Dos Pilas is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization located in what is now the department of Petén, Guatemala. It dates to the Late Classic Period, and was founded by an offshoot of the dynasty of the great city of Tikal in AD 629 in order to control trade routes in the Petexbatún region, particularly the Pasión River. In AD 648 Dos Pilas broke away from Tikal and became a vassal state of Calakmul, although the first two kings of Dos Pilas continued to use the same emblem glyph that Tikal did. It was a predator state from the beginning, conquering Itzan, Arroyo de Piedra and Tamarindito. Dos Pilas and a nearby city, Aguateca, eventually became the twin capitals of a single ruling dynasty. The kingdom as a whole has been named as the Petexbatun Kingdom, after Lake Petexbatún, a body of water draining into the Pasión River.
The Central Plaza of Dos Pilas.
Panel 10 from Dos Pilas was originally a stela from neighbouring Arroyo de Piedra that was moved to Dos Pilas and re-erected after Dos Pilas conquered that city.
Stela 5, Detail showing a Jaguar Skin.
Cave entrance near El Duende
The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. The civilization is also noted for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system.
El Castillo, at Chichen Itza
Detail of Lintel 26 from Yaxchilan
Stela D from Quiriguá, representing king Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat
Calakmul was one of the most important Classic period cities.