Nakum ("House of the pot") is a Mesoamerican archaeological site, and a former ceremonial center and city of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the northeastern portion of the Petén Basin region, in the modern-day Guatemalan department of Petén. The northeastern Petén region contains a good number of other significant Maya sites, and Nakum is one of the three sites forming the Cultural Triangle of "Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo". Nakum is approximately 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) to the north of Yaxha and some 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) to the east of Tikal, on the banks of the Holmul River. Its main features include an abundance of visibly restored architecture, and the roof comb of the site's main temple structure is one of the best-preserved outside Tikal.
This city has evidence of occupation dating from the Middle Preclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology. For the most part of the Classic period, Nakum appeared to be subordinate to Tikal. Nakum particularly flourished during the Late Classic (c. 8th century—10th century), due to its strategic situation north of Holmul river which was an important trade and communication route during this era. All the visible architecture belongs to this period, there are 15 stelae, Structure A with a triadic top, form along with structure C an astronomical complex. Structure V has vaults and vertical walls. Outside Tikal, it shows the largest corpus of ancient Maya script graffiti in a Classic Maya site. Nakum reached its apogee in the Terminal Classic period and might have achieved political independence around this time. However, it was abandoned soon after its apogee.[1]
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