Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén
Encyclopedia
The Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén ("Southeastern Petén Regional Museum") is an archaeological
museum in the town of Dolores
in the Petén Department of Guatemala
. The museum is located 82 kilometres (51 mi) from Flores
, the departmental
capital, among the Maya Mountains
in an area rich in archaeological sites. It is open daily from 8am to 5pm.
The museum is operated by the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala ("Archaeological Atlas of Guatemala"), a part of the Dirección General del Patrimonio Cultural y Natural ("Department of Cultural and Natural Heritage"), under the Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes ("Ministry of Culture and Sports"). The collection consists of artefacts belonging to the ancient Maya civilization
.
to Flores in order to offset any damage to Guatemala's cultural heritage
caused by the construction project. The land upon which the museum was built was donated in 1998, and had originally been used for the first seat of the municipal council. Construction began in December 1999, with the fabric of the building being completed in November 2000. In 2001, the Dirección General de Caminos officially handed the building over to the Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes.
In 2000, the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala petitioned the Agencia Española de Cooperación International ("Spanish Agency for International Cooperation") for funding to restore excavated artefacts ready for display in the museum. The agency responded positively and the Atlas Arqueológica was able to contract archaeologists from the Tikal
National Park to carry out the restoration work. This restoration process lasted two years. The museum was officially opened on 17 March 2005 and is administered by staff of the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala.
pieces and eight stone sculptures. The display of artefacts is divided into periods, ranging from the Late Preclassic
through to the Postclassic, covering a span from 900 BC through to 1524 AD. The collection is not limited to the municipality
of Dolores, it also includes pieces from the municipalities of La Libertad
, Melchor de Mencos
, Poptún
, San Luis, Santa Ana
and San Francisco
. Twenty-two archaeological sites are represented at the museum, they include Calzada Mopan, Copoja, Curucuitz, El Chal
, El Ocote, El Reinado, Itzimte, Ix Ak, Ixcoxol, Ix Ek', Ixkun
, Ixtonton
, Ixtutz
, La Gloria-Sacul, Limones, Machaquila
, Maringa, Pueblito, Sacul
, Suk Che', Ucanal
and Yaltutu. There are also pieces recovered from the caves of Aktun Ak'ab, Balam Na and El Chapayal.
. The piece is of the Palmar variety of the Palmar-Naranja Polychrome type, belonging to the Palmar-Danta ceramic group. It has been dated to the Late Classic Period. It was a funerary offering accompanying Burial 193 at Sacul, it was interred in front of Structure 1 of Group 26 of that city.
The vase was a drinking vessel for chocolate and depicts a mythological scene featuring the young Moon goddess
, who carries a rabbit in her arms. The goddess is seated upon a throne, which is decorated with a celestial band. Below her are three jars of pulque
. Only about half of the original scene has survived, and the text next to the goddess is illegible. Only slight traces remain of a second person seated upon the same throne, to the left of the Moon goddess. Two rows of supernatural beings are seated on the floor before the throne, indicating that they are visiting the enthroned principal figures. Three of these visitors can be identified, including two versions of God N, represented as separate individuals, and a being that is a man-bird hybrid. These figures are also accompanied by hieroglyphs, although they are also illegible. The vase includes a dedicatory hieroglyphic text
around the rim that identifies it as the drinking vessel of a lord of the city of Naranjo
.
The vase appears to represent a scene from Maya mythology
in which the rabbit steals a magic hat, clothing and tribute from God L
(Itsamaat). God L visits the palace of his grandson K'inich Ahau
, the Sun god, who informs him that the rabbit is with the Moon goddess.
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
museum in the town of Dolores
Dolores, El Petén
Dolores is a municipality in the El Petén department of Guatemala. It contains 26,269 people. The municipality includes the Maya archaeological sites of Ixkun, Ixtutz, Ixtonton and El Chal. The town is home to the Museo Regional del Sureste de Petén....
in the Petén Department of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. The museum is located 82 kilometres (51 mi) from Flores
Flores, El Petén
Flores is the capital city of Petén department of Guatemala. It is located at . The population is 13,700 .Flores serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality, with which it shares a name ....
, the departmental
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...
capital, among the Maya Mountains
Maya Mountains
The Maya Mountains are a mountain range in Belize and eastern Guatemala. The highest peaks are Doyle's Delight at and Victoria Peak at . The Maya Mountains and associated foothills contain a number of important Mayan ruins including the sites of Lubaantun, Nim Li Punit, Cahal Pech, and Chaa Creek;...
in an area rich in archaeological sites. It is open daily from 8am to 5pm.
The museum is operated by the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala ("Archaeological Atlas of Guatemala"), a part of the Dirección General del Patrimonio Cultural y Natural ("Department of Cultural and Natural Heritage"), under the Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes ("Ministry of Culture and Sports"). The collection consists of artefacts belonging to the ancient Maya civilization
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...
.
Development
Construction of the museum was first proposed by the Dirección General de Caminos ("Highways Department") in 1998 as part of its plans to build a highway from San LuisSan Luis, El Petén
San Luis is a municipality in the El Petén department of Guatemala. The municipality is rectangle-shaped and is approximately 2,915 km squared. It contains 44,903 people. There are about 140 hamlets that inhabit the municipality, with the capital of the pueblo of San Luis, itself...
to Flores in order to offset any damage to Guatemala's cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
caused by the construction project. The land upon which the museum was built was donated in 1998, and had originally been used for the first seat of the municipal council. Construction began in December 1999, with the fabric of the building being completed in November 2000. In 2001, the Dirección General de Caminos officially handed the building over to the Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes.
In 2000, the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala petitioned the Agencia Española de Cooperación International ("Spanish Agency for International Cooperation") for funding to restore excavated artefacts ready for display in the museum. The agency responded positively and the Atlas Arqueológica was able to contract archaeologists from the Tikal
Tikal
Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala...
National Park to carry out the restoration work. This restoration process lasted two years. The museum was officially opened on 17 March 2005 and is administered by staff of the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala.
Facilities
The building consists of the exhibition halls, administrative facilities, a warehouse, guardroom, sanitary services and a community hall.Collection
The museum is dedicated to the display of objects excavated by the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala within the southeastern Petén region. It displays approximately 125 ceramicMaya 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...
pieces and eight stone sculptures. The display of artefacts is divided into periods, ranging from the Late Preclassic
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...
through to the Postclassic, covering a span from 900 BC through to 1524 AD. The collection is not limited to the municipality
Municipalities of Guatemala
The departments of Guatemala are divided into 332 municipalities or municipios. The municipalities are listed below, by department:-Alta Verapaz Department:*Cahabón*Chahal*Chisec*Cobán*Fray Bartolomé de las Casas*Lanquín*Panzós*Raxruha...
of Dolores, it also includes pieces from the municipalities of La Libertad
La Libertad, El Petén
La Libertad is a municipality in the El Petén department of Guatemala. It contains 79,416 people...
, Melchor de Mencos
Melchor de Mencos
Melchor de Mencos is a municipality in the Petén department of Guatemala with population 23,813. It is situated on the western border with Belize,a and is the only major border crossing from Guatemala to Belize....
, Poptún
Poptún
Poptún is a municipality in the El Petén department of Guatemala. It contains 30,386 people. It is some 385 km from Guatemala City.Since 1989, Military Zone 23 in Poptún has been the home of the Guatemalan Army's élite Kaibiles special operations force....
, San Luis, Santa Ana
Santa Ana, El Petén
Santa Ana is a municipality in the El Petén department of Guatemala. It contains 7,792 people....
and San Francisco
San Francisco, El Petén
San Francisco is a municipality in the El Petén department of Guatemala. The municipality has a population of 8,066 people.The San Francisco municipal government is led by alcalde Simon Vinicio Penados Gomez, of the National Unity of Hope...
. Twenty-two archaeological sites are represented at the museum, they include Calzada Mopan, Copoja, Curucuitz, El Chal
El Chal
El Chal is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located in the upper San Juan River valley of the southeastern Petén Basin region, Guatemala...
, El Ocote, El Reinado, Itzimte, Ix Ak, Ixcoxol, Ix Ek', Ixkun
Ixkun
Ixkun is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site, situated in the Petén Basin region of the southern Maya lowlands. It lies to the north of the town of Dolores, in the modern-day department of Petén, Guatemala...
, Ixtonton
Ixtonton
Ixtonton is a Maya archaeological site in the department of Petén in northern Guatemala. It is located in the northwestern portion of the Maya Mountains in the municipality of Dolores. The ruins are situated approximately east of the town of Dolores itself. Ixtonton was the capital city of one of...
, Ixtutz
Ixtutz
Ixtutz was an important Classic Period Maya city located south of Ixkun in southeastern Petén, Guatemala. Ixtutz is situated in the valley of the Poxte River in the western portion of the Maya Mountains...
, La Gloria-Sacul, Limones, Machaquila
Machaquila
Machaquilá refers to a ruined city of the Maya civilization in what is now the El Peten department of Guatemala. There is also a small Guatemalan village several kilometers from the site that bears the name Machaquilá.-History:...
, Maringa, Pueblito, Sacul
Sacul
Sacul may refer to the following:*Sacul, El Petén, a Classic Period Maya archaeological site near Dolores in Guatemala.*Sacul, Texas, a community in the USA....
, Suk Che', Ucanal
Ucanal
Ucanal is an archaeological site of the ancient Maya civilization. It is located in the Petén department of northern Guatemala.-Location:Ucanal is located inside a bend of the Mopan River. It is accessed via the highway from Flores to Melchor de Mencos, and is near to the village of Tikalito...
and Yaltutu. There are also pieces recovered from the caves of Aktun Ak'ab, Balam Na and El Chapayal.
Bowl from Suk Che'
This artefact (catalogue number PSPA-507) is a flat based ceramic bowl of the Saxche variety of the Saxche Naranja Polychrome type, belonging to the Palmar-Danta ceramic group. It was excavated from Group 9 at Suk Che' and was associated with a burial. The bowl has been dated to the Late Classic Period.Vase from Curucuitz
This item (catalogue number PSPA-625) is a ceramic vase excavated from the ruins of Curucuitz. It was found buried in the North Structure of Group 24, where it was associated with a burial. the vase has been dated to the Late Classic and is of the Paixban variety of the Paixban Ante Polychrome ceramic type, belonging to the Zacatal-Joyac ceramic group.Vase from Sacul
This ceramic vase (catalogue number PSPA-708) was excavated from the ruins of SaculSacul, El Petén
Sacul is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the upper drainage of the Mopan River, in the Petén department of Guatemala. The city occupied an important trade route through the Maya Mountains. The main period of occupation dates to the Late Classic Period...
. The piece is of the Palmar variety of the Palmar-Naranja Polychrome type, belonging to the Palmar-Danta ceramic group. It has been dated to the Late Classic Period. It was a funerary offering accompanying Burial 193 at Sacul, it was interred in front of Structure 1 of Group 26 of that city.
The vase was a drinking vessel for chocolate and depicts a mythological scene featuring the young Moon goddess
Maya moon goddess
The traditional Mayas generally assume the moon to be female, and the moon's phases are accordingly conceived as the stages of a woman's life. The Maya moon goddess wields great influence in many areas. Being in the image of a woman, she is naturally associated with sexuality and procreation,...
, who carries a rabbit in her arms. The goddess is seated upon a throne, which is decorated with a celestial band. Below her are three jars of pulque
Pulque
Pulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
. Only about half of the original scene has survived, and the text next to the goddess is illegible. Only slight traces remain of a second person seated upon the same throne, to the left of the Moon goddess. Two rows of supernatural beings are seated on the floor before the throne, indicating that they are visiting the enthroned principal figures. Three of these visitors can be identified, including two versions of God N, represented as separate individuals, and a being that is a man-bird hybrid. These figures are also accompanied by hieroglyphs, although they are also illegible. The vase includes a dedicatory hieroglyphic text
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...
around the rim that identifies it as the drinking vessel of a lord of the city of Naranjo
Naranjo
Naranjo is an ancient city of the Maya civilization in the Petén Basin region of the central Maya lowlands. It is located in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala about 10 km west of the border with Belize. It is located within the area of the Cultural Triangle of Yaxha, Nakum, Naranjo...
.
The vase appears to represent a scene from Maya mythology
Maya mythology
Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Mayan tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles...
in which the rabbit steals a magic hat, clothing and tribute from God L
God L
God L of the Schellhas-Zimmermann-Taube classification of codical gods is one of the major pre-Spanish Maya deities, specifically associated with trade. He is characterized by high age, jaguar traits , a broad feathery hat topped by an owl, and by a jaguar mantle or a cape with a pattern somewhat...
(Itsamaat). God L visits the palace of his grandson K'inich Ahau
Kinich Ahau
Kinich Ahau is the 16th-century Yucatec name of the Maya sun god, designated as god G in the Schellhas-Zimmermann-Taube classification. In the Classic period, god G is depicted as a middle-aged man with an aquiline nose, large square eyes, cross-eyed, and a filed incisor in the upper row of teeth....
, the Sun god, who informs him that the rabbit is with the Moon goddess.