Los Monos Pyramid

17.7528°N, 89.9067°W.

Los Monos Pyramid lies between La Danta and El Tigre at El Mirador, in the Mirador Basin of northern Guatemala, named for the spider monkeys that still inhabit the surrounding rainforest canopy. Built during the Late Preclassic between approximately 200 BCE and 100 CE, Los Monos rises roughly 48 metres on a stepped triadic plan and is constructed of quarried limestone faced with thick layers of lime stucco. The pyramid forms part of El Mirador's western precinct, connected to the central acropolis by a raised causeway visible on LiDAR scans of the basin. The original stucco masks that flanked the central staircase have largely eroded, but their armatures of stone and stucco fragments survive in fallen sections at the base. The site was abandoned around 150 CE for reasons that remain debated — drought, deforestation, soil exhaustion.

Los Monos is a pyramid the size of a city block left to be reclaimed by the canopy that named it.