NaraNjo-Sa'al - World Monuments Fund

Figure 12. Building B-4, detail
of stairs and balustrades dating
from the Preclassic period.
Edificación B-4, detalle de la
escalinata y balaustrada del
periodo Preclásico.
a northern marker for the summer solstice, a southern marker for the winter solstice,
and a central point for observing the equinoxes. The eastern face of the radial pyramid
structure (B18), which had staircases on all four sides, was used as a solar observation
point. The layout of Naranjo-Sa’al’s solar observatory bears striking resemblance to
the well-known Middle Preclassic “E-Group” structures found at the site of Uaxactún,
north of Tikal.
This early period also witnessed the construction of the two principal causeways
(sacbéob) that transit the site north-south and east-west, connecting the Main Plaza to
a pyramid group built atop an acropolis that marks the northern boundary of the city
(D1) and a second, larger pyramid group to the east (C9).
Within the early levels of pyramid C9, stucco walls and floors were found in association
with a natural cave carved out of a limestone hill. Between the lowest floor and
the natural stone, researchers collected the remains of snail shells (pomacea flagellata)
and sherds of ceramics similar to types known in the literature as red Juventud and
Canhel unslipped, along with fragments of incense burners and chips of obsidian and
flint—offerings that suggest C9 had been established as an important center of worship
and pilgrimage at this early date.
Low platforms made of limestone have been found flanking the causeway leading
to the North Acropolis (D1), which served as foundations of Middle Preclassic period
dwellings, along with a number of household middens. In addition, archeologists have
found the remains of stucco floors and walls built over the limestone that correspond
to a plinth that runs into the deepest construction fill of what in time would become
the first manifestation of the structures atop acropolis B5 to the north of the astronomical
observatory. The remains of two large Preclassic platforms were also found,
along with several refuse pits, beneath the ball courts that sit to the north of the eastwest
causeway. Further demolition debris from this period has been found beneath
building B24.
Decorative elements dating to this period are evident in the substructure of temple
B4 in the form of panels leaning on the façade, a curved balustrade, and deep moldings
covered in a thick layer of yellowish stucco. [Figure 12]
By the Late Preclassic period (first century a.d.), the urban plan of the capital of
Naranjo-Sa’al was fully established, including the layouts of the building groups atop
four of the “triadic acropolises” (D1, B5, C9, and C10), the structures making up the
Royal Palace compound (B15), as well as the intersecting causeways (sacbéob) that
connected them [Figure 13]. The east-west sacbé was a processional path that began
on the east bank of the bajo, traversing the site to C9; the north-south sacbé connected
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