Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown Maya settlement in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula that offers a rare look at Maya settlement life among people outside the ruling elite. The site, known as K’oxol Ja’ II, contains the remains of homes, water-management features, and ritual offerings.
Researchers say the settlement could help explain how ordinary Maya communities lived and organized themselves away from major temples and palaces. The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) discovered the site in mid-2025 during archaeological salvage work connected to the construction of the Progreso Multimodal Terminal. The infrastructure forms part of the Maya Cargo Train project. K’oxol Ja’ II covers about 2,257 square meters (24,295 sq ft) and includes twenty-one monuments and associated natural features. Archaeologists believe it mainly served as a residential community.
Homes reveal life beyond Maya palaces
The site’s name comes from Mayan words meaning “mosquito” and “water.” It can be translated as “water of the mosquitoes,” reflecting the environment in which the community developed.
Archaeologists identified foundations and other remains of ancient homes across the settlement. The structures provide evidence about people who formed the social base of Maya society rather than its most powerful groups.
#ÚltimaHORA 🚨 Salvamento arqueológico del Tren Maya de Carga localiza y preserva in situ el sitio K’oxol ja’ II, en Yucatán ‼
• Su evidencia cerámica indica que fue ocupado del año 400 a.C., al 900 d.C.
Te contamos todos los detalles: https://t.co/al9fRaIfKL pic.twitter.com/I0gqCB3PHD
— INAH (@INAHmx) August 24, 2026
The discovery adds to a growing archaeological picture of Maya communities outside famous political centers. In April, archaeologists confirmed an ancient Maya settlement with eighty buildings and rare wall paintings in Quintana Roo. That site was also documented through archaeological work associated with the Maya Train.
Researchers date activity at K’oxol Ja’ II from the regional Preclassic period, about 400 B.C. to A.D. 250, through the Late Classic period, about A.D. 450 to 900.
Water shaped how the community lived
Water appears to have played a major role in determining where and how the settlement developed. Archaeologists documented both permanent and seasonal water sources. The main cenote still contains remains of a stone curb built to modify its entrance. Researchers believe residents may have constructed the feature to manage access to the water or make it easier to utilize.
The modification suggests residents did more than simply settle near an available water source. They altered their surroundings to manage a resource essential to everyday life. Water engineering has emerged at other Maya sites as well. Archaeologists previously uncovered a nearly 3,000-year-old Maya city in Guatemala with a water canal system, contributing to evidence that controlling water played a vital role in Maya communities. Researchers believe K’oxol Ja’ II may have occupied an intermediate position within a wider regional settlement network.
Settlement was part of a wider Maya network
The community may have been politically connected to El Chiik, another settlement discovered during archaeological work linked to the Maya Cargo Train. El Chiik lies northwest of K’oxol Ja’ II and may have served as the governing center for the surrounding population. The relationship could provide researchers with new evidence about how smaller communities were organized around larger Maya centers.
Another unusual feature is the small amount of pottery recovered at K’oxol Ja’ II. Ceramics are common at many Maya archaeological sites. Researchers suggest residents may instead have relied heavily on household objects made from wood, fibers, or other materials that decomposed over time. Evidence from elsewhere in the Maya world is also bringing greater attention to household activity. Recent research into ancient Maya salt works in Belize found that ordinary families appear to have operated salt-making sites rather than relying on large centralized workshops.
Offerings provide evidence of ritual practices
Archaeologists found no human burials in the excavated residential areas. The absence may be linked to the site’s geology. Houses stood close to limestone bedrock, leaving little soil deep enough for burials beneath or around the homes. However, researchers recovered two offerings associated with the foundation and consecration of structures. Similar finds elsewhere in the Yucatán have helped researchers examine ritual practices beyond monumental temples.
Earlier this year, archaeologists uncovered 3,000-year-old Maya offerings beneath a sacred structure in the Yucatán during salvage work linked to another section of the Maya Train project. The K’oxol Ja’ II offerings have been removed for conservation and further study. Stone artifacts, pottery, and sediment samples are also undergoing laboratory analysis.
Site will remain protected for future research
The twenty-one monuments have been cleaned and their walls restored. Authorities also installed protective mesh around the site. INAH and Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense agreed to establish a protected area around the settlement so it can remain available for future archaeological work. K’oxol Ja’ II is significant because Maya archaeology has often centered on monumental cities, rulers, temples, and elaborate tombs. Smaller residential settlements can provide a different view.
By studying homes, water systems, offerings, and everyday objects, archaeologists can reconstruct the lives of people who left few written records. K’oxol Ja’ II adds those communities to a broader picture of Maya society and shows how people outside the elite managed essential resources, organized their settlements, and adapted to the landscape of the ancient Yucatán.
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