ALTUN HA: THE PRIESTS OF THE SUN - MAYA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN BELIZE (PART VI)

Altun Ha, a major Classic Period center, is located 30 miles north of Belize City, near Rockstone Pond Village, 6 miles from the sea, in the Belize District. The entrance to the ruins is approximately one mile from Mile 32 of the Old Northern Highway. Although there is no public transportation to the ruin, there are several travel and tour operators who can provide service to Altun Ha.
Altun Ha, the most extensively excavated ruin in Belize, was a major ceremonial center during the Classic Period, as well as a vital trade center that linked the Caribbean shores with other Maya centers in the interior.
The ruin consists of two main plazas with some thirteen temple and residential structures. The "Jade Head", representing the Sun God, Kinich Ahau, was the most significant find during excavations. At approxmately six inches high and weighing nine is and three-quarter pounds, it is still to this day the largest carved jade object in, the whole Maya area.

To the Maya, it was a powerful southeastern trading post linking the Caribbean shore with the cities of the interior. Altun Ha reflects the far reaching influence of Teotihuacan, now Mexico City. Protoclassic grave goods, particularly a distinctive green obsidian and the ceramics, are directly traceable to Teotihuacan.

Tikal, a Classic lowland center, is contemporaneous and of the same general nature as Altun Ha. There are similarities in ceramic motifs and dedicatory offerings. Dr. David M. Pendergast, who headed the major excavations, named the site Altun Ha or "rockstone water" after Rockstone Pond which was mistakenly thought to be the main reservoir of the area. The government maintains the ceremonial courtyard of temples and palaces (groups A and B). Two hundred seventy-five unexplored ceremonial structures girdle the precinct as well as hundreds of mounds that once housed 10,000 people over an area of two square miles. Altun Ha shows a population density 85% greater than that of residential Tikal. This figure is a reflection of the terrain which is dotted with swamps affecting the settlement pattern. There is a lack of consistency in building orientation which is in direct contrast to Tikal. There also is little consistency in the type of structure distribution in each zone, and structure groupings and various zone characteristics are unlike one another.

The reservoir southwest of the ceremonial complex is known as Zone E. It was densely populated probably due to the principle water source located there. Causeways were constructed to provide access across swampy areas. Although the area is miserable for farming, studies of ridged field systems and other intensive agricultural practices seem to indicate that the Maya were able to support themselves in areas of low agricultural potential.
Late Classic Altun Ha showed a sharp decline in population unlike the nearby center Lamanai, which continued to be occupied into the Conquest Period. Late Classic architectural attitudes at Altun Ha were exuberantly liberal in contrast to the strict Lamanai building type. However, offerings show less diversity than at Lamanai, and are more like those at Tikal. Group A, the main ceremonial center, remained in use throughout the Late Classic, falling into disuse except as a residential area during the Post-Classic Period.

This Classic Period ceremonial center was important as a trading center and as a link between the coast and the settlements of the interior. Trade goods traceable to Teotihuacan near Mexico City, have been found at Altun Ha. The unique jade head sculpture of Kinich Ahau (the Maya sun god), the largest known well carved jade from the Maya area, was discovered at this site. The site was named after the village it is situated in Rockstone Pond, the literal Maya translation meaning "stone water"'.

Altun Ha is located about 31 miles north of Belize City off the old Northern Highway near Rockstone Pond Village. No regular public transportation is available, although Maskall Village transport trucks run several days of the week from Belize City. Accomodations are available at Maskall Village, 8 miles north of the site, from Maruba Resort about 10 miles in the same vicinity or at Hotels in Belize City and Orange Walk Town

Historical Context

Altun Ha exhibits such remarkable features that it is regarded as one of a group of sites along the Caribbean coastline which together constitute a distinctive cultural zone. The erection of stelae was apparently not part of ceremonial procedures at the site. Neither are the tombs in the dominant structure, the Temple of the Sun God, those of dynasties of warlords: instead they are burials of priests. Moreover, as archaeologist David Pendergast puts it: "A unique form of sacrifice became the focal point of activity on (structure) B-4; atop the altar, offerings of copal resin and jade objects, including beautifully carved pendants which had been smashed into small pieces, were cast into a blazing fire. In the final such sacrifice on each of the altars, just prior to the covering of the building with later constructions, the bits of jade, resin, and charcoal were scattered over the floor surrounding the altar, and left as a sort of fossilized ceremony, to be discovered some 1300 years later.

The Site
Altun Ha is a particularly rich ceremonial centre with two main plazas in its ritual precinct. Thirteen structures surround these plazas; the tallest, the "Temple of the Sun God" / "Temple of the Masonry Altars" rises 18 metres (60 ft.) above the plaza level. Located 8.3 km. (5 miles) west of Midwinter Lagoon and 12 kin. (7.5 miles) from the sea, Altun Ha covers an area of 2.33 sq. kin. (1.5 sq. miles) including an extensive swamp north of the site.Of cardinal importance to the development of Altun Ha was the great water reservoir, now somewhat unromantically called "Rockstone Pond". This reservoir has minimum dimensions of 4,700 sq. metres (50,500 sq. ft.) and maximum dimensions of 6,643 sq. metres (71,500 sq. ft.). The bottom is lined with yellow clay, forming a fairly regular basin. At the south end water containment was effected by a dam of stone and clay, which was probably erected in order to convert a small pond into a major reservoir and to prevent outflow into the marshy area further south. The presence of large, angular stone blocks around the edges suggests that quarrying was carried out, perhaps with the aim of enlarging the water storage capacity. The reservoir probably never ran dry and this factor, together with the site's proximity to the sea contributed to the selection of the site's location; its extreme religious function remains unexplained. Archaeological work

The existence of Altun Ha was first recognized by A.H. Anderson who, in 1957, followed up a report of some questionable mounds in the area. In 1961 W.R. Bullard examined portions of the site which was then ignored until 1963 when villagers' quarrying work uncovered an elaborately carved jade pendant. This discovery triggered events which culminated in the first long-term, full-scale archaeological project in Belize - David Pendergast's 1964-1971 excavation.
Artifacts from that series of excavations, which were carried out under the auspices of the Royal Ontario Museum, were subject to the previous antiquity laws, such that half the artifacts recovered went to that Museum.

From 1971-1976 Joseph Palacio did restoration work on Altun Ha, as did Elizabeth Graham in 1978. The site was the second in Belize to be partially cleared and consolidated for tourism.

Locale and Access

Altun Ha lies 31 miles north of Belize City on the old Northern Highway and 37 miles from Orange Walk Town on the same road; a two-mile feeder road connects the site with the highway. The landscape around the site consists of bush, plantations and orchards and although the area to the east is swampy, the site's surroundings have twice been used by film companies for their jungle scenes.

Wildlife at the site includes opossum, various species of bats, armadillo, tamandua, squirrel, spiny pocket mouse, agouti, paca, grey fox, raccoon, coati, tayra, skunk and, formerly, an occasional tapir or whitetailed deer; more than 200 species of birds have been observed there, and a 9 ft. crocodile still lives in the water reservoir itself.

A series of typical Creole villages lines the road to Altun Ha, such that the interested visitor can experience Belizean culture past and present as well as its natural history.
No regular transport is available to the site, although Maskall village transport trucks run several days of the week from Belize City. Accommodation is available in and around Maskall, eight miles north of the site, or in hotels in Belize City and Orange Walk Town. At the site itself are restrooms, drinking water and a picnic area.