Xel’ ha – Quintana Roo – Mexico

Posted on 11/06/2023 by Michael

Xel’ ha

Xel’ ha – Quintana Roo

Location

This site is located in the state of Quintana Roo, approximately 113 km south of the city of Cancun and 16 km north of Tulum. Its name in Yucatec Maya means ‘where the waters spring’ (from xel, ‘spring’, and ha, ‘water’), due to the fact that it overlooks a natural cove. This cove is believed to have served in pre-Hispanic times as a trading port and shelter for sailing vessels during bad weather. Nowadays, it has been turned into a recreational nature reserve (Xelha Park) and is regarded as one of the main tourist attractions on the Maya Riviera. The core area of the settlement with the most elaborate buildings occupies the highest point, rising in certain places to 8 m above sea level. There are several cenotes or exposed underground waters nearby. The largest is very close to the Jaguar Group at the site. The entrance can be found at km 245 on federal road 307 linking Puerto Juarez to the city of Chetumal.

Pre-Hispanic history

Due to its location, Xelha may well correspond to the ancient pre-Hispanic village known as Xala. Around 1527, the men in Francisco de Montejo’s expedition ‘travelled to Yucatan and cast anchor half a league from an Indian village, which they call Xala’ regarding it as favourable land for colonisation by the Spanish, they established the first Salamanca de Xala nearby. Xelha experienced two important stages of development: the first, between the late Preclassic and the end of the Early Classic, and the second throughout the Postclassic until the Spaniards arrived. During its early stage, the site reveals an increase in building activity, ranging from an incipient architecture based on perishable materials to a more attractive architecture with elaborate stonework and masonry. Combined with a gradual population increase, this enabled the settlement to gain the status of trading port, and it came to be recognised as the most important city in the region during the Early Classic. There was also evident artistic development during this stage, as manifested by its ties with sites further inland and on the central plateau; this is particularly evident from the pictorial style visible in the House of Birds.

Subsequently, during its second stage of development, the population increased further and port and trading activities were consolidated, spreading their influence along the whole of the east coast. The wall near the sea which defended the port from possible attacks corresponds to this period. Soon after the arrival of the Spaniards, Xelha entered a decline and by the middle of the 16th century had been abandoned.

Site description

The core area consists of four architectural groups, although only groups B and C are open to the public.

Group B or the Lothrop Group.

This group of constructions is situated some 400 m west of the cove. Its structures comprise platforms and masonry buildings distinctly influenced by the Peten style of architecture. The group was occupied almost continuously from the Late Preclassic until the beginning of the 16th century. It contains palatial-type buildings that were almost certainly used by people of high political or religious rank; most of them date from the Late and Terminal Classic. The main structure, known as the House of Birds and nowadays partly destroyed by the road built in the 1970s, displays numerous construction phases. The dividing wall between two rooms still has traces of murals from the Early Classic. One side of the wall depicts birds and the other an effigy of Tlaloc, with a marked Teotihuacan influence. A pre-Hispanic causeway (sacbe) measuring 6 m wide and 1,200 m long leads to groups C and D.

C Group or Jaguar Group.

Situated on the edge of a magnificent cenote, this group corresponds to the final period of occupation. Five small temples or adoratoriums in the East Coast style are distributed around the platform they share, forming a small plaza with a tiny altar at the centre. The most outstanding building is the one that lends its name to the group. This contains another small shrine with murals on the interior and exterior walls. One of these murals shows a jaguar. Another of the temples is accessed by balustraded stairways culminating in serpent heads, now obliterated by the passage of time.

Other Groups.

Although not open to the public, Group A or the Pier Group contains constructions dating from AD 990 to 1527, situated near the cove on a small isthmus, keeping watch over sailing vessels entering the cove. It is composed of low platforms and three East Coast-style structures which were used for port and trading activities. However, the most outstanding element of the group is a wall, 50 m long and 3 m high, which protected the settlement, Group D, situated at the end of the sacbe, comprises six structures that have not been excavated but whose architecture suggests that they date from the Late Classic.

Monuments and ceramics

The historical ceramic periods can be summarised as follows:

Kantenah period (AD 100-400). There are only a few ceramic fragments from this period and no evidence of building activity, suggesting that the site must have been at a very incipient stage.

Yalku period (AD 400-600). This stage reveals considerable building activity in an architectural style characteristic of the Peten-Belize region, with masonry constructions, inset stairways and rounded corners. During this period, Xelha consolidated its status as a trading port and its cultural ties outside the region.

Chemuyil I period (AD 600-700). This is distinguished by several stylistic influences from the central region of the peninsula, demonstrating the degree of cultural relations that this settlement maintained with various inland sites during the Late Classic.

Chemuyil II period (AD 700-1200). This period denotes a transformation in the constructions with most of the buildings now being covered and closed to allow for new structures on top of them. The Vault Group (D), connected via a sacbe to Group B, dates from this time.

Xala I period (AD 1200-1527). A considerable number of East Coast-style buildings emerged in this period, including the Pier (A) and Jaguar House (C) groups. Altars were also built next to water and inside caves. Xalal II Period (AD 1527). The site was abandoned.

Importance and relations

Some authors believe that the most outstanding aspects of this site are its location and its importance within the vast coastal trade network during the Postclassic period. Meanwhile, its status as a trading port must have allowed it to develop and maintain relations with other regions in the Maya area and on the central plateau. The traces of murals in the structure known as the House of Birds denote an external influence, which was manifested in the social, cultural and artistic circles at the settlement. This again reveals important ties with other sites in eastern Yucatan and Mesoamerica.

Jose Manuel Ochoa Rodriguez

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp443-444.

Getting there:

From Tulum. Not easy. Get a combi that travelling in the direction of Playa de Carmen and try to get dropped off on the main road as close to the entrance of the site as possible. The ‘not easy’ bit is getting across a busy road where the traffic scream by.

To get back to Tulum just flag down any combi that passes through the town. M$40.

GPS:

20d 19’09.00” N

87d 21’59.55” W

Entrance:

M$90

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Muyil – Quintana Roo – Mexico

Posted on 11/06/2023 by Michael

Muyil

More on the Maya

Muyil – Quintana Roo

Location

This is situated in one of the largest protected nature areas in Mexico: the Sian Ka’an (‘where the sky is born’) Biosphere Reserve, declared a World Heritage site in 1987. Some 20 or so pre-Hispanic settlements have been found in this vast area, mainly along the coast, including Capechen, San Miguel de Ruz, Chamax, Paso de la Viuda, Recodo San Juan, Xoken and Muyil, this site being the largest. Lakes Nopalitos, Muyil and Chunyaxche are all adjacent to the site. No one knows what it was called during the pre-Hispanic period; the name Muyil corresponds to the nearby lake of the same name and the first record of this toponym was found in early colonial documents. It is also known as Chunyaxche because this was the name used by the French ‘explorer’ Michel Peissel when he published his adventures on the Quintana Roo coast in the 1960s. The site lies 22 km south of the town of Tulum, on federal road 307 between Cancun and Chetumal.

Pre-Hispanic history

Like many of the coasts on the east coast, Muyil has a long occupational timeline. The earliest evidence dates from the Late Preclassic. From the Classic era, numerous architectural ruins from residential and civic-religious constructions have been found, consisting of masonry platforms on which wattle-and-daub walls and palm roofs were built. However, the largest quantity of residential (platforms, dry walls, etc.) and civic-ceremonial (temples, sanctuaries, altars, etc.) ruins correspond to the Postclassic. The earliest ruins found at Muyil date from the Late Preclassic, when it existed as a small, sparsely populated settlement. The only remains from this period are ceramic fragments. During the Classic period (AD 300-1000), it gradually grew and developed an economy based on the exploitation of the abundant natural resources nearby. Trade with other sites in the Maya area was frequent, given its situation on the shores of a freshwater lake with internal channels and lagoons connected to the sea. During this period the site was influenced by the Guatemalan region of Peten, which is reflected both in the ceramics and the architecture. This can be seen in the Castillo and in the majority of the constructions in the Entrance Plaza group. Muyil experienced its heyday in the Postclassic period, which was characterised by a considerable territorial expansion and population increase. Most of the constructions date from this period and are built in the typical East Coast style.

Site description

The settlement is divided into two sections: Muyil A and Muyil B or the Cenote. The former is the largest (38 has) and the only one open to the public. The groups of constructions are defined by monumental architecture, and Muyil A contains the Entrance Plaza Group, the Castillo Group and the Temple 8 Group. The temple known as Xlabpak or Lake Watchtower can also be considered part of Muyil A.

The first complex is the Entrance plaza group which dates from the Classic period and comprises 13 civic-ceremonial and residential constructions, none of which have been excavated. Belonging to this same group, albeit from a later period (Postclassic), is structure 6, which is abutted to the facade of one of the Classic constructions and consists of a temple sanctuary composed of a portico and columns and polychrome decoration.

The Castillo is the highest building at Muyil (17 m.), comprising five tiers and a balustraded stairway. An offering of 300 jadeite, shell and conch objects was found at the top of the stairway. Two sub-structures uncovered beneath the final construction phase, the Temple of the Herons and the Temple of the Falcon, were exposed on the east side of the building. A causeway or sacbe, divided into three sections, linked the Castillo to the Entrance Group and the lake. Situated north-west of the Castillo is a group of ceremonial buildings delimited by a low wall with two entrances. Inside the walls stands Temple 8 on a fourtier platform with several construction phases commencing in the Early Postclassic and terminating in the Late Postclassic. A small sanctuary is situated in front of the stairway. The Lake Watchtower or Xlabpak is a free-standing temple built on rocky outcrop on the shores of Lake Chunyaxche and the only way to reach it is by boat.

Importance and relations

Muyil must have been a relatively important city during the Classic period judging from its monumental constructions, most notably the Castillo and the Entrance Plaza Group. During this period, Muyil maintained close ties with the Peten region in Guatemala. Subsequently, it established stronger ties with Coba, which probably used the strategically located Muyil as a point for trading goods with the Peten region. By the Postclassic, the hegemony of the cities in the Peten region and Coba had declined, obliging Muyil to modify its political and economic patterns. When Chichén Itzá fell, most of the coastal sites in Quintana Roo, including Muyil, experienced an unexpected boom. This is clearly manifested in the quantity of architectural ruins from this period. Around AD 1450, when the Cocom dynasty lost its control and Mayapan, its capital, the prevailing political structure in the Yucatan Peninsula fell apart, leading to a reorganisation of society and the emergence of independent provinces or chieftainships with their own governors.

Elia del Carmen Trejo Alvarado

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp448-449.

Getting there:

From Tulum. A combi going to Muyil leaves from the stop at the corner of Av Tulum and Calle Acuraio Norte, on the hour from 07.00 – check price.

To get back flag down any combi heading into Tulum.

GPS:

20d 04′ 44″ N

87d 36′ 48″ W

Entrance:

M$70

More on the Maya

Ek’ Balam – Campeche – Mexico

Posted on 07/06/2023 by Michael

Ek’ Balam

More on the Maya

Ek’ Balam – Campeche

Location

This site is situated on the north-eastern coastal plain of the Yucatan Peninsula, where the topography is sedimentary rock that formed in the Cenozoic period, 63 million years ago. Nearly all the terrain is flat, with a few elevations in the south rising to a maximum height of 210 m. There are very few sources of surface water and the phreatic water table is situated between 20 and 25 m below the ground. However, there are numerous large underground aquifers, as well as several cenotes in the area; two of these are fairly large and situated at the east and west ends of the core area, approximately 1 km apart. There is also a large quantity of funnel-shaped depressions, known as k’op in the Maya language and doline in English; although usually dry, they can store water during the rainy season. In some cases they have a diameter of up to 100 m and are 17 m deep, nearly reaching the aquifers, and for this reason the ancient Maya excavated wells at the bottom of them. The site must have obtained its water supply from the cenotes and sinkholes, storing rainwater in the chultuno’ob (underground artificial cisterns) and other types of tanks. The climate in the region is of the hot, sub humid variety, with the rain falling mainly in the summer months. The average temperature is 26° C and the annual precipitation is usually at least 1,200 mm.

The archaeological site is situated approximately 190 km from the city of Merida. The path is well signposted. Take the Tizimin road from the city of Valladolid, drive through the town of Temozon and 7 km further along the road join the 5-km road leading to the archaeological area.

Pre-Hispanic history

According to data from the first investigations at the site, conducted by an American team, Ek’ Balam was occupied from the Middle Preclassic to the colonial period (from AD 600 to 1600). During the explorations carried out as part of the INAH Ek’ Balam Project, one of the sub-structures of the Acropolis furnished the earliest example of architecture, dating from the Late Preclassic (c. 300 BC-AD 300). Ek’ Balam experienced its heyday in the Late Classic (c. AD 770-896), during the reign of Ukit Kan Le’k Tok’ and his descendants. In the Postclassic, changes occurred for reasons that we have not yet determined and no more large constructions were built, giving way to small adoratoriums, platforms and altars. Ek’ Balam continues to be inhabited to this day, and although the most important constructions are partly in ruins, they are used for ceremonial purposes. For example, an altar has been built on the collapsed Ball Court, and offerings are even deposited in the rubble of certain structures, such as the East Hieroglyphic Serpent and the south-east corner of the Acropolis. This means that the Walled Enclosure continues to be regarded as an important sacred space. The occupation of the site continued in the 16th century and there is a colonial settlement situated north-east of the core area with the remains of an Indian chapel.

Little is known about its origins as most of the information we have comes from the Late Classic constructions. However, its long history dates back to the Preclassic and its continued existence to colonial times, marked by different stages of occupation and development. Its golden age has furnished important information about its architecture and artistic development, and also about its governors, who forged the magnificent Talol empire. One of the most significant pieces of historical evidence is the existence of the emblem glyph, which means ‘sacred king of Talol’ and which has confirmed both its nature as a kingdom and its name, associated with that of King Talol. Although that was the name of the kingdom (and its meaning has yet to be deciphered), the capital was Ek’ Balam, which means ‘black, or bright star, jaguar’. The first king associated with the emblem glyph was Ukit Kan Lek Tok’, the second K’an B’ohb’ Tok’, the third Ukit Jol Ahkul and the fourth K’inich Jun Pik Tok’ K’uh…nal. The name of another governor, K’ahk’al Chu, has recently been found but there is no date associated with it so we do not know where it fits in with the others.

Site description

Ek’ Balam occupies an area of 15 sq km, but its core area is a walled enclosure containing over 40 buildings, mainly situated in the North and South plazas.

The walled enclosure occupies 1.25 sq km and is surrounded by two concentric stone walls – called Exterior Wall and Interior Wall – relatively low in height but originally with high wooden palisades. There is a Third Wall which connects some of the main buildings and during pre-Hispanic times provided greater protection to the royal seat. Five causeways or sacbeob once departed from the Exterior Wall to other parts of the city, and one of them even appears to have led directly to another city. Two of these causeways are situated on the south side and the remaining ones at the other cardinal points and the ramp of Structure 8 furnished an important offering of more than 90 vessels and numerous burnt stone balls. Structure 9 contains a partly concealed room with a stucco-modelled frieze painted in blue, black, green and red; the scene depicts an important personage in profile, seated on a throne and holding a bird in his hand. During the excavations, the ring of Structure 8 was found but unfortunately the ring from Structure 9 was stolen many years ago. The last stage of the Ball Court was built in AD 841, as evidenced by a painted capstone bearing this date and the name Tz’ihb’am Tuun.

Among the grand constructions in the north plaza are several smaller structures, including Structure 4, composed of a group of altars and a steam bath; several tiny temples were also found, such as structures 5, 7 and 21, and a platform-altar at Structure 6. These can only have been used for depositing offerings because they are too small for any other activity.

The North Plaza is the largest and oldest at Ek’ Balam and is distinguished by three large constructions numbered 1, 2 and 3. Structures 2 and 3 have not been excavated, but Structure 1, known as the acropolis, has been undergoing excavation and restoration works since 1997; this large construction is 160 m long, 60 m wide and approximately 31 m high. It is a vast and complex volume with numerous superimposed construction phases; it contains countless vaulted rooms, distributed on six tiers and connected by numerous stairways and passageways. On the fourth tier, the facades are profusely decorated with modelled stucco; one of the motifs represented is the face of a mythical creature, the earth monster, which for the ancient Maya symbolised the entrance to the underworld. The central facade is distinguished by the imposing monster-mouth entrance surrounded by fangs, which ‘devoured’ or ‘spat out’ those who entered or left the construction. Known as the Sak Xok Naah de Ukit Kan Le’k, ‘the White House of Reading’, the bowels of this building also provided shelter for the mortal remains of the founder of the ruling dynasty during the Late Classic. The offering accompanying his burial contained 21 vessels, some made of clay, others of alabaster, as well as 7,000 objects of shell, jade, bone and other materials; some of these were very rare, such as a gold earring in the shape of a frog and three pearls.

Monuments and ceramics

Stelae 1 and 2 were the only such monuments found inside the walled area; another stela was rescued from a nearby bank of materials but it was not erected at the site during pre-Hispanic times. Stela 2 is greatly eroded, but Stela 1 displays beautifully carved bas reliefs of two governors of Ek’ Balam; the one at the top is Ukit Kan Le’k, represented as a deified ancestor. The principal figure is a king who erected his stela on 18 January 840 to commemorate his coronation; the name is eroded and nowadays only partly legible: ‘… K’uh Nal ….’

The Hieroglyphic Serpents commemorate the construction of one of the stages of the Acropolis and represent the open mouth of a serpent whose forked tongue ‘descends’ the steps. According to the inscription, the stairway is called Win Uh and was built by Ukit Kan Le’k Tok’, the sacred king of Talol. Numerous stone and stucco sculptures have been recovered at Ek’ Balam, but most of them are incomplete and much deteriorated. Nevertheless, a few of them display traces of paint and fascinating details corresponding to personal garments and adornments.

A large number of utensils and ceremonial objects have been found at Ek’ Balam and shed light on the activities, customs, beliefs and trade with other regions. The materials vary from stone, bone, shell and metal to clay; the latter is a crucial find because it establishes the timeline of the site and its relations with the other peoples with whom it traded such materials.

Importance and relations

Ek’ Balam is situated at a geographical point at which no other pre-Hispanic site of such scale and characteristics is known, and it therefore fills a geographical and temporal void between the domains of Coba and Chichén Itzá. We now know that the four kings of Talol that have been identified governed for an approximate period of 100 years, from AD 770 to 870, and were responsible for the kingdom’s prosperity. This interval of time matches exactly the decline of Coba, around AD 770 and the flowering of Chichén Itzá around AD 860. Ek’ Balam coexisted with both sites at different moments in time and undoubtedly maintained a different type of relationship with each of them, which we are currently trying to confirm. Much of its importance lies in its distinctive architecture and decoration, which display an interesting mixture of characteristics from other regions in the Maya area, such as Peten, the Puuc region, Rio Bec and Chenes; this principally affects Building 1 or the Acropolis, whose exquisite and well-preserved facades are unique in the Maya area.

Leticia Vargas de la Pena and Victor R. Castillo Borges

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp417-421.

Ek’ Balam

1. Exterior wall; 2. Interior wall; 3. Sacbe 1; 4. Sacbe 2; 5.Structure 18; 6. South Plaza; 7. The Oval Palace; 8. The Twins; 9. Structure 14; 10. Ball Court; 11. North Plaza; 12. Acropolis; 13. Structure 2; 14. Structure 3.

Getting there:

From Valladolid. Colectivos leave from Calle 37, between 44 and 42. M$70. To return you need four passengers, which might mean a long wait at the archaeological site combi stop – or you could pay for four seats. If you can organise a group of people going at the same time it would make life a lot easier.