Tulum

Tulum – Quintana Roo

Location

Built on a clifftop on the shores on the Caribbean Sea and surrounded by mangroves and sand dunes, Tulum is situated 131 km south of Cancun on federal road 307 between Puerto Juarez and Chetumal. Tulum was the name given to the city in 19th century and it means ‘wall’ or ‘palisade’, a reference to the defensive wall that surrounds it on three sides. According to 16th-century sources, the original pre-Hispanic name appears to have been Zama (‘dawn’).

History of the explorations

The first reference to Tulum was probably made by Juan Diaz, the chronicler of Juan de Grijalva’s expedition, as they sailed along the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in 1518. In his account, he recalls having seen a city as large as Seville. In 1579, in his Relaciones de Yucatan, Juan de Reigosa refers to Zama as a walled city in ruins. At the beginning of the Caste War in 1847, Tulum lay in rebel territory and by 1871 had become one of the sanctuaries for the worship of the ‘talking crosses’, with Maria Uicab as the main priestess.

Pre-Hispanic history

Tulum is the most representative site of the East Coast architectural style. Although it was built between AD 1200 and 1550, it contains elements such as Stela 1 (AD 564) and Structure 59 with architectural characteristics from the Classic era, which suggest an earlier occupation. Tulum is regarded as one of the principal Maya cities of the 13th and 14th centuries, during which time it was a key site on the trade route and a strategic location for exploiting the rich marine resources of the eastern Yucatan coast. Because of its strategic location, some researchers believe that during its peak Tulum must have been an important nexus between the maritime and terrestrial trade of the Yucatan Peninsula. It is also thought to have enjoyed political independence from other provinces until the arrival of the Spaniards and its subsequent abandonment in the 16th century. Some of the architectural characteristics observed at Tulum denote influences from other regions in both the Maya area and Mesoamerica. For example, there are reminiscences of Toltec elements like the ones found at Mayapan and Chichén Itzá, most notably the use of serpent columns. Similarly, although the style of the murals on the buildings has Maya iconographic elements, it is nevertheless very similar to the Mixteca codices from the central plateau.

Site description

The ruins of the ancient city of Tulum are scattered on a band of some 6 km along the coast and include the core area as well as the simple wood and palm dwellings of the ordinary citizens. The core area is approximately 400 m long and 170 m wide, and is surrounded by a fortified wall on three sides; the fourth side is a cliff overlooking the sea, which provided natural protection. The walled enclosure displays a certain urban layout of its buildings and is crossed from north to south by a causeway. In addition to is defensive function, the fortified wall also turned Tulum into something of a sacred precinct with restricted access. This large wall may well have stood over 4 m high and its five vaulted gateways are still visible today: two on the north side, two on the south side and one in the middle. There are also two watchtowers at the north-west and south-west corners.

Interior precinct.

This is the name of the group of 12 buildings surrounded by a second, albeit smaller, defensive wall that restricted access. Inside this area is the Castillo, the most important building at Tulum, built with its back to the sea on the highest part of the cliff. The product of several construction stages, it is higher and larger than any of the other buildings at the site. A wide stairway with balustrades leads to the temple at the top, which contains two room accessed via three serpent columns. The façade displays two zoomorphic masks at the corners and three niches, the middle one of which contains the figure of a diving god. Flanking the stairway are two adoratoriums and at the foot of it a platform that was probably used for dance rituals. Another important building in this group is the Temple of the Initial Series, where the earliest date thus far recorded for Tulum was found. Also of great importance is the Temple of the Diving God, which is composed of a platform and a single-room building with interior benches. This temple is a good example of the ‘fallen wall’ characteristics of the architecture from this period. The main façade and the interior still display traces of paint, and the former a niche with a diving god. Flanking the causeway or main path in Tulum are a series of primarily residential constructions, such as the house of the columns, an L-shaped building with a large interior and a colonnaded entrance that once supported a flat roof. Another interesting example is the palace of the halachuinic, ‘great lord’, with a portico, three rooms and shrine within. The façade of this building also displays a niche with an image of the diving god and traces of the original paint. In the centre of the city, almost opposite the Castillo, stands the Temple of the Frescoes, one of the most interesting buildings in the Maya area in terms of its pictorial representations. It is the product of several construction phases; the original building was a room with an altar and richly painted walls, and a diving god in the central niche on the façade. It subsequently gained a portico or gallery on three of its sides, which is the construction we see today; it has four columns at the front and two pilasters to the south, flanking the entrance. The main façade contains three niches with representations of the diving god and figures with feathered headdresses. At every corner of the building is a giant mask of the god Itzamna, the lord creator of all things. The small temple on the roof of this building corresponds to the final stage of construction. The paintings inside make reference to different gods, mainly associated with farming and the underworld. In front of it stands Stela 2, nowadays greatly eroded but which once displayed the profile of a dignitary wearing a bird headdress. Situated opposite the former building is the House of the Chultun, a residential construction. The three entrances, defined by columns, lead to a large interior space which once had a flat roof made of wooden beams and lime concrete. Like most the buildings at Tulum, the façade displays a diving god. At the south-west corner of the building we can see a chultun, a type of cistern for collecting rainwater, from which the house takes its name. Situated in the northern section of the settlement are the House of the North-west and the House of the Cenote, as well as various adoratoriums near the coast the temple of the wind god. The former construction has three entrances flanked by columns, while the House of the Cenote stands on the natural vaulted roof of a cenote and also has three colonnaded entrances. Both constructions are thought to have served as family tombs. The Temple of the Wind God stands on a natural elevation at the edge of the cliff. Its semi-circular platform and the small altar inside suggest that it may have been dedicated to the wind god. Six small adoratoriums are situated to the north-east, so tiny that they must have fulfilled some religious function. Finally, situated at the south-east corner of the city is a group of elite residences.

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, pp445-447

Further Information:

Tulum – Rand McNally

Tulum – Rough Guide

How to get there:

From Tulum town. The entrance to the site is about 3 kilometres from the centre of the modern tourist town of Tulum. You might want to consider hiring a bike for the visit. The actual entrance to the site is a long way from the entrance on the main road, having first to pass what sounds like an horrendous ‘theme park’ and then you have to run the gauntlet of a huge shopping and eating complex. A bike will allow you to pass quickly through all this tat.

GPS:

20d 12′ 52″ N

87d 25′ 44″ W

Entrance:

First there’s a charge of M$58 to enter the ‘biosphere’. This at a control on the approach road to the site. Then it’s M$90 to actually enter Tulum ruins.

It starts to get busy very soon after opening (at 08.00) and by 09.00 small guided groups start to arrive which soon make the small and quite compact site feel crowded.

More on the Maya

Location

The archaeological area of San Gervasio is situated on the island of Cozumel, or Cuzamil (‘place of swallows’) as it was called in ancient times. The pre-Hispanic settlement lies 7 km north-east of the present-day town of San Miguel de Cozumel and is easily reached by road. The site was built on a natural elevation just under 10 m high and nearby are a few cenotes and aguadas, as well as numerous ak’alches, natural hollows that fill with water in the rainy season. In the 19th century, the site formed part of a livestock ranch owned by a man called Gervasio, from whom it takes its present-day name. According to a reference in the Chilam Balam de Chumayel, the original name of the pre-Hispanic site may have been Tan Tun (place of rocks’).’

Pre-Hispanic history

The earliest traces of occupation correspond to the Late Preclassic, when the communities were grouped into small villages with rudimentary constructions whose inhabitants survived by fishing, hunting and farming. Evidence of this first period can be found at one of the groups at San Gervasio: El Ramonal. In the Early Classic, the population grew and began to produce masonry architecture. By then, the site had probably become a principal civic, administrative and ceremonial centre for the island. In the Late Classic, the site extended its constructions and achieved greater political and religious importance, exerting its influence over other nearby communities. During the Postclassic period, San Gervasio flourished as an important trading centre, mainly due to the existence of a major maritime trade route stretching from Tabasco and Campeche, in the Gulf of Mexico, to Honduras. In terms of its religious importance, it became a mecca for thousands of pilgrims who flocked to the temple of the goddess Ixchel, the region’s oracle, situated on the island. Although we do not know the exact location of the famous temple, San Gervasio is largely held to be the most probable site. In the 16th century, the expedition led by Juan de Grijalva was the first to disembark at the island of Cozumel on 3 May 1518, christening it Santa Cruz. A year later, Hernan Cortes would set foot there. Despite tenacious resistance from the indigenous population, the disintegration of the trade route and epidemics reduced the population. By around 1600, the island had lost its entire population. In 1847, the Maya uprising, known as the Caste War, obliged numerous indigenous peoples to seek refuge in distant places, and the island was gradually repopulated.

Manitas (‘little hands’) group.

The main building is called Manitas because of the hand imprints on the facade. Designed in the East Coast style, it corresponds to the Postclassic and clearly served a residential function, with two bays and a portico. At the east end of the group is a small ritual temple called Chichan Nah (‘little house’). To the west stands another building, this time with a square, talud-tablero (‘slope-and-panel’) building known as La Tumba, having once contained an elaborate tomb.

Central plaza group.

This is situated west of the Manitas Group and comprises ten civic and religious buildings that constituted the core area of the site until it was abandoned. Included among them are the constructions known as the Alamo (‘Poplar’), the Murals, the Palace, the Ossuary and the Pilasters. Three sacbeob commence at this group: one is 75 m long and leads to the Manitas Group; another leads to Punta Molas, 18 km from San Gervasio; the third one leads to the Potrero Group, 117 m away. Situated north-west of this group is a free-standing arch or gateway that defines the main entrance to the site. It was built at the beginning of Sacbe 1, which leads to the site of Punta Molas at the north end of the island. The same causeway also leads to the building known as Nohoch Nah (‘big house’), a temple with traces of mural paint that stands on a platform with stairways.

Monuments and ceramics

The ceramic material recovered to date confirms that San Gervasio was occupied continuously and maintained cultural ties throughout its existence with various settlements in the peninsula and other regions in the Maya area. The ceramics from the Early Classic (AD 300-600) reveal links with sites in the north and in the north-east and east of the peninsula. It also had sporadic connections with the Peten-Belize region, despite being at its formative stage during this period. In the Late Classic, it shared the ceramic uniformity that reigned at the time in the north-east of the Yucatan Peninsula, the origin of which was probably the political capital of Coba. The ties with the Peten-Belize region waned considerably. Between AD 1000 and 1200, the Late Classic ceramics were gradually replaced by those of the Chichen Itza region, demonstrating the degree of the cultural and trading influence of the latter site over the east coast of Yucatan during this period. In the Postclassic, there was a notable uniformity throughout eastern Yucatan, characterised by locally made ceramics. San Gervasio was involved in the transition that affected sites such as El Cuyo on the north-east coast of Yucatan and Chunyaxche (Muyil) on the centre-north coast of Quintana Roo. Some authors have suggested that this uniformity was the result of the political and commercial integration between the governors in the region and other more distant regions such as La Chontalpa, in the states of Tabasco and Campeche. The ceramics from this final period continued to be used at San Gervasio until the 16th century, coexisting alongside pottery brought from the Old World during and after the Spanish Conquest.

Importance and relations

Of the 35 pre-Hispanic settlements recorded on the island, San Gervasio is the largest in size and importance and is regarded as a strategic Maya site during the Postclassic period. In its day, it was an important trading and political centre not only on the island but possibly also in the cultural region known as the East Coast. At its peak, Cozumel maintained ties with the largest political centres of the day, such as Mayapan, and with all the sites on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

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, pp 440-442.

Map – San Gervasio

Getting there:

There’s no real public transport option so if you don’t have your own transport then it’s hiring a bike or a motor scooter (which needs a credit card as a deposit). I got my push bile from Best Bikes, to be found on 10th Avenue, No. 14, between Avenue Benito Juarez and Calle 2 North, cost M$250 for the day.

It’s then a straightforward route out of town east on Avenue Benito Juarez for about seven kilometres and then a left turn along the entrance road to the site for another seven or so kilometres.