Salinas de los Nueve Cerros

Salinas de los Nueve Cerros is an archaeological site located in west-central Guatemala. It is the only Precolumbian salt works in the Maya lowlands and one of the longest-occupied sites in Guatemala (c. 1000 BC - AD 1100). At the time of the Spanish conquest, the region was under the control of the Akalaha Maya who were engaged in salt production at the site and referred to the nearby sierra as Bolontewitz ("Nine Hills"). The Spaniards began to refer to the salt works as las salinas de los Nueve Cerros ("the salt source of the Nine Hills"). Nueve Cerros is located in the southern Maya lowlands along the Chixoy River in the present-day municipalities of Cobán, Alta Verapaz and Ixcan, El Quiche. The site is defined by several geographic features—the Nueve Cerros ridge forms its western border and the Tortugas salt dome is located in its center. A brine stream flows out of the dome forming several salt flats before becoming diluted and flowing into the Chixoy. The site includes several zones with monumental architecture—the salt works atop an 11-meter artificial platform at the base of the dome and epicenter between the dome and the ridge, the Tierra Blanca group along the Chixoy, and a series of large plaza groups to the north of the dome. A permanent population existed at the site by the Early Middle Preclassic period (1000-800 BC) and the site continued to grow and expand through the Late Classic (AD 600–850). Instead of being abandoned like most of its peers during the Terminal Classic (AD 780–1000), the site continued to be occupied until well into the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200). The salt works continued to be exploited well into the 20th century. Salinas de los Nueve Cerros has some of the oldest ceramics in the Maya world dating to the Early Middle Preclassic (1000-800 BC). Multiple parts of the site were occupied, although during this time period the population most likely belonged to several distinct villages or towns.