Mam

The Mam were a Maya people of the western Guatemalan highlands. Their Postclassic kingdom was centered on Zaculeu, or Chinabajul, a fortified plateau above the Selegua River.

The K’iche’ conquered Zaculeu in the Postclassic, traditionally dated to the fifteenth century although radiocarbon evidence suggests the twelfth. K’iche’ king Q’uq’umatz died fighting the northern Mam before his son K’iq’ab completed their subjection. In 1525 Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras besieged Zaculeu for months; its last king Kayb’il B’alam surrendered when food ran out.