Archaeological investigations of a walled compound at Naachtun, Peten, Guatemala: architecture, politics and warfare

Submission note: A Thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Archaeology Program, School of Historical and European Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora.

During excavations in the Classic Maya site of Naachtun conducted during 2004-2005 a Compound consisting of 11 structures surrounded by a high Wall was discovered and excavated. Given its layout, its is suggested here that the Walled Compound is a Triadic Acropolis constructed during Naachtun 5 times (AD 554 – 652) as a new political and religious centre for Naachtun. A revision of the history of Naachtun is proposed in this dissertation, focusing on the architectural sequence of the site. This has enabled the correlation of the architectural history with the broader political history of the site, which involves three major forces: El Mirador, Tikal, and Calakmul. By Naachtun 6 times (AD 652 – 791), the Walled Compound became a locus for warlike display; later it was affected by the changes of Naachtun's broader political affiliations. Subsequently the Compound was terminated and abandoned. This dissertation reviews the archaeological history of Naachtun from the excavation of the Walled Compound, and examines the structures in the Compound individually as well as part of the whole. Although the presence of walls has often been assumed as evidence of war, in this thesis the ritual and social character has been considered. The thesis also includes a revision of the political context of the Compound through time. In doing so, eight phases for the political history of Naachtun have been proposed (Periods I-VIII), based on epigraphic readings, including foreign references to Masul (proposed by some scholars as the ancient name of the Naachtun kingdom). This dissertation also considers the geographical location of Naachtun in its broader political context. The site lies directly between the two powerful kingdoms of Tikal and Calakmul, and appears to have shifted its alliance from one to the other through time, as evidenced by records of warfare, marriage alliances, and monument style.