Uaxactun is a Mayan ruins site, also in the jungles of Guatemala. The city lies about 23 miles north of Tikal. The name is a reference to the Mayan words Waxak (Eight) and Tun. This name was given by Sylvanus Morley because he found an inscription dating from the 8th Baktun (Waxak) of the Mayan calender, which is the earlierst known Mayan date. The other meaning is a pun, he chose "Uaxactun" because it sounds like "Washington", the Capital of the United States where his funds came from.

Archaeological research was started in Uaxactun in the 1920s. The city was the first city of the Maya where findings from an era before the classical period were discovered.