Kinal

Kinal is a major pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the Petén Department of the modern-day Petén Department of northern Guatemala. The major occupational phase for the site dates from the Late Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, with evidence for a substantial and expansionary building program dating from the first half of the 8th century AD. Kinal was discovered in the 1960s by archaeologist Ian Graham while he was carrying out an archaeological survey of the region, although no excavations were undertaken at the site at that time.The name Kinal means "something that heats" in the Yucatec Maya language. In the Kʼicheʼ Maya language, kinal is used to refer a sacred fire. The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1990 by the Proyecto Regional Ixcanrio, directed by Richard Adams of the University of Texas. The site has suffered significant damage at the hands of looters but is now protected by custodians.