Quirigua, a Mayan site in Guatemala, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its impressive hieroglyphics. It has fewer buildings than other sites, but its stelae, including the largest stone ever mined in the Classic Maya world, are some of the finest examples of Mayan carving. The stelae were erected every five years to mark the hotun calendar cycle and were carved with stones and wooden mallets. Quirigua is a must-visit for those interested in Mayan carving and hieroglyphics.
Quirigua is a Mayan site in Guatemala. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been since 1981. Quirigua is one of many Mayan sites found throughout Central America and Mexico, and is one of the few included in UNESCO’s World Heritage Inscriptions.
It’s hard to deny that Mayan sites found throughout Central America and Mexico are some of the most impressive archaeological sites on the planet. The Maya built incredibly beautiful structures and capped huge stone pillars, or stelae, with depictions of gods, rulers, and hieroglyphs. Quirigua is an excellent example of Mayan hieroglyphics and is less inundated with visitors than many sites found in Mexico and Guatemala.
Generally, people find Quirigua less impressive than other nearby sites. In many people’s minds, Mayan cities conjure up images of great pyramids and intricate playgrounds. In contrast, Quirigua has relatively few buildings, especially for a site as significant as it seems. Quirigua is also almost entirely unrestored, unlike most other major Mayan sites. Because of this, many people enjoy nearby sites like Copan or Tikal more, or travel the extra distance up to the Yucatan to see the huge sites of Uxmal, Palenque, and Chichen Itza.
What sets Quirigua apart, however, and what makes it a site worth visiting for those willing to dig a little deeper, is the quality and extent of its hieroglyphics. Quirigua has many incredibly impressive stelae, which are generally recognized as some of the finest examples of Mayan carving. Quirigua was also built in a region that had an abundance of sandstone, and it is this stone, as opposed to the limestone used in most Maya cities, that makes up the stelae. This has resulted in stelae that have been much better preserved than those at other sites.
One of Quirigua’s most impressive stelae is a huge marker, more than 35 meters high, which depicts Cauc Sky, the lord of the city. This stone, known as Stele E, weighs more than 10 pounds and is the largest stone ever mined in the Classic Maya world. The stelae, like all at the site, date from the 8th century, just a few centuries before the Mayans mysteriously abandoned their civilization.
Quirigua contains more than twenty distinct pillars, erected once every five years during the city’s heyday to mark the hotun calendar cycle. Due to the sudden appearance of these stelae, which remain the finest ever discovered, it is thought that the craftsmen responsible were imported from nearby Copan. The stelae found at Quirigua, like those throughout the Maya world, were carved whole with stones and wooden mallets, as their craftsmen never discovered the secret of the metal tools.
While Quirigua lacks the pyramids or ball courts that have captured the imagination of so many visitors to other Mayan sites, it remains a beautiful and magical place in its own right. For those interested in Mayan carving and hieroglyphics, there truly is no better site in the Americas.
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