page_title: Ixkun
section_title: Group 37
hierarchical_section_title: Ixkun / Site description / Site core / Group 37
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Maya ruins of Ixkun, near Dolores, Peten, Guatemala, taken from p.174. of A Glimpse at Guatemala and Some Notes on the Ancient Monuments of Central America by Anne Cary Maudslay and Alfred Percival Maudslay, published in 1899. Español: Mapa de las ruinas mayas de Ixkún, cerca de Dolores, Petén, Guatemala. De la página 174 del libro A Glimpse at Guatemala and Some Notes on the Ancient Monuments of Central America por Anne Cary Maudslay y Alfred Percival Maudslay, publicado en 1899.
context_page_description: Ixkun is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site, situated in the Petén Basin region of the southern Maya lowlands. It lies to the north of the town of Dolores, in the modern-day department of Petén, Guatemala. It is a large site containing many unrestored mounds and ruins and is the best known archaeological site within the municipality of Dolores.
  Ixkun was the capital of one of the four largest kingdoms in the upper Mopan Valley, the others being Curucuitz, Ixcol and Ixtonton. Eight sites fell within the boundaries of the kingdom, showing a clear hierarchy. Stela 1 at Ixkun is one of the tallest stone monuments in the entire Petén Basin.
  Although the main period of activity was during the Late Classic Period, the site was occupied from the Late Preclassic right through to the Postclassic Period.
context_section_description: Group 37 is a complex located to the east of the North Causeway. The complex was largely dated to the Late Classic, at which time there was an almost total absence of domestic activity. Combined with its position close to the North Causeway, this has led investigators to conclude that the complex served an administrative function and may have controlled access to the plazas of the site core. In the Terminal Classic its function appears to have changed and domestic activity started, represented by an increase in ceramic remains and the insertion of a Terminal Classic burial.
  Structure 37 is the main platform. It measures 37 by 19 metres (121 by 62 ft) and appears to have been of some importance. The platform stands 5.7 metres (19 ft) high and supports three structures. The platform was accessed via a stairway on the south side. Structure 37 was built in three distinct construction phases. The earliest of these phases dates to the Early Classic, the second phase is 1.75 metres (5.7 ft) above the first and dates to the Late Classic. At this time one of the additional structures were built upon the platform. The third phase also dates to the Late Classic, when two further buildings were added. Occupation of Group 37 continued through the Terminal Classic into the Postclassic Period. Burial 228 was found in Structure 37, under the patio, near the top of the access stairway.
  Structure 37-A is located upon the western portion of Structure 37 and it is the principal structure in the complex. This structure was the first of the three buildings to be built upon the main platform and for some time was the only building to stand upon it. The structure measured 11 by 5.6 metres (36 by 18 ft). An inset stairway climbs the front face of the platform to the upper level, measuring 6.8 by 2.5 metres (22.3 by 8.2 ft). Excavations revealed that Structure 37-A was built in a single construction phase.
  Structure 37-B is situated upon the northern part of Structure 37. It was built in the Late Classic during the third construction phase and rests upon the floor built during the second phase. It was a low rectangular stepped platform measuring 12 by 4.2 metres (39 by 14 ft). This structure was badly preserved but did not appear to have a stairway.
  Structure 37-C is on the eastern side of Structure 37. It was built during the same construction phase as Structure 37-B, also resting upon the second phase floor. It was a low rectangular platform with a single course of stonework and measured 4.5 by 3.3 metres (15 by 11 ft).
caption: Map of Ixkun site core by Alfred Percival Maudslay, 1887
exif: {}