Fig. 1: Maps of Central America and Lake Petén Itzá.

A Map of the Yucatán Peninsula region in Central America, with the location of the central Petén lakes region indicated by the small, red rectangle in northern Guatemala. B Map of Lake Petén Itzá, showing the location of the Candelaria Peninsula at the western end of the lake, which hosts the archeological site of Nixtun-Ch’ich’. C Map of Nixtun-Ch’ich’, showing the city’s unique gridded layout and the site where the lake sediment core was collected (modified from Rice and Pugh23).