By adding lime to the soil, they elevated the pH, making it suitable for a variety of crops: corn, squash, beans, cacao, cotton and palm.

[14][15] The La Danta temple measures approximately 72 metres (236 ft) tall from the forest floor,[10] and considering its total volume (2,800,000 cubic meters) is one of the largest pyramids in the world.

When the large man-made platform that the temple is built upon (some 180,000 square meters) is included in calculations, La Danta is considered by some archeologists to be one of the largest ancient structures in the world.

Most of the structures were originally faced with cut stone which was then decorated with large stucco masks depicting the deities of Maya mythology.

A large wall, which must have been as high as 3 to 8 meters, had been constructed on the entire northern, eastern, and southern portions of the West Group of the city prior to its abandonment in the terminal Preclassic period, suggesting a possible threat that had been perceived by this time.

Another aspect that may have led to the downfall of the system was soil erosion due to deforestation; trees were burned as part of the process of making stucco.

[12] In the Late Classic period, c. 700 AD, portions of the site were reoccupied on a more modest scale, with small structures nestled among the ruins of the great preclassic center.

The largest structure from this time period is scarcely more than 8 meters high, and many of the preclassic buildings were plundered for stone materials for construction and lime making.

[20] Although containing striking examples of Preclassic Maya civilization, the remote location of El Mirador has prevented it from becoming a popular tourist site.

Major plans by the current government of Guatemala include El Mirador as an important center of the Cuatro Balam Conservation and Development project.

This large concentration of Preclassic Maya cities in Mesoamerica is threatened by massive deforestation, looting, and destruction caused by equipment used in logging road construction, which itself facilitates intrusive settlements.

George S. Stuart of the National Geographic Society has suggested that 1,000 pieces of fine pottery leave the Maya region each month, not an unreasonable estimate in light of the site damage observed.

The most sought-after finds are codex-style ceramics, Late Classic (600–900 CE) black-line-on-cream pottery depicting mythological and historical events.

It is, in fact, a destructive and sometimes violent business, as attested to by the recent assassination in Carmelita of Carlos Catalán, a local chiclero who had become a staunch opponent of looting in Petén.