Seibal

Seibal , known as El Ceibal in <a href="/facts/Spanish_language/95BgYNfv">Spanish</a>, is a <a href="/facts/Mesoamerican_chronology/8xNnpP70">Classic Period</a> archaeological site of the <a href="/facts/Maya_civilization/JMynpRSR">Maya civilization</a> located in the northern <a href="/facts/Pet%25C3%25A9n_Department/aNuDo468">Petén Department</a> of <a href="/facts/Guatemala/MoMcSnla">Guatemala</a>, about 100 km SW of <a href="/facts/Tikal/nu2TYFvd">Tikal</a>. It was the largest city in the <a href="/facts/Pasi%25C3%25B3n_River/bJgkIqXg">Pasión River</a> region.
The site was occupied from the <a href="/facts/Mesoamerican_chronology/8xNnpP70">Preclassic Period</a> through to the <a href="/facts/Mesoamerican_chronology/8xNnpP70">Terminal Classic</a>, with a significant hiatus. The principal phase of occupation dates to the <a href="/facts/Mesoamerican_chronology/8xNnpP70">Late Preclassic</a> (400 BC – AD 200), followed by a decline in the <a href="/facts/Mesoamerican_chronology/8xNnpP70">Early Classic</a> (AD 200–600). Seibal experienced a significant recovery in the <a href="/facts/Mesoamerican_chronology/8xNnpP70">Terminal Classic</a> immediately prior to its complete abandonment, reaching its second peak from about 830 to 890, with a population estimated at 8–10,000 people. The dates on the <a href="/facts/Maya_stelae/Abla0KQM">stelae</a> at Seibal are unusually late, with monuments still being dedicated after the <a href="/facts/Classic_Maya_collapse/Kdv6CHsQ">Classic Maya collapse</a> had engulfed most of the Petén region. Many of Seibal's late monuments show artistic influence from central <a href="/facts/Mexico/IT5bwhdh">Mexico</a> and from the <a href="/facts/Gulf_Coast_of_Mexico/Ba7t9ykF">Gulf Coast of Mexico</a>.
The early history of the site is lost due to the catastrophic defeat of the polity in AD 735 by the nearby <a href="/facts/Petexbatun/zhp8o8Ml">Petexbatun</a> kingdom with its capital at <a href="/facts/Dos_Pilas/Fs55cWpK">Dos Pilas</a>, resulting in the destruction of its earlier <a href="/facts/Monumental_sculpture/VyhpRWMD">sculpted monuments</a>. Seibal was reduced to being a <a href="/facts/Vassal_state/k9usEEMA">vassal state</a> until the destruction of the Petexbatun kingdom in the late 8th century AD. In AD 830 a new elite installed itself at the site with the arrival of <a href="/facts/Wat%2527ul_Chatel/zgg4krST">Wat'ul Chatel</a> from <a href="/facts/Ucanal/56f9TkKI">Ucanal</a> to the east. This new arrival reinvigorated Seibal and allowed it to last to the dawn of the 10th century, well after the <a href="/facts/Classic_Maya_collapse/Kdv6CHsQ">Classic Maya collapse</a> had engulfed most of the region.

Seibal open-in-new

Seibal