El Puente
Encyclopedia
El Puente, or the Parque Arqueológico El Puente ("El Puente Archaeological Park"), is a Maya
archaeological site in the department of Copán in Honduras
. Once an independent Maya city, the city of El Puente became a tributary to the nearby city of Copán
between the 6th and 9th centuries AD. The site contains more than 200 structures that include tombs, religious structures, and living quarters, but only a few have been excavated, including a large Maya step pyramid
.
El Puente is located in the Florida Valley in the municipality
of La Jigua
, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) to the north of the Honduran town of La Entrada
. The site is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the confluence
of the Chamelecón
and Chinamito Rivers. El Puente is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) east of the El Paraíso
archaeological site. The site is located within the Southern Maya area on the southeastern periphery of Mesoamerica, and it was situated on the frontier between Maya and non-Maya peoples.
The site was first described by Jens Yde in 1935, he mapped the site but did not carry out any excavations. The site was declared as Cultural Heritage of the Nation by executive decree in March 1989. The La Entrada Archaeological Project (PALE – from Proyecto Arqueológico La Entrada in Spanish
) started excavations at El Puente in 1991 with the intention of creating the second archaeological park in the country, after Copán
. The Parque Arqueológico El Puente opened on 20 January 1994 and includes a visitor centre, site museum and administrative offices.
period, fairly late in the Mesoamerican timescale and occupation at the site did not last very long. Architectural and ceramic
similarities with Copán suggest that El Puente was founded by that city to control the crossroads of two trade routes that met in the valley. The site was a regional centre during the Late Classic
period when it remained closely allied with the great city of Copán.
After the collapse of Copán in the Terminal Classic
(between AD 850–950), the La Entrada region suffered politically with local elites losing prestige and territory. However, unlike at Copán, there does not seem to have been overuse of local resources and El Puente appears to have received immigrants from Copán during the Late Classic.
is predominantly Maya there are slight non-Maya influences from the neighbouring non-Maya area, such as long long structures connected end-to-end. The architecture at El Puente also tends to lack the symmetry found in traditional Maya sites with a long occupational history, perhaps due to a lesser level of technical ability. For example, stairways on the main buildings are of different sizes on each of the four sides of the structures. Quality of workmanship in the working of stone for construction can differ markedly from one building to the next, or even within the same structure.
The principal materials for construction were tufa
, schist
and a hard limestone
, with tufa being the commonest stone used at the site. The tufa is very fragile and the cut tufa stones have frequently crumbled to dust. The infill used within the structures is quite inconsistent and consists of stone, earth and clay. The mortar used in construction was of low quality, with little lime
, using only a hard clay that was particularly vulnerable to water damage, causing the stucco
facing to come away from the structures and resulting in their complete collapse.
The plazas had a well-designed drainage system to channel runoff rainwater. These channels were carved from stone and at the base of Structure 5 one of the channels is still functional. Another has been excavated on the east side of Structure 3.
Several burials have been excavated, some are accompanied by offerings of jade
and ceramic vessels decorated with bands of hieroglyphs
. One of these vessels contained an additional offering of 13 obsidian
prismatic blade
s. Rough stones were placed in a circle around one burial, with a seashell placed beside the skull.
Green obsidian
from the Pachuca source in central Mexico
has been excavated at the site.
Structure 1 is the tallest building at El Puente, measuring 12 metres (39.4 ft) tall. It appears to have been built in the 7th century AD, its earliest version bears a stylistic similarity to buildings from that period in Copán. It was a radial pyramid with six tiers and stairways on all four sides, with the east and west stairways being the best preserved. It was topped by a superstructure with three rooms and fallen remains indicated that it had a vaulted roof with channels to drain off rainwater. The wall was decorated with sculptures of three human figures. Archaeologists have tunnelled within the structure and have also excavated around it, revealing a large amount of ceramic fragments, burnt clay, and burnt maize
and beans
. The structure has been badly damaged by looters.
Structure 3 has excellent quality stonework in the wall on the north side of its first-level platform but the rest of the building features markedly poorer quality workmanship.
Structure 4 is on the northwest side of Plaza 1, at the extreme northwest of the site core.
Structure 5 is also on the northwest side of Plaza 1, at the extreme northwest of the site core. It has three Copán-style rooms and traces of domestic activity were found during excavation. At only 30 centimetres (11.8 in) thick, the walls were not thick enough to have supported a vaulted roof.
Structure 31 is a pyramid on the eastern side of the site core. Its eastern portion has been badly damaged by looters. The structure supported two rooms. The main room has the remains of a stone bench and an entrance that opens onto the main stairway that climbs the west side of the structure from Plaza C. The building had several construction phases, all dating to the Late Classic. Excavators found an increase in fragments of Copán-style polychrome ceramics in the final construction phase. An altar and a stela were associated with the temple, the stela was not inscribed with any hieroglyphic text.
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
archaeological site in the department of Copán in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. Once an independent Maya city, the city of El Puente became a tributary to the nearby city of Copán
Copán
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
between the 6th and 9th centuries AD. The site contains more than 200 structures that include tombs, religious structures, and living quarters, but only a few have been excavated, including a large Maya step pyramid
Mesoamerican pyramids
Mesoamerican pyramids, pyramid-shaped structures, are an important part of ancient Mesoamerican architecture. These structures were usually step pyramids with temples on top – more akin to the ziggurats of Mesopotamia than to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt...
.
El Puente is located in the Florida Valley in the municipality
Municipalities of Honduras
The 18 departments of Honduras are divided into 299 municipalities . Municipalities have elected mayors , as opposed to the appointed governors of departments. For statistical purposes, the municipalities are further subdivided into 3731 aldeas, and those into 27969 caserios...
of La Jigua
La Jigua
La Jigua is a municipality in the Honduran department of Copán. The Mayan ruins site and archaeological park of El Puente are located in La Jigua....
, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) to the north of the Honduran town of La Entrada
La Entrada
La Entrada is a town in the Honduran department of Copán. Its name is [Spanish] for "the entrance" and the town is a gateway from coastal Honduras to the mountainous Western highlands.Close to La Entrada are the Mayan archaeological ruins at El Puente....
. The site is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Chamelecón
Chamelecon River
-References:*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.*CIA map: :Image:Honduras rel 1985.jpg*UN map: :Image:Un-honduras.png*...
and Chinamito Rivers. El Puente is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) east of the El Paraíso
El Paraíso
El Paraíso is a municipality in the Honduran department of El Paraíso. The capital is Yuscaran.The town is the site of a cigar factory operated by Nestor Plasencia, in which cigars are made under a variety of labels, including that of Rocky Patel....
archaeological site. The site is located within the Southern Maya area on the southeastern periphery of Mesoamerica, and it was situated on the frontier between Maya and non-Maya peoples.
The site was first described by Jens Yde in 1935, he mapped the site but did not carry out any excavations. The site was declared as Cultural Heritage of the Nation by executive decree in March 1989. The La Entrada Archaeological Project (PALE – from Proyecto Arqueológico La Entrada in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) started excavations at El Puente in 1991 with the intention of creating the second archaeological park in the country, after Copán
Copán
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
. The Parque Arqueológico El Puente opened on 20 January 1994 and includes a visitor centre, site museum and administrative offices.
History
El Puente appears to have been first settled around the middle of the 6th century AD, in the Early ClassicMesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
period, fairly late in the Mesoamerican timescale and occupation at the site did not last very long. Architectural and ceramic
Maya ceramics
Maya ceramics are important in the study of the Pre-Columbian Maya culture of Mesoamerica. Through the years, the vessels took on different shapes, colors, sizes, and purposes...
similarities with Copán suggest that El Puente was founded by that city to control the crossroads of two trade routes that met in the valley. The site was a regional centre during the Late Classic
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
period when it remained closely allied with the great city of Copán.
After the collapse of Copán in the Terminal Classic
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
(between AD 850–950), the La Entrada region suffered politically with local elites losing prestige and territory. However, unlike at Copán, there does not seem to have been overuse of local resources and El Puente appears to have received immigrants from Copán during the Late Classic.
Site description
Although the architectureMaya architecture
A unique and spectacular style, Maya architecture spans several thousands of years. Often the most dramatic and easily recognizable as Maya are the stepped pyramids from the Terminal Pre-classic period and beyond. Being based on the general Mesoamerican architectural traditions these pyramids...
is predominantly Maya there are slight non-Maya influences from the neighbouring non-Maya area, such as long long structures connected end-to-end. The architecture at El Puente also tends to lack the symmetry found in traditional Maya sites with a long occupational history, perhaps due to a lesser level of technical ability. For example, stairways on the main buildings are of different sizes on each of the four sides of the structures. Quality of workmanship in the working of stone for construction can differ markedly from one building to the next, or even within the same structure.
The principal materials for construction were tufa
Tufa
Tufa is a variety of limestone, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from ambient temperature water bodies. Geothermally heated hot-springs sometimes produce similar carbonate deposits known as travertine...
, schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
and a hard limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, with tufa being the commonest stone used at the site. The tufa is very fragile and the cut tufa stones have frequently crumbled to dust. The infill used within the structures is quite inconsistent and consists of stone, earth and clay. The mortar used in construction was of low quality, with little lime
Lime mortar
Lime mortar is a type of mortar composed of lime and an aggregate such as sand, mixed with water. It is one of the oldest known types of mortar, dating back to the 4th century BC and widely used in Ancient Rome and Greece, when it largely replaced the clay and gypsum mortars common to Ancient...
, using only a hard clay that was particularly vulnerable to water damage, causing the stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
facing to come away from the structures and resulting in their complete collapse.
The plazas had a well-designed drainage system to channel runoff rainwater. These channels were carved from stone and at the base of Structure 5 one of the channels is still functional. Another has been excavated on the east side of Structure 3.
Several burials have been excavated, some are accompanied by offerings of jade
Jade use in Mesoamerica
Jade use in Mesoamerica was largely influenced by the conceptualization of the material as a rare and valued commodity among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmec, the Maya, and the various groups in the Valley of Mexico. The only source from which the indigenous cultures could...
and ceramic vessels decorated with bands of hieroglyphs
Maya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
. One of these vessels contained an additional offering of 13 obsidian
Obsidian use in Mesoamerica
Obsidian is a naturally formed volcanic glass that was an important part of the material culture of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Obsidian was a highly integrated part of daily and ritual life, and its widespread and varied use may be a significant contributor to Mesoamerica's lack of metallurgy...
prismatic blade
Prismatic blade
In archaeology, a prismatic blade is a long, narrow, specialized lithic flake with parallel margins. Prismatic blades are removed from polyhedral blade cores through pressure reduction. This process results in a very standardized finished tool and waste assemblage...
s. Rough stones were placed in a circle around one burial, with a seashell placed beside the skull.
Green obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
from the Pachuca source in central Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
has been excavated at the site.
Structures
El Puente has 210 structures and the site core contains 5 plazas. Nine structures at the site have been investigated and restored. Parts of the site have been severely damaged by looters and by agricultural activities.Structure 1 is the tallest building at El Puente, measuring 12 metres (39.4 ft) tall. It appears to have been built in the 7th century AD, its earliest version bears a stylistic similarity to buildings from that period in Copán. It was a radial pyramid with six tiers and stairways on all four sides, with the east and west stairways being the best preserved. It was topped by a superstructure with three rooms and fallen remains indicated that it had a vaulted roof with channels to drain off rainwater. The wall was decorated with sculptures of three human figures. Archaeologists have tunnelled within the structure and have also excavated around it, revealing a large amount of ceramic fragments, burnt clay, and burnt maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and beans
Common bean
Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean, is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean. The leaf is occasionally used as a leaf vegetable, and the straw is used for fodder...
. The structure has been badly damaged by looters.
Structure 3 has excellent quality stonework in the wall on the north side of its first-level platform but the rest of the building features markedly poorer quality workmanship.
Structure 4 is on the northwest side of Plaza 1, at the extreme northwest of the site core.
Structure 5 is also on the northwest side of Plaza 1, at the extreme northwest of the site core. It has three Copán-style rooms and traces of domestic activity were found during excavation. At only 30 centimetres (11.8 in) thick, the walls were not thick enough to have supported a vaulted roof.
Structure 31 is a pyramid on the eastern side of the site core. Its eastern portion has been badly damaged by looters. The structure supported two rooms. The main room has the remains of a stone bench and an entrance that opens onto the main stairway that climbs the west side of the structure from Plaza C. The building had several construction phases, all dating to the Late Classic. Excavators found an increase in fragments of Copán-style polychrome ceramics in the final construction phase. An altar and a stela were associated with the temple, the stela was not inscribed with any hieroglyphic text.