This episode takes you to Naachtun, a Maya city that lay hidden in the Petén jungle for centuries — known to archaeologists only as 'Site A' until the 1990s. Wedged between the great rivals Tikal and Calakmul, Naachtun prospered by playing both sides during the late Classic period, but its neutrality collapsed as the Snake Kingdom's power waned. We explore how Naachtun's rulers maintained independence through careful diplomacy, only to see the city abandoned by 800 CE. Drawing on recent excavations by the Naachtun Archaeological Project, we examine the evidence for a gradual decline — dwindling construction, shifting trade routes, and a final, desperate wall built around the ceremonial core. Unlike the violent ends of Cancuen or Dos Pilas, Naachtun's story is one of slow strangulation, a city caught between empires that eventually had no place to turn. We also discuss the controversy over the 'Maya Collapse' itself: was it a single catastrophe or a series of regional failures? Naachtun offers a quieter but equally revealing piece of the puzzle.
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