Zapote Bobal

Zapote Bobal is the modern name for a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located south of the San Pedro Martir river in the Petén department of Guatemala.

Built atop a leveled natural hill 1 kilometer long and 700 meters wide, the center of the site is characterized by a royal palace, several temple-pyramids, and elite residences.

[5] According to Fitzsimmons, there was an “imposition of a relatively new center upon an older sociopolitical landscape.”[6] Compounding this with the site's short occupational history suggests a rapid program of construction and raises questions about how and why the central core of Zapote Bobal was built in the first place.

The fact that the surrounding area was previously occupied "calls to mind dynastic splits or other social upheavals at Late Classic sites elsewhere in the Maya lowlands, particularly those based in the Petexbatún.

It is unclear why this was the case, although it is possible that, as a "new" center under military and diplomatic pressure from established sites, the lords of Zapote Bobal did not have the power (real or perceived) to add k'uhul to their list of accomplishments on Maya stelae.