El Puente (Maya site) facts for kids
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| Location | La Jigua |
|---|---|
| Region | Copán Department,  Honduras |
| History | |
| Periods | Classic Period |
| Cultures | Maya civilization |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1991–1994 |
| Archaeologists | Proyecto Arqueológico La Entrada |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | Classic Maya |
| Restored: 1991–1994 | |
El Puente, also known as the Parque Arqueológico El Puente (which means "El Puente Archaeological Park"), is an ancient Maya site in Honduras. It's found in the Copán area. This place was once an independent Maya city.
Later, between the 6th and 9th centuries AD, El Puente became connected to the larger Maya city of Copán. The site has over 200 old buildings. These include tombs, religious places, and homes. Only a few of these have been dug up by archaeologists. One important discovery is a large Maya step pyramid.
El Puente is located in the Florida Valley. It's in the town of La Jigua, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) north of La Entrada, Honduras. The site is also 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) north of where the Chamelecón and Chinamito Rivers meet. El Puente is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the El Paraíso archaeological site. This area was on the edge of the Maya world, where Maya people lived next to other groups.
Jens Yde first wrote about El Puente in 1935. He made a map of the site but didn't dig anything up. In March 1989, the site was named a Cultural Heritage of the Nation. The La Entrada Archaeological Project (PALE) began digging at El Puente in 1991. Their goal was to create Honduras's second archaeological park, after Copán. The El Puente Archaeological Park opened on January 20, 1994. It has a visitor center, a museum, and offices.
Exploring El Puente's Past
El Puente was likely first settled around the mid-6th century AD. This was during the Early Classic period. It was a bit later than some other Maya cities. The city didn't stay active for a very long time.
Buildings and pottery found here are similar to those in Copán. This suggests that Copán might have founded El Puente. It could have been to control important trade routes that crossed in the valley. El Puente became a key regional center during the Late Classic period. It stayed a close friend and ally of the big city of Copán.
After Copán declined in the Terminal Classic (between AD 850–950), the El Puente area faced political challenges. Local leaders lost power and land. However, unlike Copán, El Puente didn't seem to overuse its natural resources. It even appears that people from Copán moved to El Puente during the Late Classic period.
What the Site Looks Like
The buildings at El Puente are mostly Maya in style. But there are small influences from nearby non-Maya areas. For example, some long buildings are connected end-to-end. The architecture here isn't as perfectly balanced as in older Maya sites. This might be because the builders had less technical skill. For instance, stairways on the main buildings can be different sizes on each side. The quality of stone work also varies a lot, even within the same building.
The main stones used for building were tufa, schist, and hard limestone. Tufa was the most common. Tufa is very soft, and many cut tufa stones have turned to dust over time. The material used inside the buildings was inconsistent. It was a mix of stone, earth, and clay. The mortar (the glue holding stones together) was not very strong. It had little lime and used a soft clay. This made the buildings easily damaged by water, causing the outer stucco layers to fall off and the buildings to collapse.
The main open areas, called plazas, had a good drainage system. This helped to move rainwater away. These channels were carved from stone. One channel at the base of Structure 5 still works today. Another was found on the east side of Structure 3.
Archaeologists have found several burials at El Puente. Some burials included gifts like jade and pottery. These pots were decorated with hieroglyphs. One pot even held 13 obsidian blades. In another burial, rough stones were placed in a circle around the body. A seashell was found next to the skull.
Green obsidian from the Pachuca area in central Mexico has also been found here. This shows trade connections over long distances.
Key Structures at El Puente
El Puente has 210 structures in total. The main part of the site has 5 plazas. Nine buildings have been studied and rebuilt. Some parts of the site have been badly damaged by people looking for treasures and by farming.
Structure 1 is the tallest building at El Puente. It stands 12 meters (39 feet) high. It seems to have been built in the 7th century AD. Its earliest design looks similar to buildings from Copán during that time. It was a pyramid with six levels and stairs on all four sides. The east and west stairs are the best preserved. A building with three rooms sat on top of the pyramid. Remains show it had a vaulted roof with channels for rainwater. The wall was decorated with sculptures of three human figures. Archaeologists have dug tunnels inside and around this structure. They found many pieces of pottery, burnt clay, and burnt maize and beans. This structure has been heavily damaged by looters.
Structure 3 has very well-made stonework on the north side of its first platform. But the rest of the building shows much poorer quality work.
Structure 4 is on the northwest side of Plaza 1. This is at the far northwest edge of the main site area.
Structure 5 is also on the northwest side of Plaza 1, near Structure 4. It has three rooms built in the Copán style. Signs of daily life were found here during digging. The walls were only 30 centimeters (12 inches) thick. This means they were too thin to support a heavy vaulted roof.
Structure 31 is a pyramid on the eastern side of the main site. Its eastern part has been badly damaged by looters. This structure supported two rooms. The main room has parts of a stone bench. Its entrance opens onto the main stairway that goes up the west side from Plaza C. This building was built in several stages, all during the Late Classic period. Diggers found more pieces of Copán-style colorful pottery in the final building stage. An altar and a stone slab (stela) were found with this temple. The stela did not have any hieroglyphic writing on it.
See also
In Spanish: El Puente (zona arqueológica) para niños
