Cival is a Preclassic site (800 to 100 BC), of the Maya Civilization, (Middle to Late Preclassic) located 6.5 north from Holmul in Petén, on the same sierra, the city is in a natural elevation surrounded by bajos, that have been proved to be essential in intensive agriculture techniques all over Petén during the Pre Classic and Classic, also to the south there is an Aguada or Sibal in Maya, the city is protected by a wall 1mt. thick that surrounded its center. (See map below)

Cival has been excavated just recently, and investigations are undergoing at present time, by a team from Vanderbilth University leaded by Estrada-Belli, however, was able to get a more accurate survey of the site using satellite imagery. The aerial images revealed that the ruins sprawl over an area of four square miles and gave the archaeologists exact coordinates for individual structures that they have been able to locate using GPS navigation technology. These techniques have allowed them to determine that the city originally had five pyramids and three large plazas and to estimate that at its height in 150 B.C. the city supported a population of about 10,000. Satellite navigation also allowed the archaeologists to determine that the city’s central, ceremonial complex had an important astronomical orientation. The central axis of the main plaza points directly at the location on the eastern horizon where the sun rises at the equinox. Lines drawn from the western pyramid to two of the other buildings also line up with sunrise at winter and summer solstice. 

The city was abandoned in mysterious circumstances shortly after A.D. 100 and never reoccupied. That means the older structures and artifacts are much easier for the archaeologists to find and study. Because the Maya had a habit of putting new buildings directly on top of older structures, Preclassic remains are few and far between at sites like Homul and Tikal that were occupied during the Classic period. The El Mirador and Nakbé sites located on the Mirador Basin, also in Guatemala,  are Preclassic sites similar to Cival, but much bigger. El Mirador boasts of a pyramid that rivals in size those in Egypt and once held an estimated population of 100,000. Excavations there have also found evidence of a highly developed culture.

The recent excavations in group E, that has a plaza and two pyramids, one 17 mt. high, (structure 7) and the other on top of a long platform 129 mt. long (structure 12), these were build during the Middle Preclassic (450 BC, and the last phases dated in the Late Pre Classic 150 AD), interestingly, the finest stucco masonry is that from the early phases, in Structure 12 showing the lack of sophistication in the terminal Pre Classic. These structures have an offering in its base in the shape of a Kan Cross with pottery in its 4 corners and in the center, below this one containing 5 axes, 1 made of Obsidian , 2 made with blue Jade and the others made with green Jade and 114 jade pieces, this is a clear reference to the Maya Cosmos, that is similar to a Preclassic offer in Ceibal,  the blue jade represent the water and the green the earth, all was covered by an stucco floor (see below A Plant B profile), dated at 500 BC.  A carved Stela, dating to 300 BC, --the oldest in any Maya Site--,  showing the accession of a king whose name has not yet been determine, has been recently uncovered, also a hurriedly constructed defensive wall built around AD 100, has been documented, Proof of a Preclassic War . The 6-foot-high wall "was a desperate attempt to close off the inner core of the site." This support the first Maya Collapse during the Preclassic.                                     

                          

East of this group is a Triadic temple, (Typical in the Preclassic Monumental Architecture), the Central pyramid of this Complex (Structure 1)  has Stucco Masks, and is similar to the H complex in Uaxactún, and beneath the stairs is a sub structure with paintings showing the Maize God and some painted blocks with the glyph Lamat (Venus). This blocks are from the staircase, and are similar to structures in Mirador and Uaxactún. This complex is dated 100 AD (Late Preclassic)

The Mask, a beautiful example of the sophisticated Maya Art, since the Preclassic,  is 15-by-9-foot made from stucco. The one visible eye was L-shaped and the mouth was squared, with snake's fangs in its center. The mask's preservation is astounding, It's almost as if someone made this yesterday. More recently, the team discovered a second, apparently identical, mask on the other side of a set of stairs. The eyes appear to be adorned with corn husks, suggesting the Maya maize god.  the masks flanked a pyramid stairway that led to the temple room, providing a backdrop for elaborate rituals in which the king. viewed by people in the plaza.  impersonated the gods of creation. Cival, being a rather mid size site, is proof of the existing Maya Culture centuries before than the current theories, a history that will have to be re-written, due to this and several  other large site such as,  San Bartolo and The Mirador Basin.