Naachtun Archaeological Site And Archeology Work In Guatemala Editorial Photo

A starry sky is seen atop the campsite of Naachtun Archaeological site, located in the Dos Lagunas Two Lagoons Biological Preserve, in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve in Northeast Peten, in Guatemala. Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. Naachtun is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, situated at the northeastern perimeter of the Mirador Basin region in the southern Maya lowlands, now in the modern-day Department of El Petén, northern Guatemala. Naachtun was a major center of the region by the late Formative or Pre-Classic Period, and was one of the few Formative Period Mirador Basin centers which continued to flourish into the succeeding Classic period.Situated in one of the areas most remote from contemporary settlements, the site was first rediscovered in 1922 by the American archaeologist and Mayanist scholar, Sylvanus Morley. Its ancient name was Masuul. The site is being investigated by the Calgary University, where they have found that the site served as a link between Tikal and Calakmul, that were the superpowers in the Classic, and in constant wars between them, perhaps using Massul as a `Neutral Talk Place`.