Nakbé

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Map of Mesoamerica During the Classic Period. David Sowell

Nakbé is one of the largest early Maya archaeological sites, rivaled by El Mirador. Nakbé is located in the Petén region of Guatemala, approximately 13 kilometers south of the Maya city of El Mirador. Excavations at Nakbé suggest that habitation began at the site during the Early Formative period (circa 1400 BC) and continued to be a large site until its collapse during the Terminal Formative period (100-200 BC). The fall of Nakbé and El Mirador took place at roughly the same time.

1 Discovery and excavation
2 Architecture
3 Causeways
4 Water
5 External links
6 Further reading

[edit] Discovery and excavation

The site was first discovered in 1930 by aerial photos taken of the region, but excavations of the site did not take place until 1962. Archaeologist Ian Graham was the first person to start excavations, but it wasn’t until the 1980s and 90s that real excavation began by UCLA’s Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, and the Institute of Anthropology and History of Guatemala. The combined efforts of these two groups resulted in the RAINPEG Project, which was headed by Dr. Richard D. Hansen. One of the main focuses of the RAINPEC Project was to investigate the limestone quarries in the area of Nakbé

Nakbé was a key site to the Maya because of its extensive quarry system of limestone, a key element to the building of the many large temples.

The RAINPEC Project spent much of its energy excavating and studying the tools that were used in limestone excavation and preparation. They had unearthed 23 tools including bifacial axes, picks, and hammer stones, all of which were made of chert. The researches then replicated these tools to see what the methods of mining and shaping the limestone were. Not only did they come to realize that chert was an excellent tool for precision cutting of limestone, but these experiments shed light on how the Maya not only harvested the limestone, but how they shaped it to use for their elaborate complex architectural building.

[edit] Architecture

Complex societies flourished in the Petén region during the Middle to late Formative Period (600/500-300 BC). Monumental architecture was established in Nakbé as early as the 8th century BC. By 750 BC Nakbé had some structures that reached the height of 20 meters (66 feet) high. By 800 BC, Nakbé had grown to extend to over 50 hectars (124 acres). During this time the city was replaced its collection of low platforms of rough stones surmounted by wattle-and-daub structures with a number of high platforms and temples covered in plaster.

Nakbé was a city that had an elite element that was importing goods from distant places and was even practicing tooth reshaping of the elite members. Presumably it is this elite group that pushed for the construction of more elaborate and complex platforms and temples that pushed Nakbé into becoming one of the largest Maya cities. During the Late Middle Formative period there is a transition in the Petén region where ceramics continuing to typify the Mamom styles can be found, but new styles of site planning of the villages are developing. There was also an increase in the construction of stelae, stone monuments, throughout the region by 500 BC.

Nakbé’s architecture was laid out in two groups, one to the east and one to the west. The western section of platforms and mounds is home to the tallest building at Nakbé, Structure 1, with a height of roughly 150 feet. This platform is edged by two large stucco masks and topped with three triadic style roofed structures creating a very exquisite look for the temple, which is considered the most decorated and beautiful of the site. The mounds and platforms to the east are distinguished by Structure 59, which stands 100 feet high and is surrounded by three mounds.

Structure 1: as reconstructed by Richard Hansen

The Late Formative period brought on the development of Maya architecture at Nakbé. Grouping buildings in patterns, such as the E-Group complex emerge in the city along with architectural methods such as apron moldings. E-Group complexes consist of a large pyramid on the western side of a plaza/platform. The eastern side of the plaza has an elevated structure on a north-south axis and any structures on the sides of this plaza face west. This pattern is seen in other Maya lowland sites suggesting a shared ideology among them. In addition to new architectural styles and patterns, ball courts and causeways appear in the city.

[edit] Causeways

A causeway system linked important features of the city to one another and later linked Nakbé with other sites. These causeways were often created above the ground level; the Kan Causeway was 4 meters (13 feet) above the ground level in some areas. These causeways were paves with crushed white stone, which created the naming of these causeways from the Maya name sacbe ("white way). Nakbé was connected to El Maridor by one causeway and later in the Late Classic Maya period Nakbé was connected to the Maya center of Calakmul. Other sites besides Nakbé and El Maridor were connected through this system of sacbes, which extended for dozens of kilometers.

[edit] Water

One aspect of this city that has raised many questions is the lack of a nearby water source for Nakbé; the closest one is about three and a half miles away. It is believed that large structures constructed at the site were used to hold water during the dry season from January through April. Drainage systems have been found at the site that lead archeologists to surmise that they were being used to bring water throughout the city.