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24-596: Chichicastenango is a K'iche' Maya cultural centre. According to the 2012 census, 98.5% of the municipality's population is indigenous Mayan K'iche. Of the population, 21% speak only K'iche, 71% speak both K'iche and Spanish, and the remaining 8% speak only Spanish. Chichicastenango hosts market days on Thursdays and Sundays where vendors sell handicrafts, food, flowers, pottery, wooden boxes, condiments, medicinal plants, candles, pom and copal ( traditional incense ), cal ( lime stones for preparing tortillas), grindstones, pigs and chickens, machetes , and other tools. Among

48-642: A New Zealand kauri tree ( Agathis australis ) named Tāne Mahuta ("The Lord of the Forest") has been measured at 45.2 m (148 ft) tall with a diameter at breast height of 491 cm (16.11 ft). Its total wood volume is calculated to be 516.7 m (18,250 cu ft), making it the third-largest conifer after Sequoia and Sequoiadendron (both from the Cupressaceae subfamily Sequoioideae ). The trunks are columnar and have relatively large piths with resinous cortices . The branching

72-438: A filler between feature films. Copal Copal is a tree resin , particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree Protium copal ( Burseraceae ) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal includes resinous substances in an intermediate stage of polymerization and hardening between "gummier" resins and amber . Copal that

96-451: Is classified under the order Pinales , class Pinopsida of the division Pinophyta . The division includes all living conifers. Recently however, some authorities treat Araucariaceae as a separate order, Araucariales . Araucariaceae contains three extant genera and about 41 species. Below is the phylogeny of the Pinophyta based on cladistic analysis of molecular data. It shows

120-470: Is found in East Africa and is used in incense. East Africa apparently had a higher amount of subfossil copal, which is found one or two meters below living copal trees, from roots of trees that may have lived thousands of years earlier. This subfossil copal produces a harder varnish. By the 18th century, Europeans found it to be a valuable ingredient in making a good wood varnish . It became widely used in

144-454: Is known as " Oltustone ", the name deriving from the town of Oltu , where it is most commonly excavated. Despite the fact that this semiprecious gemstone is classified as “stone”, wood anatomy reveals it was fossilized pieces of trunks of Araucariacea. Oltustone, also called ‘Black Amber’ is unique to Turkey. It is dull and black, but when polished, acquires an attractive black sheen. Fossils widely believed to belong to Araucariaceae include

168-459: Is partly mineralized is known as copaline . It is available in different forms; the hard, amber-like yellow copal is a less expensive version, while the milky-white copal is more expensive. The word "copal" is derived from the Nahuatl language word copalli , meaning "incense". Subfossil copal is well known from New Zealand ( kauri gum from Agathis australis ( Araucariaceae )), Japan ,

192-501: Is usually horizontal and tiered, arising regularly in whorls of three to seven branches or alternating in widely separated pairs. The leaves can be small, needle-like, and curved, or they can be large, broadly ovate, and flattened. They are spirally arranged, persistent, and usually have parallel venation . Like other conifers, they produce cones. Each tree can have both male and female cones ( monoecious ) or they can have only male or female cones ( dioecious ). Male cones are among

216-832: The Araucarioid clade and Agathis , and Wollemia in the Agathioid clade. While the family's native distribution is now largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, except for a few species of Agathis in Malesia , it was formerly widespread in the Northern Hemisphere during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Members of Araucariaceae are typically extremely tall evergreen trees, reaching heights of 60 m (200 ft) or more. They can also grow very large stem diameters;

240-537: The Dominican Republic , Colombia , and Madagascar . It often has inclusions and is sometimes sold as "young amber". When it is treated or enhanced in an autoclave (as is sometimes done to industrialized Baltic amber ) it is used for jewelry. In its natural condition copal can be easily distinguished from old amber by its lighter citrine colour and its surface getting tacky with a drop of acetone or chloroform . Copal resin from Hymenaea verrucosa ( Fabaceae )

264-827: The Middle Jurassic , such as Araucaria mirabilis and Araucaria sphaerocarpa from the Middle Jurassic of Argentina and England respectively. The oldest records of the Wollemia - Agathis lineage from the Cretaceous , including Emwadea microcarpa from the Albian aged Winton Formation of Australia and Wairarapaia mildenhallii from the Albian- Cenomanian of New Zealand. The oldest fossils currently confidently assignable to Agathis are those of Agathis immortalis from

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288-586: The Salamanca Formation of Patagonia, which dates to the Paleocene , approximately 64.67–63.49 million years ago. Agathis -like leaves are also known from the slightly older Lefipán Formation of the same region, which date to the very end of the Cretaceous. Araucariaceae fossils are also known from the latest Oligocene or earliest Miocene of the southwesternmost tip of Africa. Claimed records of Agathis from

312-470: The form genera Araucarites (various), Agathoxylon and Araucarioxylon (wood), Brachyphyllum (leaves), Araucariacites and Dilwynites (pollen), and Protodammara (cones). The oldest definitive records of Araucariaceae are from the Early Jurassic , though there are potential earlier Late Triassic records. Early representatives of Araucaria are widespread across both hemispheres by

336-717: The Southern Hemisphere. By far the greatest diversity is in New Caledonia (18 species), with others in Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Chile, southern Brazil, and Malesia. In Malesia, Agathis extends a short distance into the Northern Hemisphere, reaching 18°N in the Philippines. Several species are very popular ornamental trees in gardens in subtropical regions, and some are also very important timber trees, producing wood of high quality. Several have edible seeds similar to pine nuts, and others produce valuable resin and amber . In

360-543: The church for their rituals, burning incense and candles. In special cases, they burn a chicken for the gods. Each of the 20 stairs that lead up to the church stands for one month of the Maya calendar year. Another key element of Chichicastenango is the Cofradia of Pascual Abaj , which is an ancient carved stone venerated nearby and the Maya priests perform several rituals there. Writing on

384-454: The creation of the Suez Canal led to Germany, India, and Hong Kong taking the majority by the end of that century. Copal is still used by a number of indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America as an incense, during sweat lodge ceremonies and sacred mushroom ceremonies. Araucariaceae Araucariaceae is a family of conifers with three living genera , Araucaria in

408-514: The film The New Adventures of Tarzan , was filmed on location in Guatemala, taking advantage of the help from the United Fruit Company and president Jorge Ubico . Chichicastenango was among the locations used during filming. This 8-minute color travelogue devoted to Chichicastenango is one of James A. Fitzpatrick 's TravelTalks. It is occasionally shown on Turner Classic Movies as

432-662: The forests where they occur, they are usually dominant trees, often the largest species in the forest; the largest is Araucaria hunsteinii , reported to 89 m tall in New Guinea, with several other species reaching 50–65 m tall. A. heterophylla , the Norfolk Island pine, is a well-known landscaping and house plant from this taxon. Skillful artisans in the Erzurum Province, Turkey, have used fossilized wood of Araucariaceae for centuries to manufacture jewelry and decorative items. It

456-593: The items sold are textiles, particularly women's blouses. Masks used by dancers in traditional dances, such as the Dance of the Conquest , are also manufactured in Chichicastenango. Next to the market is the 400-year-old church of Santo Tomás. It is built atop a Pre-Columbian temple platform, and the steps originally leading to a temple of the pre-Hispanic Maya civilization remain venerated. K'iche' Maya priests still use

480-786: The largest among all conifer cones, on average. They are cylindrical and drooping, somewhat resembling catkins . They are borne singly on the tips of branches or the axils of leaves. They contain numerous sporophylls arranged in whorls or spirals. Each has four to 20 elongated pollen sacs attached to the lower surface at one end. The pollen grains are round and do not possess wings or air sacs. Female cones are also very large. They are spherical to ovoid in shape and borne erect on thick, short shoots at branch tips. The numerous bracts and scales are either fused to each other or separate for half of their lengths. The scales almost always bear only one seed on its upper surface, in contrast to two in true pines (family Pinaceae ). They are very large, among

504-459: The largest seeds among conifers. They are dispersed by wind, usually using wing-like structures. On maturity, the female cones detach and fall to the ground. Due to their size, they can cause serious injuries if they hit a person. The cones of the bunya bunya, Araucaria bidwillii , for example, weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb), about the size and weight of a large pineapple. They can drop from heights of 23 m (75 ft). Araucariaceae

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528-567: The manufacture of furniture and carriages. It was also sometimes used as a picture varnish. By the late 19th and early 20th century, varnish manufacturers in England and America were using it on train carriages, greatly swelling its demand. In 1859, Americans consumed 68% of the East African trade, which was controlled through the Sultan of Zanzibar , with Germany receiving 24%. The American Civil War and

552-497: The position of Araucariaceae within the division. Pinaceae Araucariaceae Podocarpaceae Sciadopityaceae Cupressaceae Cephalotaxaceae Taxaceae Relationships between living members of Araucariaceae. Araucaria Wollemia Agathis Molecular evidence supports Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae having diverged from each other during the late Permian . Today, 41 species are known, in three genera: Agathis , Araucaria and Wollemia , distributed largely in

576-579: The stone records the doings of a king named Tohil (Fate). The Chichicastenango Regional Museum lies in its grounds. At least three songs have been written about the town. In addition, the character Rosie from Bye Bye Birdie sings sarcastically of being the toast of Chichicastenango. Chichicastenango is composed of the municipal seat and 81 rural communities. Nearby village communities include Paquixic (1.0 nm), Chucam (1.0 nm), Chujupen (1.4 nm), Camanibal (2.2 nm), Chontala (2.2 nm) and Chucojom (1.0 nm). In 1935,

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