 |
| View of Lake Yaxha, from a pyramid structure |
Kicked off
2016 by going to Yaxha, the third largest city known in the region. The thing
about Yaxha is that it has a lengthy occupation history and was already a large
site during the Early Pre-Classic, with construction of some buildings
beginning in the 8th century BC. From about the 4th century BC to 3rd century
AD, Yaxha (meaning “blue/green water”) was the largest city in the Petén,
though it didn’t reach its peak size until the Early Classic (ca. AD 250–600).
It was eclipsed in size around AD 600, but continued to be dominant and had
continuous occupation into the 9th century AD, before being abandoned. Like
Tikal and other sites in the region, it shows influence from Teotihuacan starting
around the 4th century.
 |
| First thing you see walking into Yaxha |
Yaxha is a
lot less excavated and restored than Tikal, but that is normal. The 20%
excavated at Tikal is unusually high. About 6% of Yaxha has been excavated, and
the norm is between 2–10% of a site—and that is to say nothing about the 95–99%
of sites that have gone unexcavated entirely. Still, there was some pretty cool
stuff to see at Yaxha. Like Tikal, it has groupings of multiple pyramid
structures and you can claim to the top of 130+ feet towers and take in quite
the view. Atop one that comes close to 140 feet, built on top of an already
elevated space, you can see a beautiful view of the nearby lake (named,
appropriately, Lake Yaxha).
 |
| Hole in the ruins dug by archaeologists. You can see the different layers of construction |
One of the
unique things we saw here was a hole in one of the structures which the archaeologists
had dug to get past the Late Classic era construction and down to the
Pre-Classic ruins. Thus allowing us to clearly see how structures would be
built over top older buildings. Of course, it is a small hole, so when you
consider that only 6% of the site is excavated, that generally means 6% of the Classic Period ruins at the site. The
small whole penetrating to the Pre-Classic layers is only a fraction of a
fraction of a percent.
This is
standard fair in Mesoamerica—it was the case at Yaxha, Tikal, and Ceibal, among
others—and rarely do archaeologist do so much as dig a whole down to the
Pre-Classic layers like that did at Yaxha. It is hard enough to get to the
latest construction layers (usually at least Classic, if not Late Classic), let alone dig further
into the site to get at earlier stages of construction. Not to mention getting at earlier layers
requires destroying the later layers, something archaeologists are
understandably reluctant to do. (Classic, and especially Late Classic, ruins
are generally grander, more interesting, and more attractive to tourists, after
all.) So much of the Pre-Classic and often even Early Classic remains hidden
underneath.
 |
| Part of the North Acropolis |
This is a
problem when it comes to issues related to the Book of Mormon, because the final
occupation—and thus, typically, construction—at most sites post-dates the Book of Mormon, usually by several centuries. The
implications here are not to be taken lightly. How much “direct” evidence for
the Book of Mormon can be expected when so little dating back to Book of Mormon
times actually gets dug up?
 |
| Coolest temple in North Acropolis, from the top of the tallest temple in the North Acropolis |
When
critics expect direct evidence for
the Book of Mormon, they often don’t realize that (a) 95–99% of all
Mesoamerican sites remain completely unexcavated; (b) when a site is excavated,
usually only about 2–10% of it gets explored, with the rest remaining
untouched; (c) the Pre-Classic and sometimes even Early Classic layers very
often remain buried under later layers of construction, and hence go
unexplored. In bringing this up, I am not suggesting that some smoking gun is
waiting to be discovered that will prove the Book of Mormon true once and for
all. Rather, I am simply pointing out that, given the state of Mesoamerican
archaeology, we cannot have an abundance of direct
evidence for the Book of Mormon because we do not have an abundance of data from the right time and place to
start with.
Those
limitations aside, visiting these different ruins and learning more about them
and pre-Columbian Mesoamerica in general has been a real treat, and Yaxha was
no exception. Climbing the ruins, taking in the view from the top, and being in
awe of the splendor of these sites, gives added appreciation for what these
ancient peoples accomplished. Having Dr. Mark Wright share insights into how
their cultural practices might inform our reading of the Book of Mormon is just
icing on the cake!
 |
| Me with Lake Yaxha in the background |
Comments
Post a Comment