Ixtutz
Ixtutz () was an important Classic Period Maya city located south of Ixkun in southeastern Petén, Guatemala. Ixtutz is situated in the valley of the Poxte River in the western portion of the Maya Mountains. The site was inhabited during the Preclassic Period to the end of the Terminal Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology and dominated the western portion of the Dolores valley. In the Late Classic Ixtutz was one of the most important centres in the Dolores region, competing fiercely with other sites in the area, and maintained strong political relations with the cities of the southwestern Petén such as Dos Pilas and Machaquila. Location Ixtutz is located in the municipality of Dolores, southwest of that town, in the Petén Department of northern Guatemala. The site is situated at an altitude of above mean sea level in the valley of the Poxte River, surrounded by hilly terrain. The river itself flows westwards of the site. An area of is protected by the Guatemalan Institute of Anthropology and History. This area is covered by primary rainforest, although the surrounding countryside has been cleared for agriculture. Other Maya archaeological sites in the Ixtutz area include Ixtonton at , Ixkun at , Ixcol at , Moquena at , El Tzic at , Sukche at , Ixcoxol at , Nocsos at , Curucuitz at , Mopan 2 at , Tesik at , Ixec at and Ixac at . History Ixtutz was first occupied in the Late Preclassic and occupation continued through the Classic Period. The city appears to have already been important before it started erecting sculpted monuments in the Late Classic. During the Late Classic Ixtutz was one of the five most important Maya cities in the northwestern portion of the Maya Mountains, along with Sacul, Ixtonton, Ixkun and Curucuitz. Around 760 AD the political organization of the region appears to have changed and the rulers of Ixtutz and neighbouring Sacul began to erect sculpted monuments with hieroglyphic texts and to use their own Emblem Glyphs. In the late 8th century AD Ixtutz was subordinate to one of the Petexbatún cities to the west. A text on Stela 4 mentions that Ixtutz's overlord came from the city of Mutuul and this was likely to have been either the kingdom of Seibal-La Amelia or Aguateca, although at this time four different kingdoms in the region were claiming the Mutuul title of the fallen Dos Pilas kingdom. A stela dated to AD 780 records a ceremony performed by king Aj Yaxjal B’aak and attended by his overlord from the Petexbatún, most likely to have been Tan Te' K'inich of Aguateca, and 28 other lords from both within the Dolores valley and further afield. Ixtutz experienced a decrease in activity during the Terminal Classic period, after AD 825 all sites in the region ceased to erect further monuments although occupation continued. Ixtutz and other centres in the Dolores region were finally abandoned at the end of the Terminal Classic. Modern history The site was first