The Architectural Development of an Early Maya Structure at Nakbé, Petén, Guatemala

Introduction

The circumscribed basin found in northern Guatemala, known as the Mirador Basin, is a region of archaeological sites of unusual size and architectural complexity. Archaeological excavations have demonstrated that many of the major sites in the Mirador Basin date to the Preclassic periods. However, the architectural sequences of the monumental architecture in the Mirador Basin have been difficult to understand because of the volume and scale of the ancient buildings. The largest structures in the Basin date to the Late Preclassic period (350 B.C.-A.D. 150), and are constructed in the "triadic architectural form," a large platform with three summit structures. The consistency of this architectural form is evident at the sites of El Mirador, Nakbé, Tintal and Wakná (Hansen, 1984; 1990; 1992a). Excavations at Nakbé indicate that the architecture dating to the earlier Middle Preclassic period (1000-350 B.C.), which has been located throughout the site, does not appear to have been built in the triadic form, nor does it have evidence of monumental architectural art. The lack of these features in earlier architecture at Nakbé suggests that the appearance of monumental constructions in terms of size and scale of the buildings, the appearance of architectural art, and the triadic architectural form were relatively sudden innovations. The developmental sequence as to when these features appeared, and the economic, political, and environmental conditions that accompanied these innovations could be detected archaeologically, providing that the site had sufficient antiquity. Such an emphasis would allow an opportunity to observe the organizational dynamics of the origins of Maya civilization from both diachronic (through time) and synchronic (within a point in time) perspectives. A proposal was submitted to the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI) for the purpose of excavating Structure 1 at Nakbé to determine the architectural evolution of a building that was destined to become the dominant building structure at the site. Previous excavations indicated that the visible versions of the building dated to the early Late Preclassic period, and that major architectural art in the form of stone and stucco masks and panels decorated the facade of the building (Hansen, 1992a). The presence of a strong Middle Preclassic occupation at the site suggested that excavations inside Structure 1 could provide data related to the developmental sequence of the building from these earlier periods.

Excavations conducted during the 1990, 1991, 1996 and 1998 field seasons on Structure 1 and the subsequent laboratory analyses have provided important data relevant to the architectural sequences of monumental Preclassic architecture. Broad horizontal excavations at the base of the building and the placement of major tunnels in several axes of the building revealed that two latter architectural constructions of the facade were subject to impressive displays of architectural art, with monumental masks and panels flanking a broad stucco and stone staircase. The earlier construction of the facade was modified at least once as well. While two phases were evident for the construction of the present, visible form of the building, the central stairway revealed a sequence of at least five periods of staircase construction and renovation.

The large-scale architectural construction episodes on Structure 1 had buried significant earlier structures, indicating a sequence of the architectural constructions and a demonstrable pattern of architectural evolution that is consistent throughout the site.

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