Topoxte
Sign in to saveTopoxte () (or Topoxté in Spanish orthography) is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the Petén Basin in northern Guatemala with a long occupational history dating as far back as the Middle Preclassic. As the capital of the Kowoj Maya, it was the largest of the few Postclassic Mesoamerican sites in the area. Topoxte is located on an island on Yaxha Lake across from the important Classic period center of Yaxha.
Key facts
- Ancient site.name
- Topoxte
- Ancient site.image_size
- 200px
- Ancient site.caption
- Building C on Topoxte Island.
- Ancient site.map_type
- Guatemala
- Ancient site.relief
- 1
- Ancient site.region
- Petén Department, Guatemala
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
18 sectionsContents
- Location
- History
- Preclassic Period
- Classic Period
- Postclassic Period
- Colonial history
- Modern history
- The site
- Paxte Island
- Cante Island
- Topoxte Island
- Building C
- Other structures
- Burials
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
Topoxte () (or Topoxté in Spanish orthography) is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the Petén Basin in northern Guatemala with a long occupational history dating as far back as the Middle Preclassic. As the capital of the Kowoj Maya, it was the largest of the few Postclassic Mesoamerican sites in the area. Topoxte is located on an island on Yaxha Lake across from the important Classic period center of Yaxha.
Topoxte was named by Teobert Maler in 1904; the name means "seed of the Ramón tree." There is no record of the name Topoxte prior to this. The Ramón tree, commonly known as breadnut, was an important component of the ancient Maya diet. Prior to this the site was known as Islapag, as noted in 1831 by Juan Galindo in his report to the Society of Antiquaries of London.