Holmul

Holmul is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the northeastern Petén Basin region in Guatemala near the modern-day border with Belize. In spite of its relatively modest size, Holmul was important to both the Tikal and the Kaanul (Kan/"Snake") dynasties. According to archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli, Holmul occupied a strategic position for both these kingdoms. Holmul lay along the best east-west route between Tikal and the coast. And it also lay on the north-south route between the Kaanul capital Dzibanche and the Guatemalan Highlands. The latter route did not pass through Tikal territory, and was very important for trade, because of the strategic materials that could be imported from there. The site was first visited by an archaeological research team in 1911, led by Harvard University archaeologist Raymond Merwin. The initial work by Merwin at Holmul (later expanded by George Clapp Vaillant) produced the first stratigraphic ceramic sequence to be defined at a Maya region site. However, the results of this Peabody Museum expedition were not formally published until some twenty years afterwards, and subsequently the site remained relatively little-studied. Excavation and research at Holmul resumed only in the year 2000, as an archaeological group from Boston University, organized by Dr. Francisco Estrada Belli, began to explore the site. Shortly after its start, this archaeological project received funding from Vanderbilt University, until 2008, when Boston University took over the exploration's funding again. Holmul, as a city, began its existence around 800 BCE and was abandoned by 900 CE at around the time of the Classic Maya collapse. This made the city one of the longest occupied by the Maya. Holmul reached the height of its power at between 750 and 900 and may have had a considerable social influence over the many communities located in the compact area around it. The region likely influenced by Holmul is sometimes referred to as the "Holmul Domain".