Ixtutz (/iʃˈtuːts/) was an important Classic Period Maya city located south of Ixkun in southeastern Petén, Guatemala.

[3] In the Late Classic Ixtutz was one of the most important centres in the Dolores region, competing fiercely with other sites in the area, and maintained strong political relations with the cities of the southwestern Petén such as Dos Pilas and Machaquila.

[4] Ixtutz is located in the municipality of Dolores, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) southwest of that town, in the Petén Department of northern Guatemala.

[5] The site is situated at an altitude of 400 metres (1,300 ft) above mean sea level in the valley of the Poxte River, surrounded by hilly terrain.

[7] An area of 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) is protected by the Guatemalan Institute of Anthropology and History.

[6] Around 760 AD the political organization of the region appears to have changed and the rulers of Ixtutz and neighbouring Sacul began to erect sculpted monuments with hieroglyphic texts and to use their own Emblem Glyphs.

[10] A stela dated to AD 780 records a ceremony performed by king Aj Yaxjal B’aak and attended by his overlord from the Petexbatún, most likely to have been Tan Te' K'inich of Aguateca, and 28 other lords from both within the Dolores valley and further afield.

[11] Ixtutz experienced a decrease in activity during the Terminal Classic period,[12] after AD 825 all sites in the region ceased to erect further monuments although occupation continued.

[4] The site was first discovered in 1852 by Colonel Modesto Mendez (then Governor of Petén) and Eusebio Lara before being lost for more than a century.

[14] Eric Von Euw and Ian Graham visited Ixtutz in 1972, and published a new map and illustrations of stelae 1–4 together with the fragments of Panel 1.

[14] In 1985 archaeologists of the Tikal Project visited the site, carried out limited test excavations, and moved some monument pieces to Dolores.

[6] Ixtutz includes several plazas and temple pyramids, a ballcourt and two acropolis complexes with vaulted palaces.

[8] Although the site was occupied during the Preclassic period, the majority of the architecture is believed to date to the Late Classic.

[17] The ceremonial city of the centre, in spite of the simplicity of its layout, possesses traits that distinguish it as an important regional site.

[4] A hieroglyphic text on a stela at the site mentions the Late Classic city of Dos Pilas in the Petexbatún region.

It is a secondary ceremonial centre dating to the Late Classic and possesses 5 structures laid out around a 650-square-metre (7,000 sq ft) patio.

The group consists of 7 low platforms laid out around a 670-square-metre (7,200 sq ft) plaza, leaving the patio open on the east side.

[27] The plaza in Group A contained a number of sculpted monuments that were likely to have been erected by king Aj Yaxjal B’aak in the 8th century AD.

The monument carved from limestone and is sculpted on one face only and contains a hieroglyphic text without any accompanying portrait.