Seibal

Ceibal was a Maya city on high ground above the Pasión River in southern Petén. Its plazas and carved monuments overlooked a waterway linking the interior with the Usumacinta. In 735 its ruler was captured by the neighboring kingdom of Dos Pilas. The city later revived, and in 830 a new lord, Wat’ul Chatel, was installed. Its ninth-century sculpture displays a striking mixture of traditions, but by around 900 the great center had largely been abandoned.