Tamarindito

Tamarindito is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located along an escarpment in the Petén department of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Petexbatún region of the southwestern Petén during the Early Classic period but was displaced by the newly founded conquest state of Dos Pilas. In the 8th century Tamarindito turned on its new overlord and defeated it. After the destruction of the Dos Pilas kingdom the region descended into chaos and suffered rapid population decline. The city was all but abandoned by the 9th century AD. Tamarindito was the third largest city in the Petexbatún region. The site was one of the earliest cities established in the area of the Pasion River, together with Altar de Sacrificios and Tres Islas. Tamarindito was also the first site in the Petexbatún region to gain the right to use its own Emblem Glyph. Archaeologists have excavated a Late Classic royal tomb from beneath one of the temples at the site, although the burial had been damaged by the collapse of the vaulted ceiling it still contained one of the richest funerary offerings in the entire Petexbatún region. Tamarindito is situated on the highest of a series of hills forming an escarpment in the Petexbatún region of the Petén department of northern Guatemala. The hills run westward to Arroyo de Piedra and south to El Escarbado. The highest point of the hill, known as Cerro de Cartografía ("Cartography Hill") has a wide view across the local area as far as the Pasión River and the sites of Punta de Chimino and Itzan. The site is located above three small lakes and two springs, with the lakes bordering the site to the east, northeast and north. These lakes are named Laguna Tamarindito, Laguna El Raicero and Laguna Las Pozas respectively. Tamarindito is located east of the ruins of the Late Classic city of Dos Pilas, its bitter rival. Tamarindito's secondary capital, Arroyo de Piedra, was located to the west of Tamarindito. Tamarindito is northwest of Lake Petexbatún and is north of Aguateca.