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La Blanca is a Maya archaeological site in the municipality of Melchor de Mencos in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala.〔Muñoz Cosme 2006, p.340.〕 The site is located in the lower reaches of the Mopan River valley and features a large acropolis complex.〔Muñoz Cosme 2006, pp.340-341.〕 Activity at the site has been dated as far back as the Early Classic (AD 250–600), with principal occupation of the site occurring in the Late Classic period (AD 600–900),〔Muñoz Cosme 2006, p.343.〕 although some level of occupation continued into the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200).〔Vidal Lorenzo et al 2007, p.563.〕 La Blanca occupied a frontier zone between the northeastern and southeastern Petén regions and the site is dominated by the acropolis, an especially well built palace complex.〔Vidal Lorenzo 2006, p.790.〕 The city appears to have been an administrative centre with comparatively little emphasis upon religious or ceremonial activity.〔Vidal Lorenzo et al 2007, p.575.〕 It is likely that La Blanca was a subsidiary of a major Maya city such as Yaxha or Naranjo, given the complete absence of hieroglyphic texts and sculpted monuments,〔 and archaeologists presume that La Blanca served as a frontier post or trading centre.〔 During the Late Classic there was greater public access to the acropolis; as the threat of warfare grew during the Terminal Classic (AD 800-900), access became much more restricted. The end of formal occupation of the city in the Terminal Classic appears to have been violent, with evidence of a battle recovered during excavations of the acropolis.〔 Refugees appear to have occupied the city centre immediately after the collapse of formal settlement at La Blanca, but they abandoned the city for good in the 11th century, after which it was never reoccupied. The acropolis buildings contain inscribed graffiti dating to the last phase of occupation in the Early Postclassic, including human and animal figures, deities, temples and courtly scenes. Colonial graffiti is also evident from the visit to the ruins by captain Pedro Montañés in the middle of the 18th century. ==Location== La Blanca is accessed by a dirt road leading to the highway linking Flores with Melchor de Mencos; the dirt road joins the highway at La Pólvora.〔 In the other direction this road leads approximately to a village, also called La Blanca;〔 this modern village extends along the shores of a small lake.〔 The archaeological site is located to the south of a range of hills reaching a maximum height of .〔Vidal Lorenzo & Muñoz Cosme undated 2, p.45.〕 The site occupies a small pocket of forest amongst an extensive region of cleared agricultural land.〔Vidal Lorenzo 2006, p.791.〕 The agricultural land closest to the ruins is largely dedicated to livestock grazing, particularly cattle and horses.〔 La Blanca is located close to the Mopan River and its tributary, the Salsipuedes River.〔 Some of the land between the ruins and the rivers is subject to frequent flooding, a factor that must have had some impact upon the inhabitants of the city.〔 The forest covering the archaeological site reaches an average height of .〔 It contains around 60 tree species,〔 among which the most notable are breadnut trees (''Brosimum alicastrum'') and corozo palms (''Orbignya cohune'').〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「La Blanca, Peten」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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