Quiriguá Photographs

BROWSE THIS COLLECTION

1/56

Selected

Invert selection

Deselect all

Click here to refresh results

Copy Asset Link

Metadata

Core Title Quiriguá Photographs

Collection description One of the most interesting ancient Maya sites in the Guatemala lowlands is Quiriguá (keri-gwah), a small ceremonial and trading center for local rural residents, with a population believed to be no more than 20,000 people. Its major influence came from the fact that it is located on the shore of the Motagua River, Guatemala’s largest navigable waterway, which originates in the highlands and flows northeast into the Caribbean.

Trading canoes from Quiriguá could be sent to the western highlands, carrying items like obsidian, salt, cacao and sea shells in exchange for jade and the rare feathers of the sacred Quetzal bird. Its canoes could also travel down river into the Caribbean to connect with Maya canoe shipping lanes aimed at places along the shores of what are now Belize and the Mexico’s Yucatan, both located on the Gulf of Honduras.

An additional location advantage, which shifted power to Quiriguá, was that its position marked a point where the Motagua River crosses the route of the mountain trails between the powerful western highlands Maya and the major Maya cities in the Peten heartland far to the north.

The ruins of Quiriguá today are located in the center of a large banana plantation about 80 miles from Guatemala City and just 40 miles from Guatemala’s Puerto Barrios, the country’s major shipping port on the Caribbean. Because its location is not on the busy tourist route, it has few visitors, but its unusual stone monuments make it a fascinating site to explore. The ruins offer a variety of handsome and fanciful sandstone sculptures, known as zoomorphs, which represent fictitious animals. The largest single stone monument in the Maya world can be found on Quiriguá’s Great Plaza. What the site lacked in size is made up by the quality and uniqueness of its Maya art. Aside from its carved stones, almost no restoration has been done to its single low architectural structure, which once served as the residence for its royalty.

The first ancient city discovered by American explorer, author and diplomat John Lloyd Stephens and his English artist companion, Frederick Catherwood, was Copán, in November 1839. Which is only about 35 miles from Quiriguá. The two men would continue searching, finding and exploring the remains of some 40 ancient Maya cities and ceremonial centers on their three-year journey throughout Central America, the Mexican State of Chiapas and the Yucatan. Their quest began after they had learned of reports by Spanish soldiers in the 1500’s, having seen stone houses in the forest near the Honduras village of Copán. We now know that Copán held the position of the dominant city of Maya civilization’s southeastern region. Following their exploration and measurements of Copán, Catherwood was left at that site, with orders to thoroughly sketch all of its monuments, while Stephens traveled further south to attend to his diplomatic duties. After Catherwood finished his drawings at Copán he happened to talk to a local rancher who told him of rumors that there were stone ruins near the Motagua River, about 30 miles from Copán. In January 1840, Catherwood traveled to the river area and discovered the ruins of Quirigua. He briefly sketched the only two monuments that were visible at that time, while many others remained hidden beneath the tropical forest.

The oldest dated stone monument at Quiriguá is a stela engraved with the date A.D 746, but archaeologists suspect that the site dates back to around A.D.400. Stela is a word used by western archaeologists to describe the free-standing Maya stone monuments inscribed with written glyphs, which contain, the date each was carved. The terms “stela” singular, and “stelae” plural, were borrowed from the ancient Greeks, where its meaning described a stone with writing on it. The archaeologists looked for the oldest date recorded on stone in each Maya ruin to help determine when the city was built.

A series of dramatic events helped shape the future history of Quiriguá. The first was discovered when archaeologists were digging beyond the perimeter of the ruins we see today. They found the remains of earlier structures and monuments buried deep in the earth below the level of current ruins. The conclusion was that an early earthquake had changed the course of the Motagua River, causing it to flow much closer to Quiriguá’s central plaza. The earthquake had buried the outer structures in silt and placed Quirigua directly on the bank of the Motagua, the largest river in the region, allowing it to control its rich trade routes and become the major trading center between the Caribbean and the southeastern highlands. One piece of evidence unearthed near its palace structure, which may offer proof of how Quiriguá became an important trading center among distant cities, was the discovery of a sculpture of Chacmool, the Toltec figure of a reclining God holding a offering vessel or tray. It is very similar to the sculpture found today at the Temple of the Warriors at Chichen Itzá.

There were 10 known rulers of Quiriguá recorded on its stone monuments, beginning in A.D. 426 and ending in A.D. 810, when the site was abandoned.

The next event that reshaped Quiriguá’s future had an ironic twist. In A.D. 625, the 13th ruler of Copan, named Uaxaklahun Uba Káuil or18 Rabbit, who would rule the powerful city of Copan for 42 years, appointed and presided over the accession of a new ruler at Quiriguá on January 2, A.D. 725. The new king’s name was K’ak’ Tiliw lord Cauac (lightning) sky. The name glyph for this Quirigua ruler used the symbol of the Maya God of Storms and a glyph symbolizing the sky, thus archaeologists now name the ruler Cauac Sky or Lightning Sky. Lightning Sky would be, in time, considered the most dominant of all rulers in Quiriguá history and the majority of its monuments are images of K’ak’ Tiliw lord Cauac (lightning) sky. The defeat of Copan by its former colony is one of the most dramatic stories from ancient Maya history. The Maya glyphs on several of the monuments at Quiriguá now describe how 13 years after the crowning, on May 3, 738, king Cauac Sky attacked the mighty city of Copan and captured 18 Rabbit the great king of Copan, who was then taken to Quiriguá and sacrificed by beheading him. In doing so, Quiriguá gained their independence from Copan, becoming a stronger trading center, and a major trading partner with the great city of Tikal and other powerful cities. Cauac Sky would go on to rule Quiriguá through 60 years of growth and economic success.

A third event occurred in modern times, long after Quiriguá was abandoned, when another earthquake re-routed the Motagua River once again, moving it further away from Quiriguá’s main plaza. Today, the Motagua River lies about one kilometer from Quiriguá.

Views of stelae and monuments: Note, because all Quiriguá stelae, monuments and altars were carved from a local sandstone quarry, the sides that were exposed to the weather, standing up or lying on the ground face-up are badly eroded. The sides of carved stones that were covered with plants matter and earth or found face-down are in the best condition.

Creator Johnson, Payne B. (photographer)

Publisher University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Date Created 1989-12, 1995-11, 1997-03, 1998-11/1998-12, 1999-10, 2001-04, 2002-03

Coverage Temporal 1989-12, 1995-11, 1997-03, 1998-11/1998-12, 1999-10, 2001-04, 2002-03

Place Name Central America (regions), Guatemala (countries), Izabal (departments), North America (continents), Quiriguá (archaeological sites)

Subject Archaeological site location (lcsh)

Tags OAI-PMH Harvest

Format 56 photographs (extent), ruins (aat)

Internet Media Type multipart/related

Type images

Source 20210812-johnson-meso-shoaf (batch), Payne B. Johnson Latin American Photographs (collection), Quiriguá Photographs (subcollection), University of Southern California (contributing entity)

Identifier 2 (box), 0550 (collection number), johnson-qrg (filename)

IIIF ID [Document.IIIFV3ID]

Unique identifier UC1STO1686995

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/johnson-oUC1STO1686995

Legacy Identifier johnson-qrg

Rights Johnson, Payne B.

Access Conditions Send requests to address or e-mail given. Phone (213) 821-2366; fax (213) 740-2343.

Repository Name USC Libraries Special Collections

Repository Location Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189

Repository Email specol@lib.usc.edu