maya world; however, there are variations depending on the complexity of the site, the topography of the terrain, or additional functions intended for them, such as water management or the placement of monuments, etc. Nevertheless, all are located within the sites themselves.
The causeways of south-eastern Petén consist of two integrated elements: the foundation and the parapets
The Archaeological Atlas classifies the causeways according to their construction type
CONSTRUCTION TYPE A
The foundations generally do not exceed 50 cm in height. The walls are either vertical or sloping, with combinations depending on the topography; they may or may not feature external reinforcements. The parapets do not form a step with respect to the outer wall of the foundation; given their low height, they may in some cases simply be a continuous wall. This type of causeway is found on flat land prone to flooding, which is why they have sometimes been buried and are difficult to locate.
TYPE B CONSTRUCTION
The foundations have vertical or sloping external walls, which may or may not be reinforced on the outside. Sloping external walls are used where the ground is inclined. The height of the foundations exceeds 50 cm. The parapets rest on the foundation, leaving a gap between them. This type of causeway is taller and is used to cross flood-prone or very steep terrain on one or both sides.
TYPE C CONSTRUCTION
These are essentially the same as Type B, but are more complex in construction, featuring stepped sections that allow the roadways to be levelled on very rugged terrain or where streams or rapids are crossed. The foundations have vertical walls, all with external reinforcement, to ensure the structure’s stability and to allow it to be raised, in most of the cases studied, to a height of up to 3.60 m.
TYPES OF ROADWAYS ACCORDING TO THEIR FUNCTION
From the functional perspective for which they were built, Oswaldo Gómez divides them into three general groups:
A Pathways serving an intergroup cohesion function; amongst these, we can
distinguish:
A-1 Pavements connecting Group E-type settlements with groups on
a basal platform.
A-2 Pathways connecting the Group E-type complex with groups on
hills
B Ceremonial causeways, amongst which we can distinguish:
B-1 Causeways oriented northwards
B-2 Causeways oriented towards the rivers
C Access causeways
Although the causeways have been extensively studied in the south-east, no research has ever been carried out to determine whether they served to link sites, although sites such as Pueblito feature a complex network of causeways.
In the late 2000s, the Archaeological Atlas of Guatemala began using GIS to understand the geographical details of a complex physiographic landscape comprising several river basins, as well as mountains, limestone ridges, open savannahs and marshy regions (Laporte, Adanez and Mejía 2008).
The difficulty of analysing these results is evident; consequently, the development of GIS technology proved of great assistance in managing the data derived from the survey.
Political and cultural factors include the mosaic formed by the major cities and secondary centres associated with this geographical area. The proposed journey does not include the large cities of northern Petén. Rather, it involves travelling by canoe along rivers that cross territories unknown to many of us, followed by treks through dry, stony savannahs. In other words, it is a journey that involves using cayucos for navigation and caites for walking. Hence the title of this talk: ‘Between cayucos and caites: A route of interaction between the Caribbean Sea and the Pasión River’.
Whilst on this occasion the Atlas proposes a route from Belize to the Usumacinta River, crossing the south-eastern part of Petén, it does not suggest the use of causeways; rather, it is based on a feasible route for walking and navigating.
Based on the above, and upon observing the orientations of various causeways which Gómez classified as access routes, a review was initiated using the plans and , followed by satellite imagery, leading us to pose the following question:
Do the causeways, or sacbeob, lead towards sacred sites, caves or other Mayan cities?
We posed this research question following the 2022 expedition, after Christian Lygum discovered a cave containing rock art possibly dating from the Late Classic period in the department of Petén, Guatemala; this discovery was published in the journal Mexicon in December 2022 and in Jyllands Posten in February 2023.
The cave is situated 3 km north-west of the San Miguel site (Fig. 2), a site dated to the Late Classic period. The causeway at this site links the central sector with the cave, which is recorded under the name San Miguel; this cave also features rock art and has been extensively documented by the Archaeological Atlas of Guatemala. No, this did not seem strange and was obviously no coincidence, as the Atlas classifies this type of causeway as ceremonial, oriented north–south or towards rivers; this site has been recorded in AAG’s Report 14: REGISTER OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN SOUTHEAST AND CENTRAL-WEST PETÉN 1987–2008.
Consequently, an investigation into the orientations of the causeways is being undertaken, based on the plans and by conducting an aerial survey of the various sites in south-eastern Petén, in the hope of also recording other sites that were not documented by the Archaeological Atlas.
This research began with a review of the sites identified in previous work carried out as part of the Danish project which featured roadways, primarily those featured in the article ‘ ’ published in 2016 in the journal *Mexicon*, in the book *La caza de la ciudad del templo perdido, JAGTEN PÅ DEN FORSVUNDNE TEMPELBY*, and the book *The Temple Hunter, TEMPELJÆGEREN*, as they are closely related to this proposal.
In December 2024, an article on this proposal was published in the magazine DISCOVER WORLD “OPDAG VERDEN”.
As there is not much literature describing this proposal—the focus having been more on causeways as connectors between sectors within a single site, or as ceremonial or urban causeways—we wish to propose that these were also oriented to provide connections between sites or sacred places over considerably long distances.
The study of the alignments of the causeways was carried out on the basis of all the sites recorded by AAG, and at some sites recorded by the Danish mission, using Google Earth and other satellite programmes that accurately show both the exact direction and allow lines to be drawn to identify where these causeways may lead.
The Google Earth method is very accurate for determining directions. However, the use of maps is ruled out as they are too imprecise regarding the directions of the causeways; furthermore, the plans and map sheets are very out of date. Initially, 35 causeways from 22 sites were sampled using maps, but the results were imprecise and therefore cannot be used to define orientations.
Typically, a causeway is defined as a transport route, a ceremonial path or a physical link between sites, caves or cenotes, as well as an astronomical connection.
Corridors are also defined as short, straight paths that may follow the natural terrain or the built-up level and are bounded on either side by parapets, stone walls or buildings.
Roadways have generally been established with lengths ranging from 160 metres to 500 metres from one point to another, as shown in the city of Guacamaya (Fig. 3), (Mexicon Aug. 2016 No. 4) and the city of Chichén Itzá, with the physical route from the city centre to the Great Cenote, or as shown at the El Triunfo site.
A causeway may also run in a straight line before changing direction, as mentioned previously in the city of Nuevo San Miguel (Mexicon, Aug. 2016, No. 4). However, if the causeway does not maintain a straight line, it will not be considered a sacred causeway and is therefore not included in this study.
Based on the complete AAG data from 1987 to 2008, sites relevant to this proposal have been selected, totalling approximately 50 sites with 71 causeways that provide precise orientations. As noted at the outset, 35 causeways cannot be included in the sample as the forest vegetation prevents aerial observation, let alone detection by satellite systems. The remaining 28 cities, with 36 sacred paths identified, are found to point towards other cities or caves.
Typically, the distance of the causeways leading to other cities, caves or other locations is 20 km, more than a day’s walk. Few causeways lead to the Naj Tunich cave, whilst an important city is situated around four cities.
The El Triunfo site has a deviation of approximately 1 degree at the entrance to the Naj Tunich caves; therefore, the deviation will be 2.41 km and the distance 42.19 km. The direction towards the city of Guacamaya, with a deviation of approximately 1 degree towards the city of Ya and a distance of 3.2 km, deviates by about 1.82 metres; these two directions mentioned are excluded from the proposal, as there is a deviation from the cities or caves towards which the directions point.
The roads that run in a direction that is 100 per cent exact from one site to another are those that will be considered for the study.
Furthermore, sites such as Nuevo San Miguel, which has shown two directions on the causeway, have had a compass bearing taken in both directions and are included in this theory.
The direction of the paths does not point to more than one site, except for the path from Calzado Mopan to El Camalote, 3.4 km to the west, which extends 13 metres beyond an unrecorded structure.
At 17 sites, the points have not been confirmed, as well as at 2 sites that have not been recorded or, at least, for which we have not found any record data (Fig. 4).
These points have not been confirmed in the field; therefore, it cannot be assured that they are causeways, and they are still in the process of verification.
None of the causeways share the same orientation; there is no specific pattern. It should be noted, however, that the most common orientations are northwards between 0 and 20 degrees and eastwards between 90 and 110 degrees.
There may be much speculation as to what the roads were used for and where they led, and what purpose they served in pointing directly towards other cities. We assume that these connections were important, whether for religious, family or other reasons, and that this will be worth investigating in the future.
REFERENCES
Gómez, Oswaldo
1996 Mayan Causeways: A study from south-eastern Petén. In IX Symposium on Archaeological Research in Guatemala, 1995 (edited by J.P. Laporte and H. Escobedo), pp. 115–129. National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Guatemala.
1995 The Causeways of South-eastern Petén: A Study of their Function. Bachelor’s thesis, Department of Archaeology, School of History, USAC, Guatemala.
Navarrete, Carlos and Luis Luján
1963 Archaeological Survey of the Dos Pilas Site, Petexbatún, Guatemala. *Cuadernos de
Anthropology, No. 2. Faculty of Humanities, USAC, Guatemala.
Laporte, Juan Pedro, Jesús Adánez and Héctor H. Mejía
2008 Between Cayucos and Caites: A Route of Interaction between the Caribbean Sea and the Pasión River. In XXI Symposium on
Archaeology in Guatemala, 2007 (edited by J.P. Laporte, B. Arroyo and H. Mejía), pp. 744–769.
National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Guatemala.
Suasnávar, José S.
1994 The Causeways of Nakbe. In The 7th Symposium on Archaeological Research in Guatemala, 1993 (edited by J.P. Laporte and H.L. Escobedo): 335–348. National Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Guatemala.
Figure 1. Map showing the locations of sites recorded in south-eastern Petén by the Archaeological Atlas of Guatemala.
Figure 2. Location of the San Miguel site and the orientations of the causeways towards the caves containing rock art. (taken from Google Earth)
Figure 3. Orientation of causeways connecting sites, including Guacamaya–El Porvenir and Machaca 3–El Triunfo (taken from Google Earth)
Figure 4. Unreported groups located by following the orientations of the causeways.
Figure 1. Map showing the locations of sites recorded in south-eastern Petén by the Archaeological Atlas of Guatemala.
Figure 2. Location of the San Miguel site and the orientations of the causeways towards the caves containing rock art. (taken from Google Earth)
Figure 3. Orientation of causeways connecting sites, including Guacamaya–El Porvenir and Machaca 3–El Triunfo (taken from Google Earth)
Figure 4. Unreported groups located by following the orientations of the causeways.