Introduction to Research at Naachtun: Archaeological and Paleoenvironmental Issues

Summary

The maya site of Naachtun is an important regional center of the Classic period, located in northeastern Peten. Founded after the decline of the Preclassic Centers of the Mirador Region, Naachtun is occupied roughly during a millenary until its abandonment (ca. AD 950). This site, settled on the margins of a huge bajo, is a good case study to understand strategies of resources management (water supply, soils, wood, fauna, and shells among others). All are available in its immediate vicinity, but we must wonder to which extend environmental changes (anthropic or climatic) during the Classic period could have affected the procurement of these resources. After presenting the Naachtun Project with its different lines of investigation, the site setting and the local environment, and after a brief overview of the history of its occupation, we will expose the issues of the archaeological and paleoenvironmental studies and propose a first general balance of the relationships between society and environment.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Reconstructing Resource Availability, Use, and Management at Naachtun (Guatemala), a Regional Maya Center of the Classic Period

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