Ceibal

Ceibal stands above the Pasion river in southern Peten, and excavation has pushed its beginnings back a long way: the site was first settled around 900 BCE, and a cache of that age in Olmec style, a bloodletter and jade celts probably made at La Venta, ties it to the Olmec heartland on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The site is best known to visitors for its stelae, a group of well-preserved carved monuments from the ninth century whose figures wear dress and features that do not look purely Maya, suggesting outside contact in the final years. The forest around holds howler monkeys and the walk up from the river is steep.

History

Seibal was first settled around 900 BC, and an Olmec-style cache of that date, a bloodletter and jade celts probably made at La Venta, links it to the Olmec heartland on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. It reached its peak in the Late Preclassic around 200 BC, declined until it was all but abandoned around AD 300, and recovered in the Terminal Classic to a second peak from about 830 to 890 as the largest city of the Pasión River region, before it was abandoned completely; its name comes from El Ceibal, a lumber camp near the ruins at the time of their discovery (Wikipedia, Seibal).

What to look for

• Ninth-century carved stelae - monuments with unusual, non-local iconography.
• An early beginning - first settled around 900 BCE, with an Olmec-style cache of the same age.
• Howler monkeys in the forest - the troops around the plazas.
• The Pasion river approach - the boat trip up from Sayaxche.

When to go

January to April, when the country is driest. Half a day from Sayaxche. The boat is the pleasant way in; the track is rough and often impassable in the wet.

Practical notes

The site is small and much of it is unrestored mounds under forest. The climb up from the river is steep in heat. Facilities are minimal. Stelae are protected under thatch shelters that make photography awkward.

Nearby

Sayaxche is north-west; Aguateca lies south.

Key facts