October 25, 2010

When it comes to the rich historic heritage of the Southwest and the influence it has on the types of jewelry, there are varied designs. The historic heritage of Albuquerque has something to contribute to the jewelry designs that are the most popular today in the Southwest. When you consider the historic significance of Albuquerque jewelry in the trading center background of the town that was founded in 1706, you can see why it became a major trading center for the Native Americans, Spaniards and the African, Asian and Anglo influence is evident. As a major crossroads of the Southwest, there are influences that are evident in the food, architecture, art and Albuquerque jewelry styles you see today.

Of course, when you are traveling the Southwest, the one thing you will notice about Albuquerque jewelry is that the prices are more competitive than the pricey metropolitan center of Santa Fe and the prices on Albuquerque jewelry are more suited to the mixed variety of people that love the historic heritage and trading center background of Albuquerque. It’s not unusual to find all kinds of Native American jewelry craftsmanship in jewelry stores alongside highest quality designer diamonds, such as Varna, ArtCarved, Princess of Hearts, Scott Kay, GemEast, HeartStar and Diana, Sholdt or Mark Schneider.

In fact, these designer names are the same as you will find in the highest quality jewelry stores on Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive, but Albuquerque jewelry offers more affordable pricing and it isn’t unusual to find many couples from Santa Fe making the jaunt to Albuquerque jewelry stores because the pricing is more affordable, while the quality of the diamonds and jewelry designs is as good and might be better. It is this rich historic heritage and trading center background that has made Albuquerque one of the top destinations for some of the designer jewelry that is most sought after, including modern top designers, like ELLE, Pandora and Nicole Barr.

When you consider the price advantages that are offered by making a trip to the area, there are many people that still consider it the crossroads of the Southwest and many newly engaged couples will come to the town from hundreds of miles in search of the perfect Albuquerque jewelry and diamonds to commemorate their love or mark a special occasion. In fact, there are some of the jewelry stores and shops that are moving from Santa Fe to be part of the heritage of this historic town on the banks of the Rio Grande.

While the food and ethnic variety of shopping are reasons that people love visiting Albuquerque, the historic heritage of this lively Southwest trading center offers Native American dances, jewelry and pottery, and many modern Albuquerque jewelry designs and diamond choices that rival those found in New York or Los Angeles, but at prices that are more conservative.

When looking for one of the Southwest’s most popular towns with ethnic heritage and historic significance, Albuquerque remains a popular trading post town and the historic heritage mixes the finest top-quality diamonds with jewelry by modern top designers that can be found in the Albuquerque jewelry stores, like Butterfield Jewelers on San Pedro NE in Albuquerque.

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March 25, 2010

Caracol or El Caracol is the name given to a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately 25 miles south of Xunantunich  and the town of San Ignacio Cayo, at an elevation of 1500 feet (460 m) above sea-level, in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. The site was the most important political centre of Lowland Maya during the Classic Period within Belize.

Discovery

The site was first reported by a native logger named Rosa Mai, who came across its remains in 1937 while searching for mahogany hardwood trees to exploit. Mai later reported the site to the archaeological commission for British Honduras, as the British colony, later to become independent Belize, was known at the time. In 1938 the archaeological commissioner, A.H. Anderson, visited the site along with a colleague H.B. Jex, spending two weeks in preliminary surveys and noting a number of carved monuments, stelae and Maya inscriptions. It was Anderson who gave the site its name —from the Spanish: caracol “snail, shell”, but more generally meaning spiral- or volute-shaped— apparently on account of the winding access road that led to the site.[1]

History

Ancient Caracol as a site was occupied as early as 1200 BCE. Its greatest period of construction was in the Maya Classic period, with over 40 monuments dated between 485CE to 889CE which record the dynastic sequence of the rulers. All are in Classic Choltian, the prestige tongue of the Lowland Maya. Its real name is provisionally translated from its glyph, as of 2003, ox witz ha (hispanicised, “Oxhuitza”) or “place of three hills”; K’antumaak is also possible.[2]

The town grew into one of the largest ancient Maya cities, covering some 65 square miles (168 km²) with an estimated peak population of about 120,000, or possibly as many as 180,000 people.

Caracol was at first a client of Mutal (at the Tikal site) 70 km to the northwest. Mutal’s influence weakened during the mid sixth century; losing control of Naranjo, between the two cities, to rival Calakmul. In 553 CE Mutal’s king Double Bird appointed a new lord over Caracol in attempt to outflank Naranjo. But then Caracol also allied itself with Calakmul. Three years later, Tikal declared an “axe war” against Caracol – “a war with intent to destroy” – and defeated it; but not, it turned out, decisively. In 562, Lord Kan (“Water”) I of Caracol, alongside Calakmul, declared a “star war” against Mutal – a holy war, planned in accordance with astrology – and captured and sacrificed Double Bird. This event is seemingly concurrent with archaeological and epigraphic evidence indicating the beginning of the Tikal Mid-Classic Hiatus, when an apparent decline in the Tikal site’s population, a cessation of monument building, and the destruction of certain monuments in the Great Plaza occurred as Caracol’s population and urban development seemingly skyrocketed.[4] After that, the Tikal site took on cultural characteristics of Caracol.

Lord Kan I passed on his throne to the eldest of two brothers 26 June, 599. His younger brother succeeded him 9 March 618 and took the name Lord Kan II. He performed a ritual of alliance in Calakmul’s territory the following January.

Caracol’s sometime ally Naranjo by this time had meanwhile made feelers toward Mutal. So, in 28 May 626, Lord Kan II pre-emptively attacked Naranjo. He attacked again 4 May 627, and sacrificed its king. This destabilised Naranjo, provoking a third attack 27 December 631. He did it a fourth time 4 March 636. On 24 November 637, he capped it off by celebrating his first katun of reign at Naranjo itself; and, on 6 December 642, he imposed the Hieroglyphic Stairs monument upon it.

In 682, Tok-Chan-K’awil of the Tikal royal family-in-exile at Dos Pilas installed his daughter as queen in Naranjo, removing it again from Caracol’s demesne. In 800 CE, Hok K’awil captured the lord of Ucanal. The last recorded date in Caracol (and Choltian-speaking Belize) is 859 CE, on Stele 10.

Excavations, investigations, and modern development

The site was first noted and documented in archaeological terms in 1937. More extensive explorations and documention of the site was undertaken by Linton Satterthwaite of the University of Pennsylvania in 1951 and 1953. A project of archaeological excavations and restorations of the ancient structures at Caracol started in 1985 and is ongoing. The project is currently directed by Drs. Arlen and Diane Chase of the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The site is maintained by residential wardens from the Belize Institute of Archaeology, a sub-division of the National Institute of Culture and History, a government-run agency.

The site currently accommodates an average of 15-20 tourists per day, with greater numbers during the peak season around Easter. A museum to hold the large monuments found at the site is currently being constructed. A visitor center is already at the site, and recent developments include new directional and informational signs and a house for the residential staff.

The only road Caracol may be accessed by is paved for the last ten miles and leads to the Western Highway between San Ignacio and Belmopan and to Santa Elena.

Caana (“sky-palace”) is the largest building at Caracol. It remains one of the largest man-made structures in Belize.

Other area sites

Other Mayan sites within the Cayo province include Xunantunich, Cahal Pech and Chaa Creek.

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