When archaeologists discovered an ancient Maya settlement hidden in the forests of Campeche earlier this year, reaching it had been so difficult that they gave it a name reflecting their experience: Minanbé, meaning “there is no road.” Now, just months after the discovery, researchers believe they may have uncovered what its inhabitants actually called it more than a thousand years ago. The name is Sakil, a Maya word associated with whiteness. Although the reading remains a proposal, inscriptions found at Minanbé and another archaeological site approximately 40 kilometers away are providing new clues about the settlement’s identity, its rulers and its place within the political landscape of the ancient Maya world. The findings were announced by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) on November 9, 2026, following research presented by epigrapher Octavio Esparza Olguín of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Beyond the possible identification of a