In Mexico, archaeologists have found the long-searched Maya city “Sak-Bahlán” overgrown by the jungle. The last Maya raffbellers lived there until around 300 years ago before they were sold by the Spaniards. The researchers found the “Land of the White Jaguar” after they followed the historical travel reports from the missionaries.
When the Spaniards came to America, they submitted the indigenous people living there, including the last maya high culture tribe in Mexico: the Lacandon-Ch’olti ‘. Her actual capital Lacam-Tún (“Big Felsen”) was already taken by the conquistadors in 1586. After that, however, these Maya rebels kept their independence for 110 years. The city of Sak-Bahlán (“Land of the White Jaguar”) is considered its stronghold and last bastion from this time, which was much deeper in the rainforest. In 1695 the Spanish monk Pedro de la Concepción finally discovered them, conquered them and called them in Nuestra Señora de los Dolores. The indigenous people were driven by force. Due to rampant diseases, the place was then left by the Spaniards in 1721 and devoured by the jungle. His location was forgotten.
Looking for traces in old documents
Now, a good three centuries later, archaeologists have found the location of this hidden Maya city. The researchers around Josuhé Lozada Toledo from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (Inah) in Mexico City have evaluated historical documents of Spanish missionaries and chroniclers on the conquest of Sak-Bahlán, which contain information on its location. In addition, they undertook several expeditions, searched for the places mentioned and, with the help of satellite -based geographical information systems (GIS), created a computer model to predict the location of the settlement. There they dig for the traces of the former Maya city.
According to the texts, the rebel enclave was located in a level that was surrounded by the bend of the Lacantún river-a strategically favorable location so as not to be taken by the Spaniards. In addition, Spanish soldiers needed four days to hike from Sak-Bahlán to this river. “They then sailed for two days and reached El Encuentro de Cristo, where the tributary flows into the Pasión. There they left their canoes to hike to Lake Petén in Guatemala,” reports Lozada Toledo. Taking into account what the territory looked like at the time and how quickly the soldiers progressed in it, the team calculated the course of the trip and the approximate location of the Sak-Bahlán departure.
“Land of the White Jaguar” found again
The model predicted that the lost Maya city in the Biosphere Reserve Montes Azules is located near the rivers Jataté and Ixcán-in an area in the Chiapas belonging to today. There the archaeologists bored and took soil samples to find clues to a settlement. “It was the most difficult excursion that I made in my life, but after all we found the archaeological evidence, exactly where I had marked,” reports Lozada Toledo. Three centuries after his conquest, Sak-Bahlán has now been drawn on the map.
Source: National Institute for Anthropology and History (Inah)
