Although he did not excavate, Perigny cleared part of the site and described what he found to the outside world. Known only to local people, Nakum was first visited in 1905 by a French traveler, Count Maurice de Perigny. An arrow indicates the location of the test pit, where two Protoclassic offering deposits were discovered. Early Exploration at Nakum The map of the North Group of Nakum shows Structure 99 in the north. ![]() Since the project’s inception, several important discoveries have significantly enriched our knowledge of the site and Maya culture in general. In 2006 a research project-directed by the authors, in association with the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University of Cracow, Poland-was initiated at Nakum. Looting has been dramatically reduced, creating an environment where systematic scientific investigations of these sites can take place. In 1989 the Guatemalan government moved to preserve these valuable national assets by establishing the Triangulo Park, a protected area defined by the three great Maya cities of Nakum, Naranjo, and Yaxha. Nakum was not spared, and many buildings at the site were looted and destroyed. In fact, Nakum’s nearest neighbor, Naranjo, the largest site in the area, had been thoroughly plundered more than 200 looters’ trenches and tunnels were documented. Other structures are designated by letters or numbers.įor many years researchers avoided this region due to the lack of local infrastructure and the dangers posed by armed looters and drug smugglers. This reconstruction of the Acropolis of Nakum includes Structures 14 and 15, which were excavated by the authors and are discussed in this article. Nakum is also noteworthy because it flourished while other Maya lowland sites collapsed. 600–800 CE) and important vestiges of architecture, rich offerings, and a royal burial from the Protoclassic Period (ca. ![]() A new excavation at Nakum by Polish archaeologists has uncovered an intact royal tomb from the Late Classic Period (ca. ![]() Deep in the jungle of northeastern Guatemala, in the Department of the Petén, lies a Maya site that has only recently revealed its place in the early history of the region.
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