Ancient Maya ruins, north-central Guatemala.
One of the oldest known centres of Maya civilization, it was occupied in the 1st millennium BC; by с 300 BC–с AD 100 a number of ceremonial buildings had been erected, including a temple reminiscent of the more ancient Olmec civilization. Major remains predate the Classic period (AD 100–900). In the 9th century it declined, as did other southern lowland Maya centres, and was abandoned in the 10th century.