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Archaeological evidence for ancient Maya water management: the case of Nakum, Petén, Guatemala

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2015

Jarosław Źrałka  and
Wiesław Koszkul
Jarosław Źrałka
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, 11 Gołębia Street, 31-007 Kraków, Poland (Email: j.zralka@uj.edu.pl; wkoszkul@wp.pl)
Wiesław Koszkul
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, 11 Gołębia Street, 31-007 Kraków, Poland (Email: j.zralka@uj.edu.pl; wkoszkul@wp.pl)
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Abstract

Maya cities are known to have managed water; their existence in areas prone to seasons of excessive rainfall and long dry spells demanded it, but have these systems of water channels, aqueducts and reservoirs been viewed simply as utilitarian civil engineering? Recent excavations at the Maya site of Nakum in north-east Guatemala have revealed that the Maya might have had a more nuanced and symbolic approach to water and its management, one that reflected their belief system, replicated their interpretation of the cosmos and facilitated the use of water in ritual architecture and the display of power.

Keywords

MesoamericaMayaNakumwater managementsacred mountainsacred landscape
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 89 , Issue 344 , April 2015 , pp. 397 - 416
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd., 2015 

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