About This Project

This project aims to map and analyze settlement patterns at Topoxte, an archaeological site which outlived the Maya “collapse.” Topoxte covers a series of islands in Lake Yaxha, Guatemala. Palaces, plazas, and people are all concentrated within the islands. Who lived and made this city? What was life like in an isolated urban center when so much around it was in ruins? This project lays the groundwork for exploring these questions at Topoxte.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The site of Topoxte extends over several islands in Lake Yaxha. The islands are visible from Yaxha, the ruins of a major Maya city and a popular tourist destination. In the wake of the Maya "collapse", around AD 1200, temples and plazas spring up at Topoxte and residences of elites and commoners cover the smaller islands.

This project will build on earlier archaeological work conducted at Topoxte by expanding, refining, and digitizing existing preliminary maps. We will survey the settlement across the islands and rank residences according to size, form, location, and construction materials. This will lay the groundwork for excavation of those residences, which will provide an understanding of social organization and daily life at Topoxte.

What is the significance of this project?

The ancient Maya are as famous for their “collapse” as for their achievements. Topoxte offers a rare opportunity to explore an exception to this general rule. Topoxte is well-preserved and well-protected. The intact nature of the site will enable us to formulate important questions about this island society, as well as its interactions with both its contemporaries and nearby ruins.

This project is made possible by the generosity of the Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. The results from this and future work will be shared with the park and contribute to its mission. Publications will be made available in both English and Spanish. As a popular tourist site, any new information gained about Topoxte has the potential to reach an annual audience of thousands of visitors.

What are the goals of the project?

This project has four main goals. The first is to digitize and update and refine existing sketch maps of the Topoxte islands. The second is to build a Geographic Information System (GIS) that will incorporate and connect the spatial data across all of the islands. The third goal is to survey the ruins on the islands, identifying and cataloging public architecture, ritual and administrative buildings, and private residences. The final goal is to produce a typology of the structures on the Topoxte islands, identifying residential areas that may correspond to different social strata for excavations in subsequent field seasons.