Bilbao

Bilbao is a Mesoamerican archaeological site about 1 mile from the modern town of Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa in the Escuintla department of Guatemala [1]. Bilbao was a major centre belonging to the Cotzumalhuapa culture with its main occupation dating to the Late Classic (c. AD 600–800) [1]. The archaeological sites of Bilbao, El Baúl and El Castillo were all parts of the same urban centre that extended over about 10 square kilometres [1]. This extended urban area is known as the Cotzumalhuapa Nuclear Zone by archaeologists and Bilbao lies in the southernmost part of this area [1]. Bilbao was occupied since the Preclassic and was the most important site dating to the Preclassic within what became in later periods the Cotzumalhuapa Nuclear Zone [1]. 58 monuments were listed by Parsons at Bilbao, but only 3 remain in situ in Bilbao's Monument Plaza [1]. Ballgame reliefs at Bilbao feature blossoming and fruiting plants symbolic of agricultural fertility [1]. Stelae at Bilbao depict ballplayers with disembodied heads and various sculptures depict dismembered body parts [1].