Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) outside the modern city of Huehuetenango.

[3] In AD 1525 the city was attacked by Spanish conquistadors under Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras during a siege that lasted several months.

Kayb'il B'alam, the city's last ruler, finally surrendered to the Spanish due to starvation.

[9] Zaculeu is located at an altitude of 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) above mean sea level,[10] and is bordered by the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountain range.

[12] The site is situated on a plateau overlooking the Selegua River, which flows to the west of the city.

The only access to the site is via a narrow land bridge to the north, which unites the plateau to the general level of the valley floor.

[14] Zaculeu was first occupied in the Early Classic Period (AD 250–600),[6] and the buildings from this era show the architectural influence of the great metropolis of Teotihuacán in the Valley of Mexico.

The architectural influence is so distinct that it suggests that a foreign Mexican elite may have settled at the city and continued in occupation there until the Kʼicheʼ conquered the site in the Postclassic.

The Kʼicheʼ tended to place their newly installed ruling elite in a mountain-top fortress securing the population in the valleys below.

However, substantial portions of the original Mam population remained in place in the plateau area.

The basic Kʼicheʼ layout consists of a westward-facing temple with a steep talud-tablero facade, flanked by two unequally sized wings.

An example is a representation of a butterfly worked from tumbaga, an alloy of gold and copper, dated to the Postclassic period.

Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado described how the Mam king Kayb'il B'alam was received with great honour in Qʼumarkaj.

[20] At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the main Mam population was situated in Xinabahul (also spelled Chinabjul), now the city of Huehuetenango.

[22] The city was defended by Kayb'il B'alam[5] commanding some 5,000 people (the chronicles are not clear if this is the number of soldiers or the total population of Zaculeu).

[22] The Spanish forced the abandonment of Zaculeu after they built the new city of Huehuetenango some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away.

American explorer John Lloyd Stephens and English architect Frederick Catherwood visited the site in 1840, at which time it was a confused jumble of overgrown ruins.

[citation needed] On 12 June 1970 the site was declared a National Precolumbian Monument by accord of the Guatemalan Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).

[26] Zaculeu was likely originally developed because of its proximity to the Seleguá River, providing a permanent water supply and transportation waterway, together with its easily defensible hilltop location.

The smaller platforms situated in the plazas were late additions; they show the influence of central Mexican civilization.

[28] The ceremonial centre of the city consisted of 43 structures clustered in an area of 1,400 square metres (15,000 sq ft).

[6] Artefacts recovered from the site include items fashioned from turquoise and precious metals.

The metal artefacts crafted from gold, silver and copper and their alloys demonstrate the city's participation in the wider trade networks of the Postclassic Period.

[30] The structures at Zaculeu were grouped around small plazas and were generally built from masonry, coated with a thick layer of plaster.

Fragments bear floral and geometric designs, indicating the structures were originally brightly painted.

The range structures are unequal in size and each contains a single long room atop a low platform.

[3][37] A tomb was excavated in Structure 4, it consisted of a complete skeleton with associated offerings that included two tripod earthenware bowls, one with duck effigies, a tripod incense burner, a flint knife, nine obsidian knives, five jade beads and some fragments of gold.

The structure has been investigated by archaeologists and was found to have multiple doorways opening into a single long room.

[34] The earliest phase of construction dates to the Early Classic and consisted of a low platform that supported a perishable superstructure.

The two structures forming the sides of the ballcourt once supported buildings, now only the lower sections of their walls remain.