Archaeologists Uncover Sak-Bahlan: The Lost "Land of the White Jaguar," Last Stronghold of Rebel Maya in Chiapas

Archaeologists Uncover Sak-Bahlán: The Lost “Land of the White Jaguar,” Last Stronghold of Rebel Maya in Chiapas




Deep in the rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, archaeologists believe they have uncovered the lost city of Sak-Bahlán, known as the “Land of the White Jaguar” — the final refuge of the last Maya rebels who resisted Spanish conquest for more than a century.

After remaining hidden for over 300 years, the once-mythical city of Sak-Bahlán has likely been rediscovered by an international archaeological team co-directed by Dr. Brent Woodfill (Winthrop University, USA) and Dr. Yuko Shiratori (Rissho University, Japan). The groundbreaking discovery sheds light on the Lakandon-Ch’olti’es, Maya groups who remained independent long after the fall of their capital, Lacam-Tún, in 1586.

GIS Technology Leads the Way

This remarkable find was made possible by Josuhé Lozada Toledo, a researcher from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), who developed a predictive model using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Lozada based his calculations on historical records, particularly the 17th-century letters of Spanish friar Diego de Rivas, who described the route taken to and from Sak-Bahlán in the 1690s.

De Rivas’ writings described a four-day journey on foot followed by two days by canoe along the Lacantún River, eventually reaching the confluence with the Pasión River. By reconstructing these paths using ArcGIS Pro software, Lozada input various variables — terrain, water bodies, vegetation, and even the average load carried per person — to estimate a realistic search zone.



The archaeological project has conducted two field seasons to map the site and build test pits to determine its temporal occupation. Photo: Josuhé Lozada, CINAH Chiapas
The archaeological project has conducted two field seasons to map the site and build test pits to determine its temporal occupation. Photo: Josuhé Lozada, CINAH Chiapas

More:
https://arkeonews.net/archaeologists-uncover-sak-bahlan-the-lost-land-of-the-white-jaguar-last-stronghold-of-rebel-maya-in-chiapas/