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| Leaving Kinhunkal, retrace your steps back to Plaza
Manax to the sign marked "To Plaza Lec" and a long and rough-hewn
stairway built for this trail. The ancient Maya did not have an exit
here, and the descent is a clear indication of this. One can imagine
that uninvited guests may have been shown this "backdoor."
Descend cautiously and slowly; you are dropping more than 11 meters
(37 feet) in less than 10 meters (33 feet) of linear distance. It
is the steepest slope you will have to negotiate at this site. |
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| When you reach the bottom of the stairway, turn around
and examine the slope you just came down. To the right of our stairway
look carefully and you will see the remains of the sheer wall of this
acropolis entwined in the roots of yet another Ramón
tree. Here you can see the benefits and the detriments of nature.
The standing Ramón is retaining this wall, but at the same
time, its roots are destabilizing the massive stones that are part
of the facade. Without management of the upper branches of this massive
tree, it could fall and damage the amazing H'mena wall. |
| The Xaman Trail now proceeds into Plaza Lec, the northernmost
plaza at El Pilar. Lec is a gourd used by the Maya as a container.
When dried, this gourd can be used to store or serve foods. Plaza
Lec covers 1/4 of an acre (32 x 39 meters or 105 x 95 feet) and has
only one structure in it, called Xamanaj (northern palace in
Mayan). |
| Xamanaj is a pyramidal platform with a three-room building on its
top. Today, only the back room and corbel vaulted roof remain somewhat
intact, as looters have heavily damaged this structure. Despite this,
the architecture is a very good example of Maya construction. Originally,
the Xamanaj was built with two rooms. Later, the front, and third,
room was added as a renovation. The back vault was still complete
in 1984 when we first mapped here, and one could carefully enter the
room via a looters' hole. Repeated looting and gravity have caused
part of the standing vault to collapse. Recently, we took measures
to reinforce the remaining architecture and protect vulnerable spots
from the rain. This structure was in such danger of deterioration
that the World Monument Fund included El Pilar as one of the 100 most
endangered sites in the world, a list that includes Stonehenge and
the Taj Majal. |
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| North of Plaza Lec is a high strand of forest canopy
known as the "Forbidden Zone." This is a 32 x 32 meter (105
x 105 foot) grid designated for long-term growth study. Initiated
in 1993, researchers from the New York Botanical Garden identified
and tagged plants larger than 1.6 cm DBH (just over 1/2 inch Diameter
Breast Height). In addition, Grinnell College ecologist David Campbell
has periodically monitored growth in this plot. The various species
are categorized in terms of economic utility for humans. Studies at
El Pilar reveal that the majority of plant species are of economic
importance. This is an indication of the ancient Maya presence, as
natural growth does not favor such high proportions of useful flora.
The condition of this plot supports our position that the entire Maya
forest coevolved with the ancient Maya for more than 4000 years. (See
Maya Time Line.) This developmental
relationship between the Maya and their plants structured the nature
of the forest, best termed a feral forest. |
| There is another resting bench
here in Plaza Lec if you need a break. |
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