The archaeological site of Takalik Abaj lies on the Pacific piedmont of Guatemala, and over a century of sporadic archaeological investigations has primarily focused on the site’s monumental stone carvings. The attention placed on the stone sculpture is understandable. Takalik Abaj is a K’iche’ Maya term for “standing stones,” and is descriptive of the extensive collection of carved stones at the site. Three hundred and twenty six stone monuments have been registered at the site, with 124 noted as being carved. This assemblage is considered one of the most eclectic in all of Mesoamerica and an important component of the corpus of Mesoamerican stone sculpture that the DHHC and Principal Investigators Dr. Travis Doering and Dr. Lori Collins have worked to document using digital and geospatial mapping strategies and are a significant contribution to the Meso3D online digital collection.

This project is in collaboration with and has the consent of Miguel Orrego Corzo and Christa Schieber de Lavarreda, Directors of the Proyecto Nacional Tak’alik Ab’aj; the Ministry of Culture and Sports; the Director General of Cultural and Natural Patrimony; and the Guatemalan Institute of Anthropology and History. Funding for the field documentation and report was provided by the National Science Foundation, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Archaeology Program Grant number BCS-0911078.

Full report of fieldwork here.

Find our Meso3D database collection here.

Find our 3D models for Tak’alik Ab’aj here.