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blocks. These tools consisted of bifacial picks and axes, hammerstones, and flake cores that were made of chert. Archaeologists made replicas of these tools to use in experimenting with the cutting and shaping of limestone blocks. By studying the evidence of wear and polish of the tools along with the cut marks on quarry walls, researchers were able to determine how these tools were used and what kind of handles were attached. They made longhandled picks which they used to cut the limestone from the bedrock. Then they used the stone axes to cut and form the block the way they wanted. The results of these experiments have showed that
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monumental architecture were planned, simultaneous events. There are many buildings at Nakbe and they are divided into three groups. Two of these groups, called East and West, were constructed during the formative periods and the third group, called Codex, was constructed during the reoccupation of the site in the late classic period. The most impressive and largest of the buildings at Nakbe is a pyramid called
Structure 1. Flanked by two large stucco masks and topped with three
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artifacts have proved sparse throughout the site of Nakbe, perhaps because the settlement was rapidly eclipsed by the rise of El
Mirador. Nakbe remained virtually abandoned for a thousand years, until some late Classic Maya reoccupied the site. These people established small communities in and around the ruins and left some fine examples of Classic ceramics, including the
332:, in the Central Highlands of Guatemala, whether for ideological or economic reasons, and the mechanisms of procurement, transportation, and distribution that met that demand, may have required the development of administrative and governmental organizations at an earlier stage in this region than in areas where those commodities were more readily available.
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Nakbe Stela 1 consists of forty-five fragments of a once 11 ft (3.4 m). tall monument that had been smashed in antiquity. After pieced together, the stela depicts a scene with two individuals standing face to face and dressed in costumes of a very early Mayan style. One figure is pointing
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was a very effective and durable stone to use for the cutting of limestone and other materials. Excavations and research at Nakbe gives us a better understanding of the techniques that the Maya used to construct some of the most extraordinary structures of ancient times and the complications they had
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system linked important features of the city to one another and later linked Nakbé with other sites. These causeways were often created above the ground level; the Kan
Causeway was 4 meters (13 ft) above the ground level in some areas. These causeways were paved with crushed white stone, which
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Nakbe had established monumental architecture as early as the 8th century BC, with some platforms 18 m (59 ft) high. Around 1200 BC, modest villages were leveled and filled to serve as platform foundations for large new buildings, indicating that the platform construction and erection of
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of Nakbe were a significant facet of the research done by The RAINPEG group. Research of the quarries is of considerable importance because understanding of Mayan quarries, a prevalent aspect of the Mayan culture, is lacking. Excavations recovered 23 stone tools that were used to cut the limestone
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were also built to connect all these buildings. Maya causeways were paved with crushed white stone, which inspired their Mayan name, sacbe (“white way”) The Kan
Causeway at Nakbe was 4 m (13 ft) above adjacent ground level in some places. One causeway was also built that connected Nakbe
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While at least some remains have been found from nearly every period of Maya society at Nakbe, the site was never a major center after the beginning of the late
Preclassic period. The last construction phases of the largest pyramids at Nakbe date to the beginning of this period. Late Preclassic
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was the first person to start excavations, but it wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s that real excavation began by UCLA's
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, and the Institute of Anthropology and History of Guatemala. The combined efforts of these two groups resulted in the RAINPEG
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Fairly direct evidence of developing differences in social and economic status includes human incisors with inlaid disks of jadelike stone, found in deposits dating to about 2,800 years ago. Such dental decorations are known to have been associated with elite status in later Maya periods.
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Archaeologists also found a middle
Preclassic ceramic shard with a portion of an incised profile that displays the sloping forehead characteristic of later Maya elite society. This was a frontal cranial deformation that resulted from binding the head in infancy.
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The RAINPEC Project spent much of its energy excavating and studying the tools that were used in limestone excavation and preparation. They had unearthed 23 tools including bifacial axes, picks, and hammer stones, all of which were made of
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and obsidian (a volcanic glass from which sharp tools could be fashioned), played an important role in the formation of an increasingly complex society. The demand for these materials, mainly from
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The shells reflect one of the earliest major imports into the interior of northern
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383:("white way"). Nakbe was connected to El Mirador by one causeway and later in the Late Classic Maya period Nakbe was connected to the Maya center of
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The site was first discovered in 1930 by aerial photos taken of the region, but excavations of the site did not take place until 1962. Archaeologist
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period (c. 1400 BC) and continued to be a large site until its collapse during the
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Nakbe was a key site to the Maya because of its extensive quarry system of limestone, a key element to the building of the many large temples.
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upwards with an index finger to a disembodied head. The scene has been interpreted as a representation from the
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https://web.archive.org/web/20051214003321/http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/meso_america/nakbe.html
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Evans, Susan Toby. "Ancient Mexico & Central
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Nakbé, Mid Preclassic (600 BC) Palace remains, The Mirador Basin
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roofed structures, Structure 1 is both grand and beautiful.
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3rd-century BC disestablishments in the Maya civilization
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created the naming of these causeways from the Maya name
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15th-century BC establishments in the Maya civilization
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Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC
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for more articles see Category:Maya sites in Mexico
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477:http://www.mayainfo.org/trips/trip5/nakbe.asp
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489:Nakbé Description and Photo Gallery
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412:Religion and iconography at Nakbe
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76:Show map of Mesoamerica
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1179:Chunchucmil
1134:Balankanche
1043:Wajxaklajun
1008:Tamarindito
988:San Bartolo
918:Mixco Viejo
873:Kaminaljuyu
808:El Porvenir
753:Cerro Quiac
696:Xunantunich
671:San Estevan
626:Lower Dover
330:Kaminaljuyú
162: /
138:Coordinates
132:Petén Basin
1494:Maya sites
1488:Categories
1472:See also:
1456:San Andrés
1436:Cara Sucia
1349:Tortuguero
1224:Hormiguero
1199:Comalcalco
1169:Chinkultic
1154:Chacchoben
1028:Tres Islas
913:Machaquila
903:La Joyanca
813:El Temblor
798:El Mirador
773:Chutixtiox
763:Chitinamit
676:Santa Rita
621:Louisville
581:Chaa Creek
566:Cahal Pech
556:Baking Pot
530:Maya sites
458:References
427:Ixbalanque
261:Ian Graham
249:El Mirador
241:El Mirador
235:region of
206:Site notes
178:Settlement
1394:Yaxchilan
1324:Punta Sur
1259:Kohunlich
1219:Ekʼ Balam
1204:Dzibanche
1189:Chunlimón
1184:Chunhuhub
1096:El Puente
973:Qʼumarkaj
908:La Muerta
898:La Corona
893:La Blanca
888:La Amelia
818:El Tintal
783:Dos Pilas
715:Guatemala
631:Lubaantun
601:KaʼKabish
419:Popol Vuh
397:limestone
368:Causeways
351:Causeways
274:limestone
237:Guatemala
231:, in the
211:Condition
122:Guatemala
1446:Cihuatán
1409:Yoʼokop
1309:Palenque
1304:Oxkintok
1164:Chicanná
1149:Calakmul
1144:Bonampak
1083:Honduras
1063:Zacpeten
1033:Uaxactun
978:Río Azul
968:Quiriguá
933:Naachtun
883:Kʼatepan
863:Ixtonton
738:Balberta
723:Aguateca
661:Pacbitun
611:La Milpa
596:El Pilar
551:Altun Ha
400:quarries
385:Calakmul
374:causeway
315:Uaxactun
310:Strombus
305:ceramics
214:In ruins
196:Cultures
114:Location
1461:Tazumal
1389:Xtampak
1329:Río Bec
1299:Ocomtún
1279:Mayapan
1264:Komchen
1159:Chactún
1129:Balamku
1114:Acanceh
1068:Zaculeu
1023:Topoxte
1013:Tayasal
953:Pajaral
948:Naranjo
923:Montana
848:Iximche
828:Guaytán
823:El Zotz
803:El Perú
793:El Chal
788:El Baúl
768:Chocolá
748:Cancuén
743:Bejucal
686:Uxbenka
666:Pusilha
641:Minanha
616:Lamanai
571:Caracol
423:Hun-Apu
188:Periods
183:History
1399:Yaxuná
1384:Xpuhil
1379:Xlapak
1369:Xcaret
1344:Toniná
1319:Pomona
1274:La Mar
1244:Joljaʼ
1229:Izamal
1106:Mexico
1053:Xultun
1048:Witzna
1038:Ucanal
998:Seibal
868:Ixtutz
838:Holtun
833:Holmul
691:Xnaheb
651:Nohmul
606:Kʼaxob
591:Cuello
576:Cerros
538:Belize
128:Region
1374:Xelha
1359:Uxmal
1354:Tulum
1339:Sayil
1294:Muyil
1269:Labna
1254:Kiuic
1249:Kabah
1239:Jaina
1234:Izapa
1214:Edzna
1139:Becan
1091:Copán
1058:Yaxha
1018:Tikal
983:Sacul
943:Nakum
938:Nakbe
878:Kinal
853:Ixkun
843:Itzan
758:Chama
586:Colha
405:chert
380:sacbe
319:Tikal
285:chert
233:Petén
221:Nakbe
35:Nakbe
29:Nakba
18:Nakbé
1404:Yula
1364:Uxul
1284:Maní
1194:Coba
858:Ixlu
681:Tipu
425:and
395:The
326:jade
225:Maya
175:Type
1124:Aké
1490::
372:A
317:,
120:,
1418:)
1412:(
522:e
515:t
508:v
31:.
20:)
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