Monumental Architecture of Yaxha and Nakum (Northeastern Guatemala) during the Middle and Late Preclassic Periods

Summary

Yaxha and Nakum are two important Maya centers located in northeastern part of Guatemala. Recent research carried out by different projects at both sites indicate that during the Preclassic period Yaxha and Nakum rose to power and became important polities that had many examples of monumental architecture such as E-Groups, triadic complexes, ballcourts, causeways and other constructions. The scale of monumental architecture documented at Yaxha indicates that it was one of the largest Late Preclassic cities in the Southern Maya Lowlands which must have dominated politically and economically over other neighboring centers. Nakum – although smaller in its monumentality – showed examples of various public constructions from the same epoch, some of which were embellished with beautifully rendered stucco friezes. The aim of this paper is to show the evolution of monumental architecture in both sites from its beginning in the early Middle Preclassic until the Terminal Preclassic or Protoclassic period when many Maya centers – including a large polity of El Mirador – collapsed. We will also address the subject of political organization in the Yaxha region during the Preclassic times.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21204