The Pakbeh Regional Economy Project
Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico.

Introduction

The Pakbeh Regional Economy Program (PREP) uses archaeology and other sciences to learn about the ancient Maya from the site of Chunchucmil, located in the northwest corner of the Yucatan Peninsula, about an hour southwest of the modern city of Merida.

PREP operates with the permission of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the generous support of the modern Maya villages in the region. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation.

The site takes its name from the modern village of Chunchucmil (the closest village to the site core), which in turn takes its name from a largeshade tree, the chukum tree. Chunchucmil thrived approximately 1,500 years ago, though people originally began living there nearly a thousand years earlier. The city's inhabitants lived in buildings of stone, wood and clay. Those made of stone can be found without digging andPREP has mapped thousands of them, leading us to estimate that the population was once one of the largest of the ancient Maya cities.

This web site is intended to provide a basic understanding of the archaeology at Chunchucmil, and to provide a brief overview of the Pakbeh Regional Economy Project's goals and preliminary results.

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