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Aké – Yucatan – Mexico

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Ake

Ake

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Aké – Yucatan

Location

This site is situated in the north-west of the state of Yucatan, 33 km from the city of Merida by federal road 80, which leads to Tixkokob and Ekmul. Aké is used as the toponym, but the word ak’ on its own means ‘liana’. The area where the archaeological site is located is characterised by the same type of terrain and climate as Merida. The natural wells (cenotes) and depressions (aguadas) are the principal guarantees for the supply of water in northern Yucatan. There are several cenotes in Aké, which in pre-Hispanic times must have provided the main sources of water, as well as two possible aguadas. Due to years of burning and planting henequen (a type of agave cactus used to make sisal rope) in Aké, most of the present-day landscape is given over to low woodland and bushes (Tsitsilche, Sakkatsin, Subi’n, Tsiuche, Yaxmuk, Zacate, etc.).

History of the explorations

Aké was first reported many years ago by travellers and Mayanists such as Desire Charnay, Teoberto Maler and Lawrence Roys and Edwin M. Shook, who drew up the first map of the core area of the site. More recently, the Atlas Arqueologico del Estado de Yucatan classified Aké as a second-class site. In 1979, Ruben Maldonado Cardenas and the INAH launched the Aké Project and conducted several field campaigns, leading among other things to the restoration of the Temple of the Columns, the first map and the excavation of stratigraphic wells in various structures in the residential area. In 2003, a new phase of research and restoration commenced at Aké aimed at confirming its complexity, timeline and regional importance. Maps were drawn up and excavations undertaken to establish the occupational timeline and gain a clearer idea of the form and function of its buildings and spaces. The project continues to this day led by Beatriz Quintal Suaste.

Pre-Hispanic history

The surface ceramic material recovered and the excavation of stratigraphic wells confirm an occupation stretching from the Late Preclassic (300 BC-AD 300) to the Postclassic (AD 1300-1450). The present-day population is principally the result of the boom in the cultivation of henequen. The longest period of occupation demonstrates significant growth: Aké must have started out as a village that subsequently expanded and gained in importance, finally becoming a city-state with control over the immediate vicinity.

Site description

The archaeological site consists of two separate sections delimited by two walls. One wall encircles the core area, where the monumental structures are situated, while the other encloses most of the residential area. Situated at the centre of the settlement is a rectangular plaza; Structure 1 or the Temple of the Columns defines the north side, structures 13 and 19 the east side, Structure 7 the south side, and structures 6 and 2 the west side. The plaza covers an approximate area of 25,000 sq m and the residential zone an approximate area of 4 sq km.

Structure 1 or Temple of the columns.

This is a vast construction measuring approximately 103 m in length by 32 m in width at the narrowest section and 36 m at the widest. It is fronted by a monumental stairway made of large blocks of limestone. On the platform at the top of the stairway, which measures nearly 67 m in length and 14.20 m in width, are three rows of large columns, making a grand total of 35. These pre-Hispanic structures probably supported one of the largest roofs in Mesoamerica. Visible between the columns is a small promontory on which stands part of the lower section of the walls of what must have been a room added much later.

Structure 2

This occupies the west end of the great plaza and adopts an apse-shaped plan measuring 45 m along the sides and standing approximately 15 m high. It would appear to have had four entrances, one on each side. The excavations revealed two construction phases: the first, corresponding to the Early Classic, is associated with the Megalithic style; the second, which covered the first phase and denotes the use of smaller blocks of stone, corresponds to the Proto-Puuc style developed at Oxkintok. The platforms are decorated with an inset talud and tablero (slope and panel) and apron moulding, like those reported at Oxkintok, Dzibilchaltun and El Mirador in Yucatan (Varela and Quintal).

Structure 3

This is situated west of Structure 2 and consists of a building erected on a sub-structure; it measures approximately 43×29 m and stands 6 m high. The upper structure is subdivided into a row of five rooms from east to west, with a single room on the south side and another on the north side. The plan is clearly defined by the existence of low walls, some of which are still standing and rise to a height of nearly 2 m. The column entrances were made of square blocks of stone placed one on top of the other, exactly like the technique used for the columns in Structure 1. The room on the north side had a triple entrance and the one on the south side a quintuple entrance. In both cases the space between columns is 4 m.

Ceramics

The preliminary analysis of the ceramic material recovered confirms an occupation stretching from the Late Preclassic to the Postclassic. The most representative ceramic groups include the Ucu, Saban and Sierra of the Chicanel Horizon; the Xanaba, Dos Arroyos and Chuburna of the Cochuah Horizon; the Katil, Conkal, Dzitya, Arena, Chum, Muna, Ticul and Teabo of the Cehpech Horizon; the Sisal Unslipped group of the Sotuta Horizon; and the Mayapan group of the Tases Horizon. The analysis has revealed a numerical predominance of the groups corresponding to the Cehpech Horizon.

Beatriz Quintal Suaste

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp 390-391.

How to get there:

From Merida. There are colectivos that regularly leave from Calle 63, entre 52 y 50, going to Tixkokob. They take about 45 minutes and cost M$20. From there you might be lucky to pick up public transport but it will unlikely be at convenient times. Your best bet is to negotiate with a tuk-tuk driver to take you to the archaeological site, wait and then bring you back.

GPS:

20d 57’20” N

89d 13’10”

Entrance:

M$70

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Xcalumkin – Campeche – Mexico

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Xcalumkin

Xcalumkin

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Xcalumkin – Campeche

Location

The pre-Hispanic settlement occupied a large savannah of kankab or reddish earth, measuring approximately 5 km along its north-south axis and 2 or 3 km wide, and surrounded by hills that are nowadays used for irrigation and/or seasonal farming. In the core area of the site are two cenotes or natural wells, which may have given rise to the human settlement. In any case, the Maya complemented these sources of water by building underground cisterns or chultunes near their dwellings. The name of the site is derived from the Yucatec Maya and may be a reference to a ‘very fertile spot well lit by the sun’, which is characteristic of the savannah. Xcalumkin is situated 85 km north-east of Campeche City. After reaching Hecelchakan, take the road to Cumpich and after 12 km turn off on to the dirt track leading south to the archaeological area.

History of the explorations

Teobert Maler was the first person to report the site, in the late 19th century. He took photographs and recorded the architecture still standing. During the first half of the 20th century the carefully cut veneer stones covering several of the buildings were heavily plundered and sculptures and hieroglyphic inscriptions were acquired by collectors. The ruins of the Maya city were then visited sporadically by experts such as Alberto Ruz, Paul Gendrop and George Andrews. However, they were studied in greater detail in the 1990s by a team of French archaeologists from the Museum of Mankind in Paris, led by Pierre Becquelin and Dominique Michelet. They drew up the first map of the site and a detailed record of the surface architecture. Around the same time, Antonio Benavides C. embarked on the first consolidation works. He has been joined in subsequent campaigns by Heber Ojeda and Vicente Suarez from the Campeche branch of the INAH.

Timeline, site description and monuments

The architecture and ceramics indicate a timeline of occupation commencing in AD 500 and ending in 900. The settlement is large and only a few buildings in the core area have been restored. The more distant groups are still covered by vegetation.

Building on the north-west hill.

The first building that can be visited is situated at the top of a natural elevation some 15 m above ground level and consists of three south-facing rooms; the central one is connected to another interior space and its facade is partly covered by a projecting stairway leading to the roof or top floor. The northern section bounds a plaza at the top of the hill, at the centre of which the Maya built a cistern. Here, a new concrete ring protects the mouth of the chultun and prevents accidents. Originally, there was a carved stone ring with four perforations to channel the water.

Palace of the Colonnettes.

This monumental building once contained ten rooms, each with their own entrance. The name of the palace is conventional and suggests that it was the residence of the Xcalumkm rulers. It stands on a large rectangular platform and its south facade has a stairway leading to the second level. At the top and bottom of the stairway, the corners are decorated with three smooth colonnettes crowned by a triple moulding. The impression is of small constructions that summarise the Classic Puuc architecture. In front of the building and the platform stands a monolithic column of a later date. It probably formed part of another monumental construction, but during the Postclassic it must have been used either as an altar or a place for depositing offerings. Behind the stairway a vaulted passage facilitates the circulation between the rooms on this side. The building takes its name from the long colonnettes that decorate the frieze or upper section of the wall. Due to various episodes of plundering, only three of the original rooms are still standing today. The one on the west side contains a stone sculpture that was rescued near the site. It represents a seated aged female (xnuk, in Yucatec Maya), a mythical figure that appears in the legends of rural communities and who is said to grant special favours in exchange for children or human lives.

Courtyard of the Columns.

Just south-east of the Palace are two courtyards. The north side of this one is bounded by early buildings that contained rooms with numerous entrances formed by columns, while the east, south and west sides display constructions with several entrances. In the south-west section of the courtyard a ramp leads south to the adjacent courtyard.

Courtyard of the Altars.

This is accessed via the north-west corner, coming from the previous courtyard. In the middle stands a large but low platform, quadrangular in shape, which had small stairways on two sides. Just south of the platform, two stairways lead to two separate temples built on older constructions from the Early Puuc phase. These have several entrances formed by columns, which now serve to support the temples. The stairway in the south-west section has balustrades and the temple at the top was accessed by a tripartite entrance formed by columns with several drums. Inside, it is still possible to see a small rectangular altar in the middle of the space. In the south-east section are two altars at the foot of a stairway. One adopts the form of a rectangular limestone prism decorated with criss-crossed lines to indicate a woven mat, the pre-Hispanic symbol for political authority. The other altar was a large colonnette, also made of limestone, but due to erosion and neglect it now looks like a large sphere.

Initial series group.

Situated south of the previous space, this is composed of a platform 3 m high on which four monumental buildings were erected, although nowadays only the north and south ones are still standing. The south building has four entrances formed by three columns. Its facade displays carefully cut blocks of limestone which were once decorated with a variety of painted stucco motifs. Inside, it has an elegant and very high corbel-vault ceiling made out of blocks specially cut to fit specific points. The group takes its name from the north building because this construction once boasted a long hieroglyphic inscription containing an ‘initial series’, that is, the appropriate information to match the Maya date with our calendar. The Maya date in question is ‘9.15.12.6.9. 7 Muluc 1 or 2 Kan kin’, which is equivalent to 27 October AD 743. Unfortunately, the inscription was stolen and nowadays graces a private collection in Mexico City. The central section of the rear wall of the north building is recessed, this being the place where the hieroglyphic inscription was found.

House of the Great Lintel

This is situated in the south-eastern section of the site and was thus named because of the size of the lintel above the main entrance. It once contained three rooms but only the central one is still standing. It was built between AD 700 and 800. Several pieces from Xcalumkin are on display at the Hecelchakan Museum and in various museums in Campeche City (the Baluarte de la Soledad tower and Fort Saint Michael). The most interesting items are the monolithic columns with large hieroglyphs. These formed the entrances of some of the palaces at the site. Other important items are the blocks of stone with glyphs culminating in serpents’ heads, which formed part of an impressive hieroglyphic doorway. There are also jambstones and panels depicting important pre-Hispanic dignitaries at the ancient site.

Importance and relations

Xcalumki’n maintained strong ties with its neighbours. With the closest ones, it shared the Xcombec Valley, east of Hecelchakan, where the palaces at many sites had multiple entrances formed by columns with carvings of figures. It also maintained relations with the coast, specifically with Jaina, whose emblem glyph has been identified at Xcalumkm. It was a contemporary of Uxmal and Kabah in the north-east, of Halal and Itzimte in the south-east, and of Kanki in the south-west. The numerous hieroglyphic inscriptions reported at Xcalumkm are also indicative of its former importance.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp 317-319

How to get there:

There is no public transport along the road between Hecelchakan and Bolenchen so the only way is probably to hire one of the purpose built (as opposed to the Heath Robinson constructions) tuk-tuk’s. You will need the best part of an hour at the site.

GPS:

20d 10’ 19” N

90d 00’ 36” W

Entrance:

Free

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Chinkultic – Chiapas – Mexico

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Chinkultic - Chiapas

Chinkultic – Chiapas

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Chinkultic – Chiapas

Location

This important Maya capital is situated very close to the Montebello National Park, 50 km south-east of the city of Comitan de Dominguez, in the municipal district of La Trinitaria, Chiapas. It can be reached by taking the federal road that leads to the Montebello Lakes, the descent to the River Santo Domingo and the Lacandon Rainforest. The region boasts a mild climate and is geographically composed of wide valleys, lakes of different shades and low mountains (1,600 m above sea level), covered with pines and fir trees, which alternate with forests of oaks and low evergreen rainforest; due to the excessive humidity in the atmosphere, the trees are covered with a rich variety of epiphyte plants, such as magnificent wild bromelias and orchids, as well as offering a sanctuary to quetzals and other endangered species.

Pre-Hispanic history

The human settlement emerged in the Late Preclassic (400 BC-AD 250), as evidenced by five fragments with reliefs dated to that period, with activity concentrated around the Mirador (Group A). Subsequently, the dates on the monuments correspond to the beginning of the Early Classic, as in the case of the Disc of Hope or Chinkultic Disc (AD 573), and there is a hiatus in the epigraphic records until 9.18.0.0.0 or AD 790 (Stela 8); the last date is 10.0.15.0.0 (AD 844), inscribed on Stela 1. After this time there appears to have been ritual activity at the Mirador Group, judging from the Early Postclassic (AD 1000-1200) offerings discovered by Pierre Agrinier; later on, there is little evidence of occupation during the Late Postclassic and the worship of ancestors and the gods of the underworld seems to have been confined to caves and caverns, greatly abundant in the area due to the limestone subsoil.

Site description

The archaeological area is situated on the Rincon estate, part of the old Tepancuapan Hacienda which has now been divided up into several farming communities. During pre-Hispanic times, this area was densely populated and covered several square kilometres branching out from the civic-ceremonial centre and the Agua Azul cenote, in the zone locally known as La Bolsa. Extending over large areas are the ruins of secondary groups with pyramidal structures and ball courts, as well as the remains of residential constructions on low platforms, made of stucco-clad stone masonry and surrounded by handsome lakes. The site is situated opposite the Hidalgo colony and is reached by an asphalt road. The civic-ceremonial centre at the settlement, composed of approximately 200 mounds of varying sizes, extends over some 40 ha, although the groups of constructions are relatively scattered and display a certain integration between the architecture and the landscape. For the purposes of analysis, the core area of Chinkultic was divided into five groups known by the letters A to E. The River Yubnaranjo, which connects lakes Tepancuapan and Chanujabab, divides the site into two sections. In the northern section, the steep slope of a hill delimits the Agua Azul cenote and has a large 1000-step monumental stairway leading to the main group, called the acropolis or Group A. On the small hilltop, an architectural group was built comprising a pyramidal platform in which it is possible to distinguish two construction phases, another smaller platform, three small altars opposite the monumental stairway and another altar abutted to the lower steps of the pyramid. Two of these altars yielded tombs with offerings of ceramic vessels from the beginning of the Early Postclassic (c. AD 1200). A stela (Monument 9) was also erected opposite the pyramidal platform; although nowadays fragmented, it is possible to make out a richly garbed dignitary wearing a prominent headdress in the fashion of a hat, plus six eroded glyphic cartouches. Behind the architectural complex lies the crystalline Agua Azul cenote, some 50 m deep.

At the foot of the monumental stairway is another semi-enclosed plaza with two pyramidal structures, a small platform that possibly served as an altar and a low, elongated platform near the edge of Lake Tepancuapan. On the wall of the north side of the smaller platform, Agrinier identified a fragment from an early stela reused as a building stone. Situated on the steep slope descending from the Acropolis to the edge of Lake Chanujabab, on an embankment, are another medium-sized pyramid and several low mounds, possibly corresponding to the remains of dwellings: these constructions are known as Group E.

Immediately south of the River Yubnaranjo is Group B, which consists of a stage-like structure comprising a vast seating area made of large blocks of stone; the plaza is delimited on three sides by three large pyramids which stand some 10 m high, and at the centre is a sloping altar with a cornice, which like the pyramid in Group A displays two construction phases. In the upper middle section of the seating area is what appears to be the governor’s box, with several cylindrical altars made of limestone. Towards the south of this element lies a small courtyard (Group D ) delimited by the most important structure at the site, the Pyramid of the Slabstones, built out of ingeniously assembled giant blocks of stone, each several tons in weight.

The most important architectural complex (Group C) is undoubtedly the ball court and the adjacent plaza, which boasts the largest number of carved stelae at the site. The ball court structure is made out of finely cut blocks of limestone and is abutted to a fairly high hill slope on which sits another small acropolis consisting of three low mounds around a small plaza open to the south-west; an altar stands in the middle of the plaza, while residential mounds occupy the terraces near the top of the hill. The ball court is of the enclosed variety and one end is larger than the other; this is a common characteristic in the eastern Chiapas Highlands and was thus designed to accommodate a megalithic seating area for spectators at one end of the court. A fragment from a Preclassic monument was reused in the central part of the seating area. Situated on the platform with access stairways and in front of it are several stelae; Stela 29 was reused as an altar in front of the stairway. The adjacent plaza, which is very large, is delimited by elongated platforms and there is a mound in the middle of it. Around and on top of the platform on the north side are six fairly large stelae and another four on the south side; including all the stelae and other fragments, there are approximately 20 monuments in this part of the site, of a total of 40 reliefs. In relation to the stylistic evolution of the sculptures at Chinkultic, Navarrete has this to say ‘The ball court and the plaza in front of it witnessed the simultaneous use of at least three styles: 1) no figures, only initial series; 2) thickly outlined rigid figures; and 3) figures forming scenes with richly garbed secondary dignitaries, with a greater emphasis on the quality of the carving than in filling in spaces’.

Monuments

Although the eastern Chiapas Highlands experienced a notable decline in population after the Classic era, several monuments with dates from the tenth baktun (corresponding to the Terminal Classic) have been found. Of particular note in this respect is the last Maya date recorded in the Long Count system: 10.4.0. 0.0 (AD 909), inscribed on a monument from the Amparo estate, as well as Monument 101 at Toniná. From the Sacchana estate, in the foothills of the Cuchumatanes Highlands in Guatemala, relatively close to Chinkultic, we know of the upper sections of two stelae with the dates 10.2.5.0.0 (AD 874) and 10.2.10.0. 0 (AD 879), transported to the Ethnography Museum in Berlin at the beginning of the 20th century. The Comitan Stela, reported by Blom in 1926, shows the date 10.2.5.0.0 (AD 874) and possibly comes from Tenam Puente, the regional capital at the west end of the Comitan Valley. This epigraphic evidence suggests that the Maya population in this part of the Chiapas Highlands maintained its classic religion and culture after the so-called collapse of the Maya civilisation in the central lowlands of the Peten region.

Lynneth S. Lowe

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp468-470

Getting there:

From Comitan. Take a combi heading to the Lagos/Lagunas de Montebello opposite the Centre de Arbustos on the . M$55 each way. Get off just after Km30 where the site is signposted to the left. There’s a walk of just under two kilometres, mostly flat but a little bit of an uphill climb just before reaching the site. The site is well served with gardeners and one of them would more than likely give you a lift back to the main road, M$20. Regular combis head back to Comitan

GPS:

16d 07′ 25″ N

91d 47′ 00″ W

Entrance:

Free

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