Object description

Kʼatepan , also known as Yolchonabʼ , is an archaeological site of the ancient Maya civilization located 1 kilometre to the east of the modern town of San Mateo Ixtatán, in the Huehuetenango Department of Guatemala. The name Kʼatepan translates as "old church", while the alternate name of Yolchonabʼ means "in the village". The site consists of a small temple plaza in front of two large terraces set against a mountainside, accessed by broad stairways. The site was first described by Guatemalan historian Adrián Recinos in 1913. Recinos considered Kʼatepan to be the most important ceremonial site in the northern Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountains. A preliminary map of Kʼatepan was produced in 2007.