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Caracol is located deep in the Chiquibul Rainforest,
and is the largest and most inaccessible Mayan site in the
whole of Belize. Excavations during the last 15 years have
yielded some extraordinary discoveries, which have transformed
our understanding of the Mayan civilisation.
What's the history here?
The vast city of Caracol, which covers 30 square miles,
had its heyday in the Classical Mayan period, between
700 and 900 AD. Although there are Mayan ruins scattered throughout
Central America, we know relatively little about the powerful
city-states that dominated the region at that time.
The most impressive structures at the site of Caracol include
five plazas, an observatory and a number of pyramids, the
largest of which, known as canaa or ‘sky place’
is 139ft high and to this day is the tallest building in Belize.
More than 35,000 separate buildings have been identified,
including domestic residences. About 200,000 people are thought
to have lived in Caracol.
Caracol was discovered by a logger in 1938, but excavation
did not begin in earnest for another 12 years, and most of
the work has been carried out since 1985 by a team of archaeologists
led by Diane Chase. They have uncovered a number of
important burial grounds which indicate the social standing
of women and other groups within society. In addition, a stone
stela carved with hieroglyphics reports that in 562 AD Caracol
won an important military victory over the Mayan city-state
of Tikal, 60 mile away in Guatemala.
As a result of their research at Caracol, the Chases believe
that warfare became less of a ritual preserved for the elite
class and began to permeate the lives of ordinary Mayans,
causing them to flee the cities.
There is no evidence of post Classical inhabitation at Caracol,
which indicates that the city was abandoned in about 1100
AD. The archaeologists have surmised that warfare had a great
deal to do with the decline of the city: once reserved as
a ritual of the elite ruling classes, warmongering appears
to have become a requirement for all sectors of society. Much
of the population may have fled the city in fear of their
lives, and casualties sustained in battle would also have
led to a depleted populace, unable to survive in isolation
in the middle of the jungle any longer.
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