Mirador, Guatemala

2011 Project Progress Report

Photo: R. D. Hansen

June 2012

Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

Executive Summary In 2011, GHF and FARES made steady progress towards our three primary preservation goals for Mirador:

1. Assist the Guatemalan government in securing UNESCO World Heritage inscription for the cultural and natural landscape of the Mirador Basin;

2. Establish permanent protection for its natural and cultural heritage;

3. Secure an economically sustainable protected area within five years. A major achievement has been the completion and adoption of a management plan for the Mirador Basin by the Guatemalan government, allowing for clear direction in planning and execution of the archaeological park’s development over the next decade. A great deal of progress was also made in conservation of the site’s monuments, in particular Danta Pyramid, Tigre Pyramid and the Jaguar Paw Temple (also known as Structure 34). Efforts also continue in natural conservation, with biodiversity studies being conducted to catalog the species of flora and fauna found in the Mirador Basin, and major advances have been achieved by reaching agreements to buy out forestry concessions to preserve the forests in their current state. More than 60 guides and over 90 park rangers have been trained as part of the project community development efforts, and additional support has been provided as cooking classes to women in the gateway village of Carmelita to better cater to the tastes of foreign visitors.

Above: A portion of the Mirador Basin Project Guatemalan staff.

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Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

2011 Project Progress Planning Completion of the Mirador Master Plan. Sponsored by GHF and PACUNAM, with technical input from FARES and Dyett Partners, the Mirador Cultural and Natural System Archaeological Development Plan was formally presented December 8th to the new government. The Mirador Plan will guide long-term conservation and development priorities and budget over the next decade and also lays the groundwork for the government of Guatemala to nominate Mirador for UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription.

Above: Sponsors of the Mirador Cultural and Natural System Archaeological Development Plan.

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Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

Mapping of the Greater Mirador Area. Some of the most important lesser known areas of Mirador Basin are the surrounding ridges of the Basin. GHF funding has enabled comprehensive mapping of the Basin to enlarge the proposed protected area from 580,000 acres to 880,000 acres.

Above: Outline of the Mirador Basin (in green), defined by the ridge that surrounds the basin; red dots indicate fires from 2001 to 2011, a threat to the little-explored areas. Conservation Archaeological Conservation. In 2011, the site of El Mirador was opened to the public with consolidated monuments, access stairways and signage critical for increasing ecotourism and income generation for economic sustainability.

Above: Tourists on Tigre Pyramid. The structure is an important point for viewing the sunset. Photo: R. D. Hansen

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Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

Tigre Pyramid. Consolidation measures conducted on Tigre Pyramid in the 2011 field season included the refurbishing of the large vats found at the northern base of the structure so as to prepare the mortars, mixtures, and replacement fill materials. These facilities are crucial for the stabilization and consolidation of the art and architecture at the summit, and it is highly likely that the ancient Maya would have had the same sort of vat system to prepare the mortars and mixtures required for the construction of the building.

Above: Vats built to prepare lime mortar for conservation. Photo: R. D. Hansen

Above: Stabilization and consolidation of the basal central stairway of Str. 4D3-2 on Tigre Pyramd. Photo: R. D. Hansen

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Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

Jaguar Paw Temple. This building is one of the most extensively investigated buildings to date at El Mirador. The West mask and panels of the building had been previously excavated from 1980 to 1982 by Dr. Richard Hansen. In order to more adequately protect the art, in 1982, the mask and panels were completely backfilled with sifted soil to a depth of two to three meters. However, because of the finely sifted soil conditions which created ideal conditions for trees and other plants, roots had penetrated uninhibited into the soil and evidence of intrusions into the stucco art of the mask and panels was detected during the excavations in the 2009 and 2010 field seasons. In 2011, a primary focus was to remove the soil covering the mask and panels, retrieving each stucco fragment found out of its original place, and replacing them again into their original position with a fine stucco mortar. This tedious and time consuming endeavor was conducted by conservators Enrique Monterroso Tun, Lic. Josue Guzman, and technician Marco Tulio Enamorado. The carved stucco of the mask and panels was mostly consolidated as well as the areas where stucco was absent but more work will need to be conducted in a future field season to finalize the stabilization.

Above: Façade of the West Mask panel of the Jaguar Paw Temple after stabilization and consolidation. See cover image of the conservation intervention in progress for comparison. Photo: R. D. Hansen

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Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

Danta Pyramid. The Danta Complex is found on the eastern side of the civic center at El Mirador and represents one of the largest ancient structures in the Maya World because of the massive amounts of fill that had been employed in the construction. Conservation of the upper central structure was completed in 2011. Upon completion of the consolidation processes on the summit triadic structures of Danta, the Mirador Basin project began large-scale horizontal and vertical excavations of the third level of Danta. These excavations were conducted under the supervision of Francisco Lopez and Sheryl Carcuz. These excavations will ultimately represent the largest and technically most challenging excavations on Danta because of the extremely vertical condition of the platform and the numerous trees that adorn the west face of the building.

Above: Consolidation of the upper central structure of Danta Pyramid after completion of stabilization and conservation measures. Photo: R. D. Hansen

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Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

Nature Conservation. In 2011, FARES and DeValle University completed a comprehensive Forestry Study. GHF funded the work of Dr. Cesar Castañeda, Dean of Agronomy and Environment at Landivar University, one of the leading experts in tropical forest and flora, to undertake a comprehensive inventory of Mirador's five distinct forests types and thousands of unique species.

Above: Ing. Cesar Castañeda examining plants at El Mirador. Photo: R. D. Hansen Negotiation of Forestry Concessions. PACUNAM is negotiating buy-outs of the Carmelita and other forestry concessions for the remainders of their contracts, sponsored in part by Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, GHF and PACUNAM.

Above: PACUNAM Executive Director Claudia Rosales signing the forestry concession agreement. Photo: PACUNAM

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Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

Community Development Community Development. GHF and Fundesa secured $1.2 million for community development and training around tourism, lodging and services at Mirador. Over 60 certified Mirador Guides are now working along with 90+ Mirador Rangers. As part of community development efforts, cooking classes were provided to residents of Carmelita, the gateway village to the Mirador Basin.

Above: Participants in the Carmelita cooking classes. Photo: PACUNAM Park Protection. One great positive sign is that the Guatemalan government continues to pay for 9 0+ Mirador Rangers that have been trained and equipped by the Mirador Project. Once the Park Management organization is established in the coming year, we expect to have even better enforcement over a wider area, with regular patrols beyond the main archaeological sites. Partnerships Institutional Capacity Building. PACUNAM has used its political power as an association of 14 major companies and families in Guatemala to convene all government ministries, communities and other stakeholders to build their internal capabilities – management, legal, enforcement, other to jointly plan and execute critical functions for the protection of Mirador. Park Management. We expect Mirador will be managed by a Board of Directors including Tourism (INGUAT), Culture (IDAEH), and Protected Areas Council (CONAP), with other government, community and private sector leaders. This management structure is modeled after Tikal National Park that has sustained its protected areas despite major threats.

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Mirador, Guatemala – 2011 Progress Report

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About Global Heritage Fund GHF’s mission is to save the Earth’s most significant and endangered cultural heritage sites in developing countries and regions through scientific excellence and community involvement. Founded in 2002 by Dr. Ian Hodder of Stanford University Archaeology Center and Jeff Morgan, GHF is the only non-profit international conservancy working exclusively in developing countries, where there are many threatened heritage sites but few financial and technical resources and little expertise to scientifically conserve them. GHF goals include:

• Preserving structures and physical evidence of cultural heritage • Advancing education about, and protection of, endangered heritage sites • Advancing community involvement and benefits from preservation

Our work takes each selected heritage project through a process called Preservation by Design, encompassing master planning, scientific conservation, community involvement and partnerships to provide enduring protection, management and financial support. GHF currently has 12 projects in 10 countries, including China, India, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru and Turkey. While the nature and depth of each of our projects differ, one theme runs throughout: that the monuments, art and architecture of our ancestors can, if respected, bring lasting cultural, social and economic benefits to civil society. GHF’s mission is to help people realize the value of these assets in places where the sites are all too often neglected – or worse. GHF invests in countries and regions that have seen few financial or technical resources for cultural-asset preservation and development. Holistic and effective preservation of cultural resources requires extreme care and planning to make preservation economically viable to local stakeholders. GHF goes beyond heritage conservation: We provide catalytic funding, site planning and technical training for local people to become capable stewards, giving them the opportunity to contribute more easily to their families and communities. GHF’s projects also have benefits that surpass their primary conservation and development objectives; our work holds particular significance because the monuments that we select are rich symbols of national identity and patrimony. For more information on GHF’s mission and projects, see:

www.globalheritagefund.org

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Palo Alto, California 94301 USA Tel: (650) 325-7520 Fax: (650) 325-7511

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