Japan Donates $6M to Mayan
Heritage Centre
GUATEMALA - Japan has donated $6
million to build a conservation and research
center at Tikal in northern Guatemala, the
largest archaeological site and urban center
of the Maya civilization, a Japanese
diplomatic source said Monday.
The complex, to hold laboratories for
archaeological research and a digital
archive center, will also store and display
Mayan relics at Tikal National Park, a
popular Unesco World Heritage Site near the
Belize border, said Japanese embassy
official Jisasi Ueno.
The center would likely be opened 18 months
after construction begins, said assistant
secretary Hideyuki Takaoka of the embassy's
Office of Technical and Financial
Cooperation, although no word was given when
building would start.
Tikal was the most powerful city state in
the Mayan world—construction began in 4 BC
but it existed as the ruling urban center
from around 200 to 900 AD. Evidence suggest
the site was abandoned towards the end of
the 10th century.
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