Naranjo (Wak Kab'nal in Mayan) is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 BC to 950 AD, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. The city lies along the Mopan and Holmul rivers, and is about 50 km east of the site of Tikal. Naranjo has been the victim of severe looting. The site is known for its polychrome ceramic style.
Layout of site
The area of Naranjo covers at least 8 km<sup>2</sup> with the urban center covering about 2.25 km<sup>2</sup>.
Archaeological preservation work
thumb|View of Naranjo
The site was first mapped and photographed by Teoberto Maler in 1905, who was sent by The Peabody Museum of Harvard University. In 1908 Maler excavated the hieroglyphic stairway from structure B-18, in London. In the 1910s, further investigations of the site were made by Sylvanus G. Morley and Oliver Ricketson.
History
thumb|Stela 8, showing the inauguration of Kʼahkʼ Ukalaw Chan Chaahk in 755. [[Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología|MUNAE, Guatemala City.]]
The history of Naranjo includes several major disturbances in the dynastic rule when allegiances and identities of local kings were subject to change. Texts at the site record a mythical founding of the city by its patron god.