[Aztlan] Fwd: Gann's seven temples near Laguna Bacalar

[Joel Skidmore]

Hi Lorna 'n' Listeros,

It was Tzibanche (or Dzibanche as it is spelled 
by the project working there today) that Gann 
discovered in 1927. Two years later the famous 
aviator Charles Lindberg flew Alfred Kidder and 
Oliver Ricketson over the site, as reported in 
Ricketson and Kidder, 1930, An Archaeological 
Reconnaissance by Air in Central America, The 
Geographical Review 20(2):177-206.

Below is an excerpt.

Cheers,

Joel

Crossing the Rio Hondo we altered the course to 
33 [degrees], and in 17 minutes, 24 miles, we 
were over the western shore of Lake Bacalar, 
which appears to be much more crescent-shaped 
than shown on the maps, also about five miles 
nearer Chetumal Bay than mapped. From this point 
we headed due west across a very large bajo, on 
the northwestern edge of which the ground rose in 
gentle hillocks along whose skirts were groups of 
suspicious looking elevations believed to be 
mounds but showing no masonry (Ruin I?, Fig. I). 
About 15 minutes, 21 miles, west of Bacalar and 
five miles west of the western edge of the bajo 
was a pronounced north-south whaleback ridge, 
perhaps five miles long. Three miles north of its 
northern end in flat, densely forested country we 
came over a group of five mounds (Ruin II), the 
tallest about 50 feet high and showing among the 
trees that shrouded its summit a fragment of 
masonry wall. We then flew south along the 
western side of the ridge and about three miles 
south of its southern end picked up four steep, 
high pyramids (Ruin III), upon two of which were 
temple ruins, one of them having what seemed to 
be a vertically slotted wall. A small aguada lay 
close to the mounds with a rectangular milpa just 
east of it. From II.30 to II11.40 we were over 
the whaleback and the two groups of ruins, 
circling very low for close observation.

The mounds just described evidently form parts of 
a large and important city. The larger group 
(Ruin III) is doubtless Tzibanche, discovered and 
named by Dr. Thomas Gann in I927 [Gann, 1928, 
Maya Cities, New York, pp. 77 ff.]. The smaller 
group (Ruin II) was not visited by Dr. Gann, 
whose exploration of the region was cut short by 
malaria; and it is possible that associated with 
it may be hieroglyphic monuments, not found at 
Tzibanche, that will permit accurate dating of 
this obviously Old Empire site. Tzibanche is 
located too far south on the Blom-Ricketson map; 
it lies, according to our reckoning, about due 
west of Lake Bacalar; and this position is 
confirmed by the description of Dr. Gann. 
(Ricketson and Kidder 1930:198)

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>From: Lorna Huff <meridamex at hotmail.com>
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>Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 03:22:17 +0000
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>Subject: [Aztlan] Gann's seven temples near Laguna Bacalar
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>Hello Listeros,
>
>  In a 1928 publication entitled "Recently 
>Discovered Maya Temples in Yucatan with Date 
>Sculptured on Wooden Lintel " Thomas Gann 
>describes a series of large temples ranging in 
>height from 100-200 ft with 'lofty' roof combs 
>that he came across while exploring in the 
>"dense forests in the south of YucatanŠ.situated 
>in the bush immediately to the west of Bacalar 
>lagoon."  I have only the first page of the 
>three page article.  It was published in Jan/28 
>by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great 
>Britain, Issue No.5.
>
>Does anyone know what site this is ?  I've ruled 
>out Kinichna, Dzibanche and Kohunlich but I'm 
>not sure about Tzibanche, and a couple of others 
>in the western proximity of Laguna Bacalar that 
>are noted on a National Geographic map, El 
>Suspito and Mario Ancona.  Would it be any of 
>these places?
>
>Thanks for the help!
>
>Lorna Huff
>
>
>
>
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