History

Caracol was established in the Pre-Classic period and grew steadily through the early Classic era as a secondary centre in the Maya lowlands. Its moment of world-historical significance came on 562 AD — a date recorded on its own monuments as a Star War, meaning a military attack coordinated with the heliacal rising of Venus. Acting as a client or ally of Calakmul, Caracol attacked Tikal, captured its king Wak Chan Kawiil and had him sacrificed. Tikal erected no dated monuments for the next 130 years, its trade network collapsed, and its political influence evaporated from the regional record — the longest political interruption of any major Classic Maya city.

Empowered by its defeat of Tikal, Caracol spent the following century in architectural expansion. The Caana palace complex was built and enlarged to its final height of 43 metres — a massive four-tiered palace-pyramid containing multiple vaulted chambers and royal tomb deposits. The city agricultural hinterland was connected to the urban core by approximately 100 km of raised causeways.

Caracol began declining in the late eighth century. Its last dated monument is from 859 AD; by 900 AD the site was largely abandoned. The name Caracol — Spanish for snail or spiral shell — was given in 1937 because of the winding road that led the first archaeologist to the site. Systematic excavation began only in 1985 under Arlen and Diane Chase of the University of Central Florida.