Overview

Nixtun-Ch’ich‘ has an urban grid with fairly well ordered streets and avenues dated to around 2300 years ago. This is one of the earliest urban grids in the Americas and likely emerged as the ancient Maya developed more complex forms of political organization. It was likely a means to regulate and perhaps dominate the inhabitants. Nevertheless, the grid system at Nixtun-Ch’ich’ did not catch on and is not seen in later Maya cities.

For more information see:

Pugh, Timothy W. and Prudence M. Rice

2017 Early Urban Planning, Spatial Strategies, and the Maya Gridded City of Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala. Current Anthropology 58(5):576-603.