Four Treasures Reference Database
Record No. 28707

Excavations of Nakum Structure 15: Discovery of royal burials and accompanying offerings

Journal Article
ŹraŁka, J., Koszkul, W., Hermes, B. and Martin, S. (2012) Excavations of Nakum Structure 15: Discovery of royal burials and accompanying offerings. The PARI Journal, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 1–20.
Sinkankas/Born No.: NIS/NIB  |  RWHL*
gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology, Pre-Columbian jade; Costa Rica; Maya; exchange; iconography, lapidary
Two royal burials along with many attendant offerings were recently found in a pyramid located in the Acropolis complex at the Maya site of Nakum. These discoveries were made during research conducted under the aegis of the Nakum Archaeological Project, which has been excavating the site since 2006. Artefacts discovered in the burials and the pyramid significantly enrich our understanding of the history of Nakum and throw new light on its relationship with neighboring sites. Nakum is one of the most important Maya sites located in northeastern Petén, Guatemala, in the area of the Triángulo Park (a “cultural triangle” comprised of Yaxhá, Naranjo, and Nakum) (Figure 1). It was discovered at the beginning of the twentieth century by the French count Maurice de Périgny (1908, 1911). Later the site was visited and cursorily investigated by Alfred Tozzer and Raymond Merwin from the Peabody Museum of Harvard University (Tozzer 1913), followed by Sylvanus Morley (1937–1938). The ruins were forgotten in the ensuing decades until they were twice visited by Nicholas Hellmuth in the 1970s (Hellmuth 1975, 1978:93–95, 1992). But it was only in 1994 that Nakum was subjected to intensive investigation by the Proyecto Triángulo, under the auspices of the Instituto de Antropología e Historia de Guatemala (IDAEH). As a result of this research, the epicenter and periphery of the site have been studied in detail and many structures excavated and subsequently restored (Calderón et al. 2008; Hermes et al. 2005; Hermes and Źrałka 2008). In 2006, thanks to permission granted by IDAEH, a new archaeological project was started at Nakum (the Nakum Archaeological Project), directed by Wiesław Koszkul and Jarosław Źrałka of the Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland. Recently, our excavations have focused on investigating two untouched pyramids located in the Southern Sector of the site, in the area of the so-called Acropolis. The Acropolis is the largest and most impressive complex at the site, consisting of a platform surmounted by more than thirty structures, mainly palace residences, that surround twelve patios or courtyards (Tobar and González 2007) (Figure 2). The largest of these is Patio 1. During prior research by the Proyecto Triángulo, the buildings enclosing Patio 1 from the north, south, and west were intensively excavated and subsequently restored. Only two low mounds (Structures 14 and 15) located on the eastern side of Patio 1 were left intact due to their poor state of preservation. Our research has shown that one of the excavated pyramids (Structure 15) contained two important burials, among them a very rich tomb (Burial 1) which in all probability belonged to one of the local kings. Below we present the results of our investigation of Structure 15 and the discoveries we made.