A triadic structure has a central building (in this case Structure 34) and two smaller temples on the sides facing each other (structures 33 and 35) and is characteristic of Late Pre Classic Maya architecture at the Mirador Basin. (The Late Pre Classic Maya period goes from 300 BC to around 150 AD). This is one of the most studied buildings at El Mirador and it probably has the oldest standing wall in Mesoamerica, in the south part of the structure.

Further studies in the 70s included opening a digging pit, where several ceramic pieces were found. These were stored at Harvard University and analyzed by Donald Forsyth, a renowned ceramics specialist, in 1980. He concluded that the pieces were dated in the Late Pre Classic period.

In 1979 a new Mirador Project coordinated by Washington’s Catholic University and Brigham Young University based in Provo, Utah,   started studying the site. Richard Hansen, who had graduated from Brigham Young came to this project as a student and led the studies on this structure where he found more Pre Classic ceramics, but this time on the structure's inner floors on the main platform.

This wall, on the south side of Structure 34, is believed to be the oldest standing structure in Mesoamerica. El Mirador Mar. 2009

Facing Structure 34 the Pre Classic art depicting a Jaguar Paw on the right hand side still shows the original painting and is currently being restored byt he Mirador Basin Project. El Mirador, Jul 2010.

After 3 years of conducting more studies the complexity of Pre Classic architecture was revealed in the façades and the structure's architectonic art, as well as by the stairways, platforms, floors and in the construction techniques. Evidence of a sub structure and then the relation to the rest of the Tigre Complex were evaluated.

Reminiscing on the past, Hansen recounts a fond memory emotionally, “Jaguar Paw is especially personal because when I was assigned to excavate on that building in 1979 they told me that Hansen's building has to be a Classic period building. As I came down on the floor of the building, this Pre Classic pottery was still sitting in place on the floor! Pre Classic pottery! A thousand years earlier than what is was supposed to be! And for a minute it struck me that I was the only guy in the world that knew this.”

Recently, the main objective of the Mirador Basin Project related to this structure, has been to consolidate and stabilize it and to prevent further deterioration, thereby preventing its collapse over time. Damage to the structure was caused mainly by natural agents; particularly by the growth of trees, whose roots had caused the structure’s collapse, as well as by erosion caused by rain.

To successfully achieve its conservation a thorough inspection of the building took place at El Mirador’s Structure 34. This took place throughout consecutive seasons as well as by means of the placement of a metal structure with a roof made of polycarbonate, a material that would protect the structure from ultraviolet rays and rain.

Structure 34 has stuccoed panels with large masks. Each panel exhibits stuccoed bas reliefs with the shape of Jaguar Claws. Researchers at El Mirador found that a ruler by the name of Yok'noom Yi'ch'ak K'ak or "Great Flaming Jaguar Claw" may have been responsible for ordering this structure be built.

The structure is dated during the Late Pre Classic period, between 200 BC and 100 AD. However, there is an internal tunnel, leading to Structure 34 sub, which is not only earlier than the outer part of the building, but it also has an east-west orientation.

The Maya had abandoned that building and mutilated it. We don’t know why, but we do know this from the plant evidence, mostly ramon (Brosimium alicastrum), whose leaves had fallen on the building over the course of several years thus revealing the building had become abandoned. (The samples were studied by Steve Bozarth). The Pre Classic Maya of El Mirador had left the building untouched for many years before they rebuilt the outer part, now magnificently decorated with masks and the iconic jaguar claw and ear spool.

The Maya had abandoned this particular structure in the Late Pre Classic and remodeled it, buried the previous building, filled it with construction filling and then reoriented it to 180 degrees toward the plaza and El Tigre pyramid on a north-south axis.

Structure 34's left pannel, restored. The small rectangles allow you to see the original stucco below the layer of stucco used in its restoration. El Mirador, Jul. 2008

Restoration is an effort that requires team coordination ranging from the use of force to minute and very sophisticated processes. El Mirador, Jul. 2008

Richard Hansen, Director of the Mirador Basin Project, shared information with us about Structure 34, a Late Pre Classic building that was built around the year 200 BC. “It's a triadic structure 17 meters high that is burying an even older building,” he indicated. We were able to capture him on film within the structure in August 2006 and he gave us the following explanation: “This is an exposed wall. This has not seen the sun's light since 200 years before Christ. But when they buried it [the Maya], it was already in bad shape.

It was in very bad shape, we don't know why: if it was mutilated by them or if it was damaged…we don't know why, but it was already partly damaged by them. But after they covered it with this filling…” he continued as he pointed to layers and layers of rocks & construction filling, “…And the important thing about this, what one can appreciate, is that each rock was set by a human being, each basket of mud was placed basket by basket…in order to construct these enormous platforms.” This is impressive for Hansen, “Knowing…that there were no horses, no mules…” but that “…all of this came from pure human labor.” A large stucco mask was found inside the structure that dates back to 400 BC that still has the red paint and the black outlines used as decoration by the Maya.

Contrary to what was previously thought the excavations showed that the major corner stones of the upper chambers were not the corners of structure 34 or of the upper chambers, but rather they belonged to another room that extended eastward but that collapsed entirely and of which there is no longer any evidence. According to studies that have been made in this structure, there were apparently a total of five upper chambers.

Archaeological Conservation

Enrique Monterroso Tum is in charge of the conservation processes at El Mirador, which include the strengthening of the existing walls, replacing the exhausted mortars with new ones, removing roots, filling holes, and the lifting of a huge piece of a corner stone and then placing it in its original place. He is also responsible for the integration of tree trunks in the existing architecture to demonstrate a significant relationship between architecture and the environment. The group dedicated to conservation at the archaeological site also had the original floors covered with refined soil, geotextile and they also had a new stucco floor placed to protect the original stucco.

In order to carry out the conservation work, the group had to dig sascab (white limestone found in the subsoil of El Peten) from a nearby quarry, cast fine soil, prepare lime in large wooden trays, search flint mines and break them into pieces to make gravel, among other things, in order to have the same materials used by the Pre Classic Maya in the construction of the building for its restoration.

The details on the monster wearing a Jaguar Paw earspool on the structure's left panel emerged more clearly during the 2008 season.

The restoration process unfolding... El Mirador, Jul. 2008

The project’s staff could see the need to design a roof to protect the architectural art, while at the same time blending in with the environment. The Pre Classic walls, panels and masks from Structure 34 were in a fragile state of conservation and needed adequate protection in order to prevent the structure from further deteriorating. The roof had to be strong and resilient enough to prevent the structure’s artistic and architectural elements from suffering due to sudden temperature changes. The protective structure allows the passage of natural light but not the entry of UV rays.

However, there is much more to be said about Structure 34. For now, however, we would like to make a quick note that Richard Hansen has made a tunnel he has been working on during the past field seasons at the site and found amazing art consisting of another mask, this one from perhaps 400 BC, in the shape of a monster that is still painted red and outlined in black.

“We're right at the base of the original stairway here,” Hansen confirms to the CNN crew as they enter a building that has not been revealed to the public until now, “This is the original stairway up the platform to the seventh part of the building…What we're going to see has never been filmed before.

This is a wall here and a chance to see some early art. This is the outer wall of an earlier building; the sunlight was shining on this building before all this rubble was built over it. And then a little further on, what we're following here is the first level of this ancient building. What we're looking at is the original art and the original color, the color is all preserved and protected.”

Hansen further explains the detail and features of the recently discovered art, “This is the outer surface of the pyramid, this is a large mask...this is a tooth panel, this is a mouth, this is the upper teeth, this is a nose.

Project personnel prepares the right "secret" mix, the exact same materials the Maya used in the Pre Classic period to build at El Mirador, for Structure 34's restoration. El Mirador, Jul. 2008

Se diseño una estructura metálica y un techo de policarbonato especialmente para proteger a la Estructura 34 de los elementos. El Mirador, Jul. 2008.

And then right in the middle right here we have a ‘U' shaped glyph that's painted in here, it's a symbol of authority, a symbol of royal authority and power.” Pleased with his hard work, Hansen proudly adds, “You know we're the only ones in history who ever get to see this! It's a unique experience to be the first guy in history to see something that they buried, something that nobody in the world has seen until we uncovered it, the last guys to even touch it like you did were those [Pre Classic Maya] people. It's a chance to capture a moment in time; freeze a moment in time.”

Giving the CNN team a blast into the past, Hansen explains, “There was a man standing on these steps and this [boulder] was not here yet, and he took his right hand and he grabbed a handful of mud and he packed the thumb and his hand and his fingers right there. And there's the human hand print, 2,200 years old. As we pulled that rock and with the light just right, you can see the thumb print.”

Structure 34's facade changes as the restoration work progresses at El Mirador. El Mirador, Jul 2010