Parque_Yaxha_Nakum_Naranjo_Templo_Guatemala_03

Nakum ("House of the pot") is a

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

, and a former ceremonial center and city of the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, ...

. It is located in the northeastern portion of the

Petén Basin The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, primarily located in northern Guatemala within the Department of El Petén, and into Campeche state in southeastern Mexico. During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods of pre-Col ...

region, in the modern-day

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

n department of Petén. The northeastern Petén region contains a good number of other significant

Maya sites This list of Maya sites is an alphabetical listing of a number of significant archaeological sites associated with the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The peoples and cultures which comprised the Maya civilization spanned more ...

, and Nakum is one of the three sites forming the Cultural Triangle of "

Yaxha Yaxha (or Yaxhá in Spanish orthography) is a Mesoamerican archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén Basin region, and a former ceremonial centre and city of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. Yaxha was the third largest city in the reg ...

-Nakum-

Naranjo Naranjo is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 BC to 950 AD, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. The city lies along the ...

". Nakum is approximately to the north of Yaxha and some to the east of

Tikal Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre- ...

, on the banks of the Holmul River. Its main features include an abundance of visibly restored

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

, and the roof comb of the site's main temple structure is one of the best-preserved outside Tikal.

History

This city has evidence of occupation dating from the Middle Preclassic period of

Mesoamerican chronology Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE –&nb ...

. For the most part of the Classic period, Nakum appeared to be subordinate to Tikal. Nakum particularly flourished during the Late Classic (c. 8th century—10th century), due to its strategic situation north of Holmul river which was an important trade and communication route during this era. All the visible architecture belongs to this period, there are 15

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

e, Structure A with a triadic top, form along with structure C an astronomical complex. Structure V has vaults and vertical walls. Outside

, it shows the largest corpus of ancient

Maya script Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs, is historically the native writing system of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and is the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered. The earliest inscriptions found which ...

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

in a Classic Maya site. Nakum reached its apogee in the Terminal Classic period and might have achieved political independence around this time. However, it was abandoned soon after its apogee.

Site description and architecture

The site of Nakum may be divided into two main sectors, North and South, connected by a causeway named after Perigny. The Northern sector contains many impressive buildings, but it has been comparatively little investigated. The Southern sector is larger in extent, and contains the main Acropolis together with 11 patios and several classes of structures, including a 44-room "palace" (known as the D building). In the center of the southern complex is another elevated Acropolis which provides a clear overview of the other important structures. This latter Acropolis contains the building known as Structure Y, which by its location can be presumed to have served as the main residential complex for the site's main ruler. The fact that the main Acropolis was such an important and imposing structure clearly sends a message, in this site the political aspects had considerable weight. In comparison with the religious architecture which is located at a lower level. The Temples located in the south of sector at the Central Plaza (Temple A, B and C) form a clear triangle pointing to the north. Like in Tikal the Central Plaza of Nakum is oriented towards the four directions and located at the south there is the complex of palaces of the city. Since it is the main plaza of the city it is possible that from the Palace D the ruler and the royals observed the rituals and performances that took place at the plaza. Next is the East Plaza (it holds Temple V) which for some unknown reason was abandoned, since the Temple is located at the East it clearly shows that particular plaza was related to the sun deity. Finally the South East Plaza (it holds Temple U) and it has a direct relationship with the main Acropolis.

Discovery

The site today known as Nakum was re-discovered in 1905 by Maurice de Périgny. He referred to it as Nacun. Since then several archaeological and restorative expeditions have been conducted at the site, including a Peabody museum expedition in 1909-1910 and an official restoration by Guatemalan authorities which commenced in 1990.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Yaxha and Nakum information
by Mayakultur.de
Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo Natural Monument
description at ParksWatch site of this protected area within Maya Biosphere Reserve

*Analisis de la Arquitectura Expuesta del Sitio Prehispanico Nakum (Coromac-Gonzalez-Mendez-Tobar 2006) Facultad de Arquitectura de la Universitad San Carlos de Guatemala {{Coord, 17.1800, N, 89.3600, W, source:wikidata, display=title Maya sites in Petén Department Archaeological sites in Guatemala Former populated places in Guatemala