Archaeological sights in Huehuetenango
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Zaculeu Archaeological Zone
With ravines on three sides, the late postclassic religious center Zaculeu ('White Earth' in the Mam language) occupies a strategic defensive location that served its Mam Maya inhabitants well. It finally failed, however, in 1525, when Gonzalo de Alvarado and his conquistadors laid siege to the site for two months. It was starvation that ultimately defeated the Mam. The park-like Zaculeu archaeological zone, about 200m square, is 4km west of Huehuetenango's main plaza.
A small museum at the site holds, among other things, skulls and grave goods found in a tomb beneath Estructura 1, the tallest structure at the site. Restoration by the United Fruit Company in the 1940s has…
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