Chamá, Maya archaeological site in San Pedro Carchá, Guatemala.

Chamá is a small Late Classic Maya site in the Chixoy River valley, Alta Verapaz, where the Temal or Tsalba stream meets the Chixoy. Erwin Dieseldorff, invited by landowner Ebenezar Cary, identified four plazas from 1893; the farmhouse stood on Plaza 1, whose tallest mound rose at its southwest corner.

This site developed during the Maya classical period and became known through excavations led by Robert J. Burkitt in the early 1900s. Those investigations conducted by the University of Pennsylvania helped establish what we know about the settlement today.

Chamá-style cylindrical vases carry black-and-white chevron bands at the rim and base, painted in white, red and black over a yellow-orange ground. Their scenes show humanized animals, deities and mythological episodes rather than courtiers or warriors. The Penn Museum holds specimens with provenance information, studied by anthropologist Elin C. Danien.

This site lies about 50 kilometers northwest of San Pedro Carchá and requires advance planning for transportation and guided visits. Organizing your trip beforehand and hiring local guides will help you understand the ruins and navigate the terrain.

The best-known Chamá vessel, K0593, was found by Ebenezer Cary, a former owner of the Chamá estate, and shows a scene of God L; Erwin Dieseldorff called it "the principal vase of Chamá". A carved jar bearing the face of God N from the site is now kept in Berlin.