El Tigre/Itzamkanac – Campeche – Mexico

Posted on 21/09/2023 by Michael

El Tigre – Itzamkanac

Location

This is a fairly large province encompassing the River Candelaria and part of the Terminos Lagoon and Sabancuy Estuary. To reach the capital El Tigre (Itzamkanac) from Ciudad del Carmen or Champoton, go to Escarcega, take the turn-off to Candelaria but before you reach it follow the sign to El Tigre, on the banks of the Candelaria. This river is formed by two large tributaries, the Caribe and the San Pedro: the former rises in the Calakmul lowlands and the latter near Flores in Guatemala. It is associated with the two great Maya capitals – Tikal and Calakmul. As it flows past El Tigre, the river is 150 m wide and is navigable throughout its course, although a few kilometres beyond the village of Candelaria numerous waterfalls complicate navigation but enhance the beauty of the landscape.

History of the explorations

Itzamkanac was first visited by Hernan Cortes in 1525 and subsequently received visits from Alonso Davila, the first encomenderos (Spanish settlers to whom the Spanish crown granted control over a certain number of indigenous people) and various monks. In 1557 the population was obliged to abandon the place and move to Tixchel. In relation to more recent explorations, the earliest of these was conducted by W. Andrews IV (1943), who sailed up the River Candelaria and recorded El Tigre and other sites. We then have the extraordinary work carried out by Scholes y Roys (1948), who described the region and identified Itzamakanac in the ruins at El Tigre and Tixchel on the coast. Pina Chan and Pavon Abreu visited El Tigre in 1959, publishing photographs and a brief description in an article in which they conclude that the site is the Itzamkanac of the historical sources. It was thanks to the interest shown by Pina Chan that a project affecting various structures was conducted in 1984. Prior to that, Lorenzo Ochoa had toured the Candelaria basin with Ernesto Vargas P. and Sofia Pince, and they subsequently made separate tours to shed a little more light on the whole province. Since 1996 Ernesto Vargas P. has been conducting tours of the whole Acalan-Tixchel province based on several of the approaches laid down by Pina Chan, and he has also worked on various structures at the site in collaboration with the State Government, Petroleos Mexicanos and the INAH and UNAM. The site is open to the public, who can view the masks, a ball court and several of the structures.

Pre-Hispanic history

According to historical sources, the Acalan province stretched from Tixchel by the sea, along part of the Terminos Lagoon and the entire Candelaria river basin, to Tenosique. Various researchers have identified Itzamkanac, its capital or administrative centre, with the archaeological site of El Tigre-Campeche. Hernan Cortes passed through the place en route to Las Hibueras in 1525; later on, Alonso Davila re-established the town of Salamanca de Itzamkanac, although it was rapidly abandoned. Neither of them reached the place by the known routes, but we do know that various fluvial and terrestrial routes passed through the Acalan province. The principal one was the River Candelaria, which permitted trade with distant places such as Tixchel, Xicalango, Potonchan and even Nito and Naco in Honduras. A tour of the basins of the rivers Candelaria, Caribe and San Pedro revealed over 150 archaeological sites, proof that the area enjoyed great importance during the pre-Hispanic period. The largest sites are El Tigre, Cerro de los Muertos and Santa Clara on the banks of the River Caribe. Situated on the hills overlooking the River Candelaria, El Tigre was clearly a strategic enclave. The settlement is dominated by a main precinct with structures that stand over 20 m tall, the residential area and a road. Its occupation dates from the Late Preclassic, as demonstrated by several of the masks that have been analysed at Structures 1 and 2. However, the site experienced its heyday during the Terminal Classic and survived until the Late Postclassic, as shown by the finds uncovered at the top of these same buildings.

Site description

The Ceremonial Precinct is composed of 4 large structures, 6 smaller structures, 2 plazas, 13 altars, 3 stelae and the access roads to the site. The most work has been conducted on Structures 1, 2 and 4. Structure 1 is bounded to the south by the great plaza and measures approximately 150 m along the north-south axis and 135 m along the east-west axis. It is approximately 8 metres high and is surmounted by four platforms, two of which face the front; a 23m-high pyramid rises at the rear of the structure; access to the top of it is via stairways which have been consolidated and reveal the three principal constructions phases of the building: Late Preclassic, Terminal Classic and Postclassic.

Masks 1 and 2 are located on Platform 1c Sub and belong to a substructure which, judging from the ceramics found and other characteristics, corresponds to the Late Preclassic. Various anthropomorphic and zoomorphic masks have been identified; the former are human faces with a clearly discernible chins, mouths, noses, eyes, plumes and ear ornaments. All of them are painted in red and cream and show traces of black paint. Mask 1 is well preserved and must represent an important figure as it is painted red, the colour identified with power. The head and the sides of the face were covered by a type of helmet – partly destroyed – with three bands and what appears to be an ornament at the centre. Ear ornaments flank the face. These are very simply decorated, showing a large circle with bows or knots and decorative hooks. The entire mask rests on a talud or sloping wall and is divided by a stairway with three steps but no balustrades; intertwining knots or bows can be discerned both above and below the ear ornaments. Below these, what appear to be three leaves reach down to the level that supports the platform and create the impression of being extensions of the ear ornaments. Another design can be discerned above the knot. The symbols presented are associated with royalty, which in subsequent times would appear in Maya iconography and sources.

Mask 3 is characteristic of the Late Preclassic: a figure at the centre, probably an iguana-crocodile, with large ear ornaments sprouting serpents on both sides, two figures at the top looking up to the heavens and below a series of plant-like elements. It measures 4 m in height and 7 m in width, and is abutted to the wall of the building in the form of a talud. There are two such masks flanking a broad stairway, but only one of them has been consolidated. This can be divided into three broad sections: a central section featuring the main figure with ear ornaments and serpents on both sides; and above and below these, knots or bows joining the top to upwardly-looking human faces. The face of the mask is that of a mythical animal, possibly a lizard-iguana-feline creature – the elements above the eyes are very characteristic of lizards, as are the double lidded eyes. The nose is flat – the Maya were either unable or unwilling to represent a realistic nose – and it has nostrils at the sides. The mask itself is divided into three parts: the ear ornaments on both sides, the serpents and the human faces. The two sides can also be divided into three parts: the underworld, the earth and the sky, connected by the knots. In addition to symbolising royalty, the ear ornaments might also signify the terrestrial plane, divided into four large sections distributed around a specific point at the centre of the world, the fifth direction. The bows above and below the ear ornaments might well signify the connection between the different worlds – the earth, underworld and sky. These masks conveyed important religious messages for the Maya inhabitants in Preclassic times.

Platform 1a is round and composed of a circular wall which must have subsided due to the weight of the flat roof, causing part of the walls to collapse outwards. The only entrance door faces east. According to the Papeles de Paxbolom Maldonado, one of the principal gods venerated at Itzamkanac was Kukulcan and this temple may well be dedicated to him. The residential palace stands at the south-east corner of Structure 1; the rooms have decorative moulding and the perfectly-preserved walls still stand just over a metre and a half high. The residential unit is composed of various rooms at the top of the building, all of them inter-connected by doors and fronted by a corridor accessed by a stairway. This residential unit is flanked by two independent rooms. The decorative mouldings in the building are in the Rio Bec style, as are the curved walls and the stonework. This building is very important for El Tigre, not only because of the Rio Bec influence but also because it corresponds to the Terminal Classic (AD 900-1100) and boasts Balancan and Altar ceramics, as well as a few examples of the Tinaja Red ceramics characteristic of the region of Calakmul and Rio Bec. There are signs that the building was deliberately destroyed. Part of the mouldings were reused and the rooms were filled with another material.

Structure 4 is the largest construction on the site, measuring nearly 200×200 m and adopting a quadrangular plan. This large platform stands some 10 m above the plaza, forming a type of raised plain on which sit seven mounds of varying sizes and shapes. The main one rises 28 m above the plaza, commencing at the base of the structure, and is possibly the highest mound on the site. Oriented east-west and aligned with the mounds of Structures 2 and 3, it stands 15 m above the base of the large platform, at the middle; it is preceded by a smaller 3-m-high mound. There are other elevations both to the south and north, the most important ones being those of the latter direction – some of these are 3 m high, while the elevations to the south are barely delimited. This is also true of the ones in the north-west, where even the remains of the base can be discerned. The work conducted on Structure 4A can be summarised as follows: the lower part has been delimited and several subsequent platforms covering earlier stages have been found. We believe that the building has had at least four construction phases: the oldest dating from the Late Preclassic, followed by the Early Classic, Terminal Classic and the Postclassic. The stairways also reveal various stages. Opposite Structure 1, in the middle of the Great Plaza, is Structure 5 or the ball court, where the sacbe culminates. This comprises two buildings and a court, the flat space between them. The two parallel structures have a vertical inner wall followed by a talud of varying gradient and stairways or ramps to access the upper part: this is an example of the socalled open variety of ball courts. We believe that some of the walls are from the Late Preclassic, although the construction we see today corresponds to the Terminal Classic and the extensions on the east side to the Late Postclassic.

Importance and relations

Despite the relatively scant exploration of this area and the fact that it is largely unknown to travellers, the River Candelaria nevertheless played an important role during the pre-Hispanic age as a channel of communication between the two great Maya capitals – Calakmul and Tikal. In the Preclassic period the region appears to have maintained vital links with Peten in Guatemala, as evidenced by the ceramics found and the characteristic masks adorning the architecture. During the Classic period it had greater links with the coast and other Chontal ports such as Xicalango and Potonchan. These links were maintained in the Postclassic, when trade was also pursued with the Yucatan Peninsula. Itzamkanac was a very important fluvial port, albeit situated inland, and its role differed from that of other Chontal ports.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp 285-288.

El Tigre – Itzamkanac

1-4. Structures 1 to 4.

How to get there:

From Candelaria. El Tigre is a long way from the nearest major town of Candelaria. There are plenty of taxis that have their rank at the bottom of the main square, opposite the main church. If you are good at bargaining you might be able to get a decent rate to take you there, wait while you visit and take you back to town. You would really need at least an hour for a visit.

GPS:

18d 07’ 15” N

90d 15’ 13” W

Entrance:

M$70

More on the Maya

Balam Ku – Campeche – Mexico

Posted on 17/09/2023 by Michael

Balam Ku

More on the Maya

Balamku – Campeche

Location

This site is situated 100 km east of Escarcega and 3 km north-east of Conhuas. The distance from Chetumal is approximately 180 km. The archaeological area comprises several architectural groups distributed around medium-height jungle zones. To the north of the buildings open to visitors is an aguada, which had an important function in pre-Hispanic times. The pre-Columbian site was christened by the archaeologist Florentino Garcia Cruz, who made his first survey at the beginning of the 1990s, prompted by various episodes of plundering in the area. The name chosen means temple (ku) of the jaguar (balam), a reference to a striking stucco motif at the site.

History of the explorations

Garcia Cruz and Ramon Carrasco of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) were the first people to study the site and define the archaeological area. Carrasco conducted work on several constructions in the central architectural precinct and restored the volume of the building containing stucco-modelled elements. In 1995 a team of French researchers led by Dominique Michelet and Pierre Becquelin embarked on a series of excavations and consolidated various buildings in the South Group.

Timeline, site description and monuments

The occupation of the Maya city stretches from several hundred years prior to the Common Era to approximately the 10th century AD.

South group.

In the middle of this area stands a pyramid platform approximately 10 m high. The various buildings arranged around it form four plazas. The pyramid was built during the Early Classic (AD 250-600) and was subsequently covered by another one; although this later construction has not survived, its fillings facilitated the preservation of the present day monument. The upper part is occupied by a temple whose facade provided the basis for a giant zoomorphic mask – one of the earliest examples of this type of facade in the region. This important architectural feature, symbolising the powerful deity Itzamnaaj, gradually evolved to cover entire building facades. The finest and best-preserved examples of whole zoomorphic facades can be found at Chicanna in southern Campeche and Tabasqueno in the Chenes region. The northern section of the South Group contains several examples of elite dwellings: masonry constructions clad with carefully cut veneer stones and even forming stacks of masks around the main entrances. Various of the rooms have broad benches. The constructions are situated at the cardinal points and form rectangular plazas, in keeping with the typical Mesoamerican pattern.

Central group.

This comprises 30 or so monumental buildings distributed around three large plazas. Explorations have been conducted on several buildings that indicate the entrance to the architectural group and beyond them three pyramid platforms whose sides are now abutted as a result of their gradual expansion. The early constructions are clad with carefully cut veneer stones in the Rio Bec style; it is still possible to see rounded corners, masonry columns at the entrances to rooms, some with benches, but the vaulted roofs and elaborate stairways flanked by balustrades have been lost. We then proceed south to a plaza whose west side displays a broad stairway leading to a large building that has not yet been explored. Three platforms stand at the north end of the plaza. The excavations conducted confirmed architecture principally of the Peten style, developed during the early centuries of the Common Era.

Pyramid platform in the north-west section.

It was this structure that led to the original exploration of the site. Various episodes of plundering had dismantled the final construction stage, exposing a large proportion of a sub-structure whose frieze had once been decorated with interesting stucco-modelled motifs. The various elements have preserved most of their original colour, which is mainly red, but there are also traces of cherry red, black and blue. The motifs found in this building correspond to the frieze of its main facade. These are situated above three entrances and symbolically display opposing and complementary aspects of the ancient Maya world view. Originally, the lower section of the frieze depicted four imposing images of Cauac or the Earth Monster, one for each cardinal point. These alternate with images of jaguars, animals associated with the underworld. The upper part of each Earth Monster has a large crack, from which sprout toads on the left and crocodiles on the right. The reptiles and amphibians evoke the damp, fertile earth, recalling the original sea from which the legendary Maya world emerged; they represent the transition between the abode of the gods and that of human beings. From the amphibians’ jaws sprout sacred lords, the governors of the Classic period, seated on jaguar skin thrones. These are flanked by the stems of water lilies or other flowers, elements that indicate abundance because high-ranking officials were responsible for providing their subjects with well being and everything they needed. The dignitaries’ headdresses are poorly preserved but must have displayed zoomorphic figures associated with deities. Overall, the frieze shows the emergence of a legendary world of governors closely tied to the deities and their powerful religious symbols. Balamku had stone hieroglyphic inscriptions but to date only a few greatly decayed stelae have been found.

Importance and relations

The extraordinary stucco frieze at Balamku is one of the finest examples of the Early Classic iconography of the Maya world. It tells us of the governors’ complex world view and their association with a supernatural world from which they believed their political authority emanated. To a certain extent, the stucco motifs are comparable with those of the frieze at Placeres, a site in the southernmost part of Campeche; this frieze is thought to have been dismantled by plunderers but has fortunately been recovered and is now on display in the Maya Room of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Meanwhile, the monuments at Balamku demonstrate the site’s former influence over the surrounding area, where it coexisted alongside other important sites such as Becan, 40 km to the east; Oxpemul and Calakmul, in the south; Silvituc, around and on the island in the Centenario Lagoon, 40 km to the west; and Nadzcaan, a vast city situated some 25 km to the north.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp324-326.

Balam Ku

1. Plaza A; 2. Plaza B; 3. Plaza C; 4. Plaza D.

How to get there:

There are 4 or 5 buses, each way, which do the run from Xpuil and Escarcega, passing through the settlement of Conhaus. The approach road to the site is to the west of Conhaus. Then there’s a just under three kilometre walk to the site.

GPS:

18d 33′ 42″ N

89d 57′ 06″

Entrance:

M$70

More on the Maya

Cerros – Belize

Posted on 15/09/2023 by Michael

Cerros

More on the Maya

Cerros – Belize

Location

Situated on the edge of Corozal Bay, this is a relatively small site by Maya standards. Viewed from the city of Corozal, it creates the impression of a hill (cerro, in Spanish) rising above the surrounding vegetation. It is located inside the Cerro Maya Archaeological Reserve, which encompasses over 50 acres (52.62 hectares). The site is composed of three architectural complexes, with various plazas flanked by pyramidal structures. Two of these pyramids have facades adorned with masks rising to between 2 m and 4 m in height. The site can be reached by boat from Corozal and then a short walk. It is also possible to reach it by car. The site has a restroom and a small visitor centre.

History of the explorations

Thomas Gann was one of the first to recognise the place as an archaeological site, although it was only registered with the Belize Institute of Archaeology in 1969, when Peter Schmidt and Joseph O. Palacio visited it. The land on which it is situated was purchased by Metroplex Properties, which created the not-for-profit Cerro Maya Foundation for the purposes of excavating, consolidating and rebuilding the ceremonial precinct in order to attract tourists. The foundation’s plans included a research centre, a site museum and a hotel and pool. In the event, the foundation went bankrupt and the large-scale development of the site was abandoned. Cerros was mapped, excavated and partially excavated between 1973 and 1979 by David Freidel from the Southern Methodist University (SMU). Freidel channelled his energies into the ceremonial precinct and the importance of the site as a trading centre. In 1983, Cathy Crane, also from SMU, studied the ancient canal and associated structures in search of pollen and other organic remains. She was followed in the 1990s by Debra Walker of Florida International University, who conducted the Cerros Cooperative Development Project (CCADP). Recently, the Institute of Archaeology has taken over the site and made reproductions of the masks.

Pre-Hispanic history

What makes this site special is that the majority of its visible architecture corresponds to the Late Preclassic. Although various re-modellings were conducted during the Classic period, the most important constructions data from the Late Preclassic. More recent materials have been found, but these possibly date from colonisation during the Terminal Classic rather than to a permanent occupation. Cerros experienced its heyday between 50 BC and AD 100, during the Postclassic, although it was a very important site as early as 400 BC.

Site description

Situated in a strategic location for maritime trade, the site may well have been involved from a very early date in the importation of jade and obsidian from the Guatemala Highlands and the exportation of flint artefacts to Colha. Located just a few kilometres to the south of Cerros, Colha possessed flint of the finest quality. Its raw materials and artefacts were greatly esteemed and the site was exploited from the Palaeo Indian age to the Postclassic. However, Colha has not been included in this guide as it is not open to the public; its mounds are privately owned and as there are no road signs it is virtually impossible to find. There is evidence to suggest that Cerros had trade links with the north coast of the Yucatan peninsula and with the highlands of Guatemala and El Salvador.

The proximity of the sea has eroded two large structures, one of which is Structure 5C-2nd, which had stucco masks on its facade. The Belize Institute of Archaeology has made replicas and the originals have been covered to protect them. Structure 5C lies at the northern tip of the site and is the closest to the sea. Situated south-east of this is Structure 4B, the tallest construction at Cerros (rising 22 m above the plaza). These structures have been consolidated and it is worth climbing to the top of 4B to admire the scenery and view some of the exposed walls of the temple. In the main part of the site, buildings 3, 4B, 5C and 6B can all be climbed. The plazas gradually ascend in height from south to the north, and it is a pleasant walk amid the vegetation with handsome vistas of the sea. Cerros has three ball courts, buildings for public functions, temples and a canal over one kilometre in length that belonged to a system of raised fields and runs along the south and east sides of the main part of the site. Part of the canal has been excavated. Altogether, 103 constructions have been recorded around the perimeter, including residential structures as well as ceremonial and public buildings.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp266-267.

How to get there;

This is not easy as there is no regular public transport. There is supposed to be a boat route from Corozal but this is expensive and intermittent. At the moment there major construction work is taking place on the road from Corozal to Sarteneja. Once this is completed (no date) that will almost certainly entail better road transport opportunities. However, this will still entail a road walk of 3kms or so.