Zaculeu was first occupied in the Early Classic Period (AD 250–600),[1] and the buildings from this era show the architectural influence of the great metropolis of Teotihuacán in the Valley of Mexico. The largest constructions date from the Classic Period (AD 250–900). To these were added other plaza groups and buildings in the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200) and Late Postclassic (AD 1200–1525) in an unbroken history. Zaculeu has been used as a ceremonial site by Mam Maya continuously to the present.

Zaculeu came under the influence of central Mexico again in the Late Classic. The architectural influence is so distinct that it suggests that a foreign Mexican elite may have settled at the city and continued in occupation there until the Kʼicheʼ conquered the site in the Postclassic.[2]

Kʼicheʼ conquest

The Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj conquered Zaculeu in the Postclassic. Traditionally that has been calculated as during the 15th century AD based on ethnohistoric accounts. Radiocarbon dating has pushed back the calculations of the Kʼicheʼ conquests by three centuries, and researchers now say their conquest of the Mam kingdoms may have taken place as early as the 12th century.[3] The city was dominated by the Kʼicheʼ until the Spanish Conquest of the early 16th century.[4]

 The ballcourt seen across Plaza 2, with the rear of Structure 13 at right.[5]

The Kʼicheʼ king Q'uq'umatz died in battle against a group of the northern Mam. His son K'iq'ab continued where his father had left off and completed the conquest of the people. K'iq'ab was ruler when Zaculeu was conquered by the Kʼicheʼ.' This appears to have been a second Kʼicheʼ conquest of the city, having previously fallen some time earlier. When the Kʼicheʼ conquered another kingdom, its practice was to place the newly subject kingdom under the control of one of the Kʼicheʼ noble lineages. Based on the style of Structure 4, archeologists believe that Zaculeu was likely controlled by the Nija'ib.' The Ilocab, who had conquered much of the region, are another possibility. The Kʼicheʼ tended to place their newly installed ruling elite in a mountain-top fortress securing the population in the valleys below. However, substantial portions of the original Mam population remained in place in the plateau area.[6]

The Kʼicheʼ rebuilt over earlier Classic period structures in a distinctively Kʼicheʼ style. The basic Kʼicheʼ layout consists of a westward-facing temple with a steep talud-tablero facade, flanked by two unequally sized wings. This was likely to have been the temple of Awilix, patron goddess of the Nija'ib' Kʼicheʼ. A longer palace structure lies to the north, facing southwards and the ballcourt to the southwest. This Kʼicheʼ layout was somewhat distorted by the reuse of the earlier architecture, because the typical Mam settlement layout was built along an axis running from southeast to northwest. As the Kʼicheʼ did not completely redesign the entire site along a Kʼicheʼ pattern, the juxtaposition of Mam- and Kʼicheʼ-style complexes demonstrates the fusing of the local and intrusive elite lineages.[7]

Excavations have uncovered examples of metalwork at Zaculeu. These were small ornamental pieces. An example is a representation of a butterfly worked from tumbaga, an alloy of gold and copper, dated to the Postclassic period.[8]

Spanish conquest

Although hostilities existed between the Mam and the Kʼicheʼ of Qʼumarkaj after the rebellion of the Kaqchikel people against their Kʼicheʼ allies, the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors shifted the political landscape. Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado described how the Mam king Kayb'il B'alam was received with great honour in Qʼumarkaj.[9]

At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the main Mam population was situated in Xinabahul (also spelled Chinabjul), now the city of Huehuetenango. They retreated to Zaculeu as a refuge during the Spanish attacks because of its fortifications.[10] The refuge was attacked by Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras, brother of conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, in 1525,[11][12] with 120 soldiers, and some 2,000 Mexican and Kʼicheʼ allies.[13] The city was defended by Kayb'il B'alam[10] commanding some 5,000 people (the chronicles are not clear if this is the number of soldiers or the total population of Zaculeu).

After a siege lasting several months, the Mam were reduced to starvation. Kayb'il B'alam finally surrendered the city to the Spanish in October 1525.[10][14] When the Spanish entered the city, they found 1,800 dead Indians, with the survivors eating the corpses of the dead.[13] The Spanish forced the abandonment of Zaculeu after they built the new city of Huehuetenango some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away.

Modern history

American explorer John Lloyd Stephens and English architect Frederick Catherwood visited the site in 1840, at which time it was a confused jumble of overgrown ruins. Stephens published a description of the archaeological remains a year later. Catherwood did not draw any of the structures due to the poor state of the remains. The two excavated one of the mounds and recovered some ceramic vessels, which Catherwood drew.[15]

On 24 April 1931, Guatemala declared the site as a National Monument under the name of Tzaculeu.[16] On 23 February 1946, the site was renamed as Zaculeu. The government gave a license to excavate to the United Fruit Company, which immediately began archaeological excavations and related restorations of the structures under the direction of John M. Dimick.[17] This later included re-coating a number of the buildings with white plaster, as it was known that many were originally finished that way. This has seldom been done in other restorations of Pre-Columbian buildings.[citation needed]

On 12 June 1970 the site was declared a National Precolumbian Monument by accord of the Guatemalan Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).[18]