Mirador, Guatemala
Cradle of Mayan Civilization
A swimming figure from the Popol Vuh.
Mirador’s Preclassic Maya cities are more numerous and larger than those found at nearby Tikal National Park, and predate the Classic Maya site of Tikal by 800-1200 years. Mirador’s priceless ancient cities and monuments of the Preclassic Maya period are the most spectacular and unique in Central America. Mirador is Guatemala’s leading nomination for UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription.
The Mirador Basin contains four of the largest and oldest Maya cities, all larger than nearby Tikal National Park – El Mirador itself, Nakbe, Tintal and Wakna. Mirador’s ancient cities are surrounded by intact forests and contain massive pyramids, temples and other relics of a highly evolved and complex society. These Mirador Basin discoveries have thus led experts to identify this area as the Cradle of Maya Civilization. Today these cities lie abandoned, buried beneath 2000 years of jungle growth and under threat from numerous forces.
While archaeological work has been ongoing in the region for over 30 years, the sheer number of cities, villages and Maya-manipulated topographical features provides an endless source for future research. The discoveries that still wait to be unearthed and the knowledge to be uncovered is invaluable. Equally invaluable is the forest environment in which these Pre-Classic Maya cities are situated. These resources, described as the Mirador Cultural and Natural System, are located in one of the largest remaining areas of primary forest in Central America. Extensive habitat provides a rich diversity of flora and fauna including the highest concentration of jaguars in the world as well as over 180 bird species. As a result, archaeological research in the area is accompanied by a wide range of scientific research from botany to entomology and ornithology.
