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Pilgrimage and Trade

Besides trade goods, long distance traders brought ideas and news about events in other parts of the Maya world. Even today, ancient trade routes continue to connect the highland Maya villages. Craftsmen carry their wares across mountain passes, display them in regional markets, and bring back news, ideas, and goods, just as in the days of their ancestors. Chama Polychrome sherds have been found in sites as far as Piedras Negras, Altar de Sacrificios, Kaminaljuyu, and the Cotzumalhuapa region.

The Popol Vuh-"The Book of Counsel"- is the magnificent creation myth of the highland Maya. It had been known to the people of the Chixoy River Valley for centuries. Recent discoveries reveal that its origins go back more than 2,000 years. Its episodes were the basis for ritual and art. In the past, a great pilgrimage route to the sacred shrines at those sites led through Chama and the Chixoy River Valley.

Besides trade goods, long distance traders brought ideas and news about events in other parts of the Maya world. Even today, ancient trade routes continue to connect the highland Maya villages. Craftsmen carry their wares across mountain passes, display them in regional markets, and bring back news, ideas, and goods, just as in the days of their ancestors. Chama Polychrome sherds have been found in sites as far as Piedras Negras, Altar de Sacrificios, Kaminaljuyu, and the Cotzumalhuapa region.