JASON Foundation for Education
Dr.
Richard Leventhal and a team of archaeologists and graduate
students will explore Xunantunich,
a Classic Maya city. Leventhal has been directing research at
Xunantunich for three years. Xunantunich is a unique site because it
appears to have been built at around 750 AD, near the end of the Late
Classic Period and occupied for 200-250 years with a growth period
that occurred during the so-called collapse of the Maya. As nearby
cities such as Tikal, Caracol, Seibal, Dos Pilas and Altun Ha began
to fall apart and to be abandoned, Xunantunich was thriving. As they
investigate Xunantunich, the archaeology team will try to understand
who founded Xunantunich and why as well as how this city continued to
grow and develop during a time of political confusion and
fragmentation throughout the Maya lowlands. In addition to research
into the physical structures at Xunantunich -- and the surrounding
roads and settlements -- the archaeology team is also researching the
folklore and mythology of the modern day Maya of Succotz village. The
purpose of this investigation is to gain insight into both the
ancient city of Xunantunich and their modern ancestors.
More Information
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Gene Carl
Feldman
(gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov)
(301) 286-9428
Todd Carlo Viola,
JASON Foundation for Education
(todd@jason.org)