Afterwards

Naachtun , originally Masul , is the name of a classic Mayan center .

The site, located about halfway between Tikal and Calakmul , was rediscovered by Sylvanus Morley in 1922 and described with the name Naachtun (roughly: distant stones) because of its remoteness. Research today assumes that the original name was Masul.

The extensive E-group complex suggests a settlement from the late pre-classical period , while around 40 mostly poorly preserved steles date to the early classical period . The emergence of the city is seen in an epochal and architectural context with the emergence of monumental buildings such as temple pyramids between 40 and 72 meters high, as they were also created in El Mirador , Nakbé , Tintal and Wakná at the same time . These buildings required both a high degree of social organization and a previously unseen availability of resources and labor for the ruling nobility . Naachtun rose to a regional center with the decline of El Mirador, only 20 kilometers away, and was an immediate ally of Teotihuacán when Tikal was conquered in 378. From then on Naachtun was a close ally of Tikal, but came under the influence of Calakmul at the end of the 7th century . A dynastic connection between the two city-states is assumed. Between 700 and 730 Naachtun was able to emancipate itself from Calakmul and from the year 750 experienced a renewed heyday lasting around 150 years. Around the year 1000 the place was abandoned by its residents.

Due to the difficult accessibility, no systematic research took place until the 20th century. It was only in the past few years that a team led by the French scientists Dominique Michelet and Philippe Nondédéo started the work of holistic research on Naachtuns. In the meantime, several 100 buildings and around 70 steles and altars have been documented. More than 300 predatory grave tunnels were found, most of which perforate the Acropolis .

Movies

• Naachtun - Hidden City of the Mayas (2015) by Stéphane Bégoin for Arte .

literature

• Nikolai Grube : Maya, god kings in the rainforest. Potsdam 2012, pp. 58, 446
• Peter Mathews, Kathryn Reese-Taylor, Marcelo Zamora, Alexander Parmington: The Monuments at Naachtun, Petén
• Debra S. Walker and Kathryn Reese-Taylor: Naachtún, Petén, Guatemala: First Analyzes, Guatemala , 2012

Web links

• Naachtun - Hidden City of the Mayas on arte (only until April 11, 2018)

Coordinates: 17 ° 47 '44.9 "  N , 89 ° 43' 44.8"  W.