city state · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Uaxactun

300 BCE – 900 CE (approx.) · capital Uaxactun

A Maya city in the Petén just north of Tikal, home to one of the first excavated Maya astronomical complexes and long overshadowed by its larger neighbour.

Origins

Uaxactun was settled in the Middle Preclassic and developed monumental architecture by about 300 BCE. Its Late Preclassic pyramid E-VII-sub, decorated with large stucco masks, belongs to an 'E Group', a plaza arrangement once interpreted as aligned to solstice and equinox sunrises.

Rule and society

Uaxactun was ruled by its own lords, but its history is entwined with Tikal, about 20 kilometres to the south. Inscriptions record the arrival of the Teotihuacan-linked lord Sihyaj K'ahk' in 378 CE, after which Uaxactun appears under Tikal's influence. Its Early Classic murals and palace sequence were studied in detail by the Carnegie Institution in the 1920s and 1930s.

Decline and legacy

Monument building ended around 900 CE, during the wider Classic Maya collapse, and the city was abandoned. Its excavation produced a ceramic sequence that long served as the basis for dating the Maya lowlands.

Connections (1)

  • Uaxactun was conquered by Tikal378 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Uaxactun. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/uaxactun
MLA
“Uaxactun.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/uaxactun. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Uaxactun.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/uaxactun.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Uaxactun’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/uaxactun (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻