Caracol
Sign in to saveCaracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, at an elevation of above sea-level, in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. Long thought to be a tertiary center, it is now known that the site was one of the most important regional political centers of the Maya Lowlands during the Classic Period. Caracol covered approximately , covering an area much larger than present-day Belize City, the largest metropo
Key facts
- Ancient site.name
- Caracol
- Ancient site.image
- Panorama atop Caracol.png
- Ancient site.image_size
- 280px
- Ancient site.alt
- View from atop Caracol
- Ancient site.caption
- View from atop of Caracol
- Ancient site.map_type
- Mesoamerica#Belize
- Ancient site.map_caption
- Location within Mesoamerica##Location within Belize
- Ancient site.relief
- 1
- Ancient site.location
- Cayo District, Belize
- Ancient site.region
- Cayo District
- Ancient site.built
- 1200 BCE
- Ancient site.epochs
- Preclassic to Postclassic
- Ancient site.cultures
- Maya civilization
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
126 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Discovery
- Excavations, investigations, and modern development
- Exploration timeline
- Population
- History
- Wars with Tikal
- Prosperity
- Collapse
- Known war events
- Monument chronology
- Monuments
- Stelae
- Stela 1
- Stela 2
- Stela 3
- Stela 4
- Stela 5
- Stela 6
- Stela 7
- Stela 8
- Stela 9
- Stela 10
- Stela 11
- Stela 12
- Stela 13
- Stela 14
- Stela 15
- Stela 16
- Stela 17
- Stela 18
- Stela 19
- Stela 20
- Stela 21
- Stela 22
- Stela 23
- Stela 24
- Altars
- Altar 1
- Altar 2
- Altar 3
- Altar 4
- Altar 5
- Altar 6
- Altar 7
- Altars 8 and 9
- Altar 10
- Altar 11
- Altar 12
- Altar 13
- Altar 14
- Altar 15
- Altar 16
- Altar 17
- Altar 18
- Altar 19
- Altar 21 {{Anchor|Altar21}}
- Altar 22
- Altar 23
- Altar 24
- Altar 25
- Altar 26
- Ballcourt markers
- Ballcourt markers 1 and 2
- Ballcourt marker 3
- Ballcourt marker 4
- Timeline
- Lords of Caracol
- Select architectural groups
- A-Group Plaza
- Structure A1
- Structure A2
- Structure A3
- Structure A5
- Structure A6
- Structure A8
- Structure A10
- A-Group Ballcourt (structures A11 and A12)
- Structure A13
- B-Group Plaza
- Caana (B14–B20, B36, B37)
- Structure B18
- Structure B19
- Structures B8 and B9
- Barrio (B21–B26)
- Structure B21
- Structure B25
- Structure B26
- Structure B28
- Northeast Acropolis (B30–B34)
- Structure B30
- Structure B31
- Structure B32
- Structure B33
- Structure B34
- C-Group Plaza
- Structure B59
- Structure I20
- Culebras residential group
- Structure C20
- South Acropolis
- Structure D4
- Structure D5
- Structure D7
- Structure D9
- Structure D11
- Structure D12
- Structure D14
- Structure D16
- Structure D17
- Structure D18
- Structure F2 (Northwest Group)
- Alta/Baja Vista residential complex
- Structure F33
- Structure F36
- Structure F39
- Structure F41
- Saraguate
- Retiro
- Ceiba
- Other area sites
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, at an elevation of above sea-level, in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. Long thought to be a tertiary center, it is now known that the site was one of the most important regional political centers of the Maya Lowlands during the Classic Period. Caracol covered approximately , covering an area much larger than present-day Belize City, the largest metropolitan area in the country, and supported more than twice the modern city's population.
==Etymology== Caracol is a modern name from the ('snail, shell'), but more generally meaning spiral or volute-shapedapparently on account of the winding access road that led to the site. The ancient Mayan name for the Caracol archaeological site was Uxwitza, meaning "Three Water Hill" or "Three Hills".