The sites of the major exchange routes from the Maya highlands to the lowlands during the Classic period lie in the Verapaz valleys. The data from the numerous ceramic cave deposits in the northern part of that region show that, during the Early Classic, this frontier zone was probably under lowland influence. Yet, during the Late Classic (AD 600–800) the rise of the city of Raxruha Viejo implied a drastic change in the relations between both regions. Raxruha's ceramic assemblage and architecture clearly appear to be affiliated with the identity of the highlands. The proximity to Cancuen (17 km), a major lowland center, and the contemporaneity of the two cities, raises many questions about the nature of their relations. In this chapter we show that the deposits inside the caves controlled by the Raxruha polity comprise a very high percentage of Late Classic lowland ceramic that is almost absent from Raxruha. This indicates that these places were the centers of important interregional pilgrimages. Furthermore, the very clear-cut differences in the distribution patterns of both ceramic styles, as well as the building of the caves by the Raxruha entity, point toward a form of institutionalization in the interregional relationships between different ethnic groups through the cave cults.

2014 ended the Naachtun Proyect’s first phase of investigations. During five years, it focused mainly on the characterization of the site social, political, and economic organization during the period of apogee of this regional major Center, that is the Late and Terminal Classic periods, during which Naachtun’s population reached its peak. In this paper, we will emphasize the main results in terms of knowledge of Naachtun’s history, giving priority to the most recent progress and discoveries of the 2014 field season, in the archaeological as well as in the paleo-environmental fields. (source editeur)