Actuncan site information

Actuncan was an ancient Mayan urban center located in the Mopan River valley in Western Belize near the present-day Guatemalan border. The site sits on a ridge on the western banks of Mopan River, a tributary river to the Belize River.^[1][2][3] The site was first settled in the Middle Preclassic period around 1000 BC. During its approximate 2000 year occupation history, Actuncan, along with surrounding Mayan sites, experienced a large change in political power during the Terminal Classic period. This change in power led the urban centers to restructure their own political institutions, as well as their spiritual relationship and ritual practices, or face having their centers collapse. While many centers did fail, Actuncan was successful in its ability to effectively restructure their way of life by changing their practices and physically changing their surrounding to address those changes.^[3]

Actuncan was first excavated by James McGovern in the early 1990s, who was the first to map the 14 ha site. He determined that the site was divided into two distinct parts that he referred to as Actuncan North and Actuncan South. Actuncan North appears to have been the main residential and everyday living area, while Actuncan South was a spiritual center that contained a temple complex.^[1] Since 2001, the Actuncan Archaeological Project has completed several excavation missions and projects in relation to the changing function of the landscape due to social and political change in the area.^[1][3]