Home > Quiriguá

Quiriguá is a medium sized site along the lower Montagua river, with the ceremonial center heart of the site about 1 km from the left bank of the river. The city's period of occupation seems to correspond to the length of the Maya Classic period; the site being occupied by 200, construction on the acropolis begun about 550, a great boom of grander construction beginning in the 700s with all construction evidently halting about 850. Quiriguá's boom in the 700s was no doubt tied to the military victory by Quiriguá's king Cauac Sky (also known to the Ancient Maya as "Butz Tiliw" and "K’ak’ Tiliw Chan Yo'at") over Copán in 738. Before this Quiriguá was probably a vasal state of Copán, afterwards the situation was reversed. The amount of grand ceremonial architecture is perhaps rather small for a site of Quiriguá's importance, but the site remains very impressive thanks largely to its wealth of sculpture, some of the finest of ancient MesoAmerica. This includes unusually huge stelae elaborately carved from single blocks of stone, the largest being 10 meters (35 feet) tall and weighing some 60,000 kg (65 tons). In addition to the tall vertical stelae, the site has a number of bolders elaborately sculpted into the forms of mythological animals; these sculptures are referred to as Zoomorphs. There are also various altars and sculptures used as decoration in the fascades of buildings. As a whole, the artistry of the sculptures is not quite so good as the best found at Palenque and Copán; most Quiriguá monuments have a grand formal monumentality that is rather stiff compared to the naturalistic grace of the art of those other sites. A few Quiriguá monuments, however, show exceptional artistry. Probably the finest of these are Stela D from 766 which has extravagant full-figure anthropomorphic versions of Maya hieroglyphics on one side, and Zoomorph P (which explorer Maudslay nicknamed The Great Turtle), from 736, which are masterpieces of Mesoamerican art.

1 Modern history of Quiriguá

The first visitor to publish an account of Quiriguá was Frederick Catherwood in 18401840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). Events January 3 One of the predecessor papers to the Herald Sun of Melbourne, Australia, The Port Phillip Herald is founded by George Cavanaugh. January 10 Uniform penny postage. Due to adverse conditions he was only able to stay a short time at the ruins, but made drawings of two of the stelae which were published with a short account of Catherwood's visit in John Lloyd StephensJohn Lloyd Stephens ( November 28, 1805 October 13, 1852) was a American explorer, writer, and diplomat. Stephens was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization and in the planning of the Panama railroad. Stephens was born in Shrewsbury, New's book Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. A longer account of the ruins was made in 1854Events January 13 The accordion is patented by Anthony Faas. February 11 Major streets lit by coal gas for first time. February 14 Texas is linked by telegraph with the rest of the United States, when a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas i by Dr. Karl Scherzer. Alfred MaudslayAlfred Maudslay (1850-1931) was a British colonial diplomat, explorer and archaeologist. He was one of the first Europeans to study Maya ruins. Alfred Percival Maudslay was born into a wealthy engineering family 1850. He studied natural sciences at Cambri set up camp at the ruins during 1881Events January 16- 24 ? Siege of Geok Tepe ? Russian troops under general Skobeleff defeat Turkomans January 25 Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company February 5 Phoenix, Arizona is incorporated. February 13 First issu, 1882Events February 2 The Knights of Columbus are formed in New Haven, Connecticut February 7 In Mississippi City the last heavyweight boxing championship bareknuckle fight takes place. March 2 Robert Maclean fails to assassinate Queen Victoria at Windsor Mar, and 1883Events January January 16 The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil service, is passed January 19 The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service ( Roselle, New Jersey) It was built by Thomas E, making a very throurough examination and photographic record of all visible monuments, making some minor excavations, and making paper and plaster molds of all the heiroglphic inscriptions and principle sculptures; these molds were then shipped to the British MuseumThe British Museum is one of the world's greatest and most famous museums. It was established in 1753 by Sir Hans Sloane, a physician and scientist who collected lots of literature and art, on its present site at Montague House in London, United Kingdom,. Maudslay made a return visit to Quiriguá in 1894.

In 1910 the United Fruit Company bought Quiriguá and all the land a large distance around for banana production; they set aside 30 acres including and around the ruins as an archeological zone. More archeological work was done 1910 - 1914 by Edgar Lee Hewitt for the School of American Research at Santa Fe . Duplicates of the stelae of Quiriguá made from Hewitt's plaster casts of the originals were exhibited at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, California in 1915. The Carnegie Institution conducted several intermittent projects here from 1915 through 1934.

From 1975 through 1980 an extensive archeological project was conducted at Quiriguá sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, the National Geographic Society, and the government of Guatemala.

Quiriguá is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.