Eighth century monument, Stela D, ancient Maya archaeological site of Quirigua. Rio Motagua Valley, Guatemala. 1922.
Dates
Date Taken
1922
Summary
Album caption: Stela D. This is one of the 12 such at the site. It faces south. The dedication date is A.D. 766. It is recorded on the east side beginning at the top by the first 7 large and very unusual full-figure glyphs. They are probably the most complex, most involved and intricate in the Maya inscriptions. This monument is 19 feet, 6 inches in height by 5 feet in width and 2 feet, 10 inches thick. Like all of the stela at Quirigua the material is brown sandstone. Guatemala. 1922. The photographer, H. Schmelzer, is in the lower right. No index card. The Ruins of Quirigua, Guatemala - This Maya archeological site is located in the Rio Motagua Valley about 60 miles west of the Gulf of Honduras. It was unknown until just prior [...]
Summary
Album caption: Stela D. This is one of the 12 such at the site. It faces south. The dedication date is A.D. 766. It is recorded on the east side beginning at the top by the first 7 large and very unusual full-figure glyphs. They are probably the most complex, most involved and intricate in the Maya inscriptions. This monument is 19 feet, 6 inches in height by 5 feet in width and 2 feet, 10 inches thick. Like all of the stela at Quirigua the material is brown sandstone. Guatemala. 1922.
The photographer, H. Schmelzer, is in the lower right.
No index card.
The Ruins of Quirigua, Guatemala - This Maya archeological site is located in the Rio Motagua Valley about 60 miles west of the Gulf of Honduras. It was unknown until just prior to 1840 when it was discovered by the Payes brothers fo Guatemala, owners of vast lands in the Valley. It was first made known to the outside world by John L. Stephens, American diplomat and archeologist, and F. Catherwood, English artist, who visited the site in 1840.
The first scientific study was made by A.P. Maudslay, English explorer and archeologist during 1881-1894. Later studies have been made by Peabody Museum of Harvard University, the Archeological Institute of America, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
It is unknown when the site was first occupied by the Maya. The earliest dated monument is Stela T. The dedication date is A.D. 692 (approximately). Dates were recorded as late as about A.D. 850. The carved stela found at Quirigua are among the finest found anywhere in the Maya area.
The photographs on the following pages were taken in 1922 by H. Schmelzer, a German photographer who resided in Belize.
Note: Similar photograph numbers 88, 89, 90 (kjo00088_ kjo00089_ kjo00090).
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