Mixco Viejo (/ˈmiskoˈβieχo/) ("Old Mixco"), occasionally spelt Mixcu Viejo, is an archaeological site in the north east of the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala, some 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the north of Guatemala City and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the junction of the rivers Pixcaya and Motagua. It is a moderate sized ruined city of the Postclassic Maya civilization.
The archaeological site and tourist attraction of Mixco Viejo was named after being erroneously associated with the Postclassic Poqomam capital referred to in colonial records by that name. The archaeological site has now been identified as Jilotepeque Viejo, the capital of the Chajoma Kaqchikel kingdom.[1] To distinguish between the two, the ruins of the Chajoma capital are now referred to as Mixco Viejo (Jilotepeque Viejo) while the former Poqomam capital is referred to as Mixco Viejo (Chinautla Viejo).
This confusion in the identification of the site has hindered study. The Chajoma capital has been investigated archaeologically, under the assumption that it was the Poqomam capital. Although the Chajoma ruins of Jilotepeque Viejo have been well described archaeologically, the archaeological data has been associated with the history of a different site entirely.[2] Doubts about the identification of the archaeological site were first raised by Robert M. Carmack, who realised that the supposed Poqomam capital was not located within the Poqomam linguistic area but rather within the linguistic area of the Kaqchikels. The Poqomam who were settled in the new colonial settlement of Mixco by the Spanish had a long history of fine polychrome ceramic production, but no evidence of such production had been recovered during archaeological investigations, and the ruins were considered too distant from colonial Mixco.[3]
Chinautla Viejo was attacked by the invading Spanish in 1525; the first two attacks against the heavily fortified city were unsuccessful. The besieged city received Poqomam reinforcements that were comprehensively defeated on an open field of battle, with the Spanish cavalry being decisive. The capture of Poqomam prisoners allowed the Spanish to discover the location of a cave providing a secret entrance to the city. A third assault broke the month-long siege, allowing the Spanish to take the city. The surviving inhabitants were moved to another settlement and Pedro de Alvarado ordered the city to be burned.
Jilotepeque Viejo was settled by the Chajoma in order to provide a capital that was safer from attack from the hostile Iximche Kaqchikel kingdom than their previous capital. In spite of this, the city fell under the domination of Iximche and the city's architecture, spread in a number of fortified groups along a ridge surrounded by deep ravines, shows a mixture of Chajoma and Kaqchikel styles. At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Chajoma of Jilotepeque Viejo may have initially allied themselves with the Spanish together with Iximche and have joined in the general Kaqchikel uprising against the Spanish in 1524. The site was abandoned after the conquest and never reoccupied.
MixcoViejo (/ˈmisko ˈβieχo/) ("Old Mixco"), occasionally spelt Mixcu Viejo, is an archaeological site in the north east of the Chimaltenango department...
Maya monarchs, also known as Maya kings and queens, were the centers of power for the Maya civilization. Each Maya city-state was controlled by a dynasty...
had their capital at the archaeological site currently known as MixcoViejo (Old Mixco), apparently known to the Chajoma by a variety of names, including...
Ballcourt marker from the Postclassic site of MixcoViejo in Guatemala. This sculpture depicts Kukulkan, jaws agape, with the head of a human warrior...
Bonampak and Toniná. In the Guatemalan Highlands are Iximche, Kaminaljuyu, MixcoViejo, and Qʼumarkaj (also known as Utatlán). In the northern Petén lowlands...
Sololá. The Chajoma were another Kaqchikel-speaking people; the ruins of MixcoViejo have been identified as their capital. Iximché was conquered by the Spanish...
Mirador El Tigre La Danta Kaminaljuyu Lamanai Los Monos Lubaantun Mayapan MixcoViejo Moral Reforma Nim Li Punit Palenque: Temple of the Inscriptions San Andrés...
city of MixcoViejo has been the source of some confusion. The archaeological site now known as MixcoViejo has been proven to be Jilotepeque Viejo, the...
groups include the K'iche' of Utatlán, the Mam in Zaculeu, the Poqomam in MixcoViejo, and the Kaqchikel at Iximche in the Guatemalan highlands. The Pipil...
the Guatemala border, in the departments of Santa Ana and Ahuachapan. MixcoViejo "Resultados Censo 2018" (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Guatemala...
Ballcourt marker from the Postclassic site of MixcoViejo in Guatemala. This sculpture depicts Kukulkan, jaws agape, with the head of a human warrior...
Chimaltenango is also home to the Maya civilization ruins of Iximché and MixcoViejo, in addition to many smaller sites. As of the 2018 census, the population...
reported, such as Puerto Escondido, in the Sula Valley, near La Lima, and Hato Viejo in the department of Olancho, where a jadeite statuette has been found that...
Coba, Iximche, Monte Albán, Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Yagul, Xochicalco, MixcoViejo, and Zaculeu. Ballcourts were public spaces used for a variety of elite...
common at the site. Brown bowls are of a type also found in Zaculeu and MixcoViejo, both of which also had a Late Postclassic occupation. Three-legged metates...
cities, including Chuitinamit, the capital of the Tzutuhils (1524); MixcoViejo, capital of the Poqomam; and Zaculeu, capital of the Mam (1525). He was...
Ixlu Ixtonton Ixtutz La Joyanca Kaminaljuyu Kinal Machaquila El Mirador MixcoViejo Montana (Mesoamerican site) Monte Alto culture Motul de San José La Muerta...
reach the Sublime Porte, Jean Frangipani, sets out for Constantinople. MixcoViejo, capital of the Pocomans Maya State, falls to the Spanish conquistadores...
reach the Sublime Porte, Jean Frangipani, sets out for Constantinople. MixcoViejo, capital of the Pocomans Maya State, falls to the Spanish conquistadores...
Guatemalan territory, onto Huehuetenango, Quetzaltenango, Chimaltenango and MixcoViejo. The southern Isthmus or Soconusco route continued from Tapanatepec to...