Pajaral

Pajaral, otherwise known as El Pajaral, is the modern name for a mid-sized ruined city of the pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located to the south of the San Pedro Martir river in the Petén department of Guatemala [1]. The name El Pajaral was coined by archaeologist Ian Graham, who discovered the site in the 1970s, and refers to the numerous birds he encountered there during his survey [1]. The immediately visible architecture at Pajaral is characterized by temple-mounds ranging from between 8 and 20 metres in height [1]. Some of these are built atop natural hills: the upper plaza at the site was constructed on a modified hill 300 metres long by 30 metres high [1]. However, the architecture at the heart of Pajaral is massive: for example, the Main Plaza at Pajaral is accessed by a well-preserved, enormous staircase 46 metres wide and perhaps 30 metres long [1].