Xcaret – Quintana Roo – Mexico

Posted on 08/10/2023 by Michael

Xcaret

Xcaret – Quintana Roo

Location

This is situated on the coast, on a steep cliff composed of a fossil reef overlooking a tiny cove which in ancient times may well have been a port and shelter for sailing vessels. Nowadays, the archaeological site has been absorbed into a theme park. From Cancun, take federal 307 to Tulum in the south and the turn-off to Xcaret is 7 km after the town of Playa del Carmen. The archaeological area is inside the Xcaret Park.

History of the explorations

Herbert Spinden and Gregory Mason first reported the site in 1926. In the 1940s, the explorer and photographer Loring M. Hewen visited Xcaret accompanied by the archaeologist E. W. Andrews IV. The latter returned in 1956 to undertake research at the site. In the 1970s, Anthony P. Andrews continued and supplemented the work begun by his father. In the 1980s and 1990s, Maria Jose Con Uribe of the INAH led a new research project at Xcaret aimed at delimiting and mapping the site, as well as excavating and consolidating the buildings. Nowadays, Xcaret has been transformed into a theme park incorporating the archaeological area.

Pre-Hispanic history

We do not know the origin or meaning of the name Xcaret, but we do know that in pre-Hispanic and colonial times it was called P’ole, derived from the root p’oi, meaning merchandise, dealings and contract with traders. The Chilam Balam de Chumayel refers to Pole as the first point where the Izta stopped en route to Chichen Itza. It is also referred to as the point of departure for pilgrimages to worship the goddess Ixchel on the island of Cozumel. The present-day name would appear to be a corruption of the Spanish word caleta, meaning cove.

The earliest human settlement dates back to the Late Preclassic, denoted by a few ceramic fragments and several low platforms. At that time, there were various fishing villages and farming communities along the coast. A population increase appears to have occurred in the Late Classic, although the site experienced its heyday in the Postclassic. The architecture of the large platforms with rounded corners, combined with the presence of ceramic traditions from the north of the peninsula, suggest a cultural development highly typical of coastal sites. Meanwhile, the presence of various types of polychromy and objects of jade, obsidian and quartz indicate close ties with sites in the central Maya area, such as the Guatemalan uplands. Although the site was relatively insignificant during the Classic period, it nevertheless shows a well developed political, economic and social organisation.

The population increase occurred in the Postclassic, when like other sites along the coast the city gained in importance, principally by trading marine resources and taking advantage of the circumpeninsular trade network stretching as far as Honduras. Due its situation opposite the Island of Cozumel, Pole became the principal port of departure for the numerous pilgrims who sailed across the sea in canoes to the famous shrine dedicated to the goddess Ixchel. During the early years of the colonial period, it remained an important port of entry and departure between the mainland and Cozumel. The runs of a small 16thcentury church date from this time.

Site description

The settlement adopts a linear layout along the coast, forming groups of buildings and isolated temples on the sea shore. A wall runs parallel to the coast, separating or protecting most of these groups. The residences are situated around the site.

Group A.

This is situated on a rocky promontory at one side of the cove, near a cenote and protected by the wall that separates it from the sea. The only entrance in the wall is situated at this point. The group consists of ten structures, nine on an artificial platform forming a plaza, and the tenth at a lower level. The constructions have a religious function and must have originally been decorated inside with bright colours and symbolic scenes. Some temples contain altars for offerings or figurines. The platform supporting the twin temples corresponds to the Classic period, which is distinguished by finer stonework and rounded corners. The remainder of the constructions in this group date from the Postclassic.

Group B.

This comprises large, low platforms which form plazas and once supported wood and palm constructions. The most outstanding element of the group is Building B-3, which is composed of three inter-connecting rooms once covered by a vaulted roof. Adjoining this building is a small temple, B-2, from the Postclassic period. The remainder of the platforms, all with rounded corners, correspond to the Classic period and were used for civic and religious activities. Some of them were also used as burials for high-ranking dignitaries. The most common forms of burial were to place the individual directly in the ground or inside rudimentary cists. In most cases the individual were laid down with a plate over their faces and some form of offering. More often than not, the skulls had been subjected to cranial deformation and the teeth sawn to points. Most of the burials date from the Late Classic and a few from the Postclassic.

Group C.

This comprises low platforms, two of which were once surmounted by masonry temples. Two constructions share the same platform; one has two bays and a colonnaded entrance. Four structures connected by a low wall form a closed precinct around an altar. Some structures show at least two construction phases and functions, being used initially as a dwelling and then as a burial. The structure at the north end of the group contained the tomb of several individuals and an offering comprising ceramic vessels. The entire group seems to have been built and used during the Postclassic.

Group D.

This is situated on the edge of a small cliff, adjacent to the outer wall. The main structure is a three-tier circular volume with a Postclassic temple at the top. Part of an earlier construction (Late Classic) has been exposed. Situated to one side, a small temple, now minus its flat roof and part of its walls, complements the group.

Group E.

This is one of the most important groups at the site and contains the tallest structures. Three of its buildings are connected by a wall, which disappears a few metres further north. The excavations have confirmed that the group was built during the Early Classic because older constructions were found beneath the two tallest buildings, accompanied by objects made of shell, conch, jadeite, obsidian, etc. Both structures E-3 and E-4 adopt a circular plan, although in the former case the front was subsequently modified to make it look square. The small temple at the top of Structure E-4 was also circular, with an apse-shaped room inside and a flat roof. By contrast, the temple at the top of E-3 is square-plan. The remainder of the buildings (E-l, E-5 and E-6) are from the Late Postclassic. Structure E-6 is of particular note in that it consists of a double temple – a small adoratorium inside another – and its interior and exterior walls were painted in bright colours.

Group F.

This consists of three structures on a platform with a double balustraded stairway culminating in finial blocks. The main temple is among the largest found at Xcaret and contains a great altar or throne. Its roof was vaulted and the interior and exterior walls painted blue, red and orange. The small temples next to it are from a later period. This group is situated a few metres from the Spanish church, and materials from the colonial period were found nearby.

Group G.

This small church dates from the 16th century and consists of a nave, semicircular apse and three altars: one in the middle, one at the side and one at the rear. It is oriented east-west and is accessed by three flights of steps on the north, south and west sides. It is surrounded by an atrium wall. The roof was made of wood and palm leaves. The church nave was used as a place of burial and over 150 individuals have been found there. The church is one of the earliest Spanish constructions found on the east coast.

Group H.

This is one of the finest examples of the isolated coastal temples that can be found all along the east coast. It offers a clear view of the island of Cozumel and was a landmark for Maya seafarers. It stands on a platform that once had a stairway at the front.

Ceramics

Yum Kax Group (AD 250-600).

This group emerged at the beginning at the Early Classic, when the site is known to have maintained ties with other regions in the Maya area, such as northern Yucatan and the Peten-Belize region.

Ek Chuah Group (AD 600-1200).

In the Late Classic, the cultural links that Xcaret maintained with sites on the coast and further inland are reflected in the ceramic materials. During this period it traded with a number of nearby and distant settlements in the Chontalpa and Peten-Belize regions, as well as the inland of the peninsula. There are also marked ceramic influences from the Puuc region.

Ixchel Group (AD 1200-1650).

During the final stage of its cultural development, in the Postclassic, there appears to have been greater inter-regional homogeneity in terms of ceramics, complemented by colonial ceramic materials between 1528 and 1650. This confirms that during this last stage Xcaret was one of the principal coastal settlements in the region.

Maria Jose Con Uribe

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp 438-440

Getting there – and getting in:

From Playa del Carmen. Take a colectivo from the centre of town which goes along the main road towards Tulum and get off at the Xcaret stop. This is a few kilometres from the park but there’s a free, shuttle bus that leaves from the underpass. Follow the directions to the shuttle. On arrival at the complicated car park of the theme park get off the shuttle head left through the car park to wards the high wall around the park and look for a very large and high gate. It is recognisable in having a huge (now ornamental) padlock. The INAH ticket office window is to the right of this gate.

I thought that the archaeological site was separate from the theme park but it is fully integrated into it and the re are four or five locations with original Mayan structures. Many of the tourists think that they are re-constructions – as is everything else in the park. You will have to be accompanied by someone from INAH. This means you get a guide but it is also restrictive in that you only have the time the guide is prepared to give you. When I visited she had to shut the ticket office and accompany me. I have no idea if anyone arrived only to find the ticket office deserted.

I assume this happens whenever anyone wants to visit only the archaeological site.

GPS:

20d 34’ 45” N

87d 07’ 10” W

Entrance:

M$90 – as I had a camera (rather than a phone) I was also charged the ‘video’ fee of M$50. And because I had a ‘guide cum chaperone’ I also gave her a tip.

Labna – Yucatan – Mexico

Posted on 01/10/2023 by Michael

Labna

Labna – Yucatan

Location

The Labna ruins are situated in the Bolonchen district, 9 km east of Sayil and 3 km from Xlapak. The studies conducted in this archaeological area suggest that the area around the centre of the pre-Hispanic settlement occupied just over 1 sq km with an estimated population of 2,000. A suburban area of an additional 25 ha is also known, situated on the hills that define the south-west corner of the urban area, where there is a small group of masonry constructions inhabited by people of a relatively high social standing. Labna is one of the most important examples of a class of settlements which are distinguished by their relatively common dimensions and populations and which represent the majority of the Maya people who lived and prospered in the Puuc region during the two centuries that the Terminal Classic is estimated to have lasted (AD 750-950) in the Yucatan Peninsula.

According to experts such as Pollock, Edward Kurjack and Nicholas Dunning, the layout of the main architectural precinct at the site and the types of structures it comprises are typical of many archaeological sites in the region. However, Labna is regarded as the most characteristic Puuc site and is well worth a visit for those interested in gaining a more complete picture of the social organisation of the population who lived in this undulating landscape, of the types of buildings they constructed to accommodate the community and of the principal spaces they created for conducting their civic and religious activities. Like many other mountain sites, it was first recorded by the American traveller John Stephens and the British artist Frederick Catherwood in the late 1830s. However, the first archaeological explorations took place some 50 years later, led by the American consul in Yucatan, Edward H. Thompson, an archaeologist affiliated to the Peabody Museum at the University of Harvard. His excavations were the first ever conducted in the Maya area by a researcher linked to this institution, which to this day continues to promote the studies of numerous distinguished Mayanists. Although many of his activities were controversial, Thompson authored a study on the chultunes at Labna, the first ever publication devoted to the numerous cisterns designed to collect and store rainwater. These bottle shaped tanks tend to be situated in the courtyards of residential units, which served as collecting areas; the same purpose was served by the roofs of the constructions around the courtyard, which descended steeply towards the mouth of the cistern. This was reduced in width by a stone ring-shaped parapet, on which sat a round slab stone that acted as a movable lid. This minimised the loss of water through the process of evotranspiration and may well have also reduced the entry of rubbish as the parapet was several centimetres higher than the surrounding collecting area. Many cisterns were excavated with a long neck to cross the bedrock and reach the relatively soft sascab or limy layer in the process of petrification. In addition to offering an example of the Maya’s ingenuity in adapting to the extreme conditions of their environment, the chultunes also played a vital role in guaranteeing the survival of the inhabitants all year round by providing water, a precious commodity, during the dry months.

Pre-Hispanic history

The excavations undertaken by archaeologists from the Yucatan INAH Centre have revealed the existence of constructions and materials that confirm that the first settlers occupied Labna from as early as the late Middle Preclassic (c. 500 BC). However, the presence of buildings with Early Puuc architecture, such as the Colonnette and Mosaic styles, associated with Cehpech slate ceramic vessels, indicates that the site was primarily occupied during the Terminal Classic (AD 700-900), when Labna experienced its greatest splendour. Thereafter, the population declined considerably. There are also remains of various later constructions, regarded as transitional buildings between the Terminal Classic and the Early Postclassic (AD 1000-1100), but otherwise everything seems to suggest that the site had been totally abandoned by the end of the Early Postclassic (AD 1200).

Site description

The architectural groups inside the area open to visitors are the Arch Group, the North Square, the Mirador Group, the Temple of the Columns and the Palace. The first three belong to the same architectural complex and are connected to the Palace by a sacbe or internal causeway.

Arch group.

This comprises several adjacent structures, the most outstanding of which in terms of its state of repair and architectural merits is the Arch or vaulted doorway connecting the group to the North Square and the causeway. When Stephens and Catherwood visited Labna over 170 years ago, part of the structure adjoining the Arch was still standing, forming the south wing of the group. This construction survived upright until the first half of the 20th century, and we therefore know that it was a palatial building, with a double bay in the central section and a frieze decorated with tiny columns in the Puuc Colonnette style. Although now in ruins, the buildings on the west and north sides probably date from the same period, including Structure 13, which forms the north-west side of the group, and Structure 12, a circular platform with a monolithic altar which must have originally stood at the centre. The Arch displays several details that suggest it was a late construction, abutted to its neighbours several decades afterwards. Its interior decoration or north-west facade consists of a columnar corner, a mask at the north corner, panels of latticework with two niches where it is still possible to see fragments of stucco-modelled quetzal feathers with traces of green, blue and red pigmentation. The feathers formed part of the headdress of different figures seated in a cross-legged position, of which the only remaining element is the butt which must have anchored them to internal wall of the niche. Above the niches are miniature representations of Maya huts. Visible on the roof are three sections – the highest one in the middle – of a roof comb. This composition bears a great similarity to that of the interior face of the arch leading to the Nunnery Quadrangle at Uxmal. The other side of the Arch displays a frieze with geometric decoration in the form of the stepped frets commonly found in the Maya area and made in the Puuc Mosaic style, which reinforces the theory that the vaulted doorway at Labna is a late construction.

North Square.

This is composed of the north wing or Structure 8, Structure 7 which seals the east side, Structure 9 on the south side, Structure 10 (a small pyramid that has not been restored) and the Arch that defines its west side. The sacbe or raised causeway links this space to the Palace. On reaching the north wing it adopts the form of a ramp leading to the interior of the square. The east side of the ramp is occupied by the remains of two solid constructions which according to the explorations conducted by the INAH between 1993 and 1997 formed two free-standing towers, similar in shape to the towers at Nocuchich and Chanchen. They once stood over 7 m high and had a stucco decoration affixed to the tower by means of butts embedded in the masonry, like the decorative figures on the Mirador’s roof comb. The remaining structures are open at the front and preceded by columns. The elongated structure that forms the east wing was simply decorated with ‘broken mouldings’ above the entrances, while the structures on the south-east side had friezes decorated with stucco anthropomorphic motifs. Both these constructions and the one that seals the east side had slab stone roofs, which indicates that they are the oldest buildings at the site. The shape and the absence of domestic utensils suggest that this space was used for civic and religious functions and was probably the principal ceremonial precinct at Labna as early as the beginning of the Late Classic. A ramp at the centre of the south wing provided access to the South Square, where there are more early structures preceded by columns; these have not yet been restored but they must originally have formed a single plaza with the North Square.

Mirador Group.

The Mirador is a stepped pyramid and the highest construction in the core area of Labna. Only the western section of the temple at the top of the pyramid has survived. It once had a stairway at the front, beneath which it is possible to see an exposed section of an earlier structure, which was completely covered when the stairway was built. Both the temple at the top of the pyramid and the substructure display the same Early Puuc architectural style, with simple rectangular-shaped medial moulding. The most interesting section of this construction is the roof comb or false facade on top of the roof, which still displays a fair number of butts that supported the stucco decoration and has retained its original height. Visible at the south-west corner of the building is half of a stucco bundle figure wearing a loincloth. There are also fragments of low and high reliefs, most of them anthropomorphic. This construction appears to have had a commemorative function, serving as a type of ‘billboard’ for announcing important events related to the former governors of Labna. Much of the building and its roof comb were still standing when Stephens and Catherwood visited Labna. Thompson also describes two human figures with a ball between them, as well as a large seated figure above the central door, which have now disappeared. The surveys conducted by the INAH’s Labna Project indicated that there is no ball court at this site, which means that the scene with the ball must be a reference to an event at a neighbouring site such as Sayil, where there is evidence of this type of construction. Opposite the Mirador, in the courtyard, is a circular construction and at its centre an altar in the form of a truncated cone. This monolith displays the remains of five anthropomorphic figures carved beneath an upper band of cartouches with hieroglyphic writing which it has not been possible to decipher. This group was accessed from the south side, where the remains of a ramp have been excavated and restored.

Sacbe.

This linear construction connects the Palace, a multi-purpose building, to the North Square and the Arch and Mirador groups, the two monumental precincts that formed the core area of the ancient city of Labna. The excavations conducted prior to its restoration indicated the presence of an earlier causeway, partly dismantled and buried when the new sacbe was built. During its first phase, the causeway led to the Central Wing of the Palace but was subsequently diverted towards the south-west corner of the East Wing of the Palace. The sections still visible today indicate that it was originally lower and a little narrower, and that its retaining walls were made of finely cut stones rather than the coarse ones of its final stage. The south side reached the North Square via a double ramp, whose exterior face (of the north side) was levelled during the final construction phase. During the dry season it is possible to see part of the east side of the ramp, in a hollow next to the remains of the east tower left for this purpose by the archaeologists.

Temple of Columns.

This six-room building situated east of the Palace occupies a rectangular platform approximately 1.5 m high, which has not been restored. The access was on the west side, where there must have been a stairway. Both the front and back display a continuous decoration of tiny columns in the characteristic Puuc Colonnette style. The presence of an underground cistern at the front and service platforms probably used for preparing food at the front and back, both with additional cisterns, as well as its proximity to the Palace, indicate that it must have been the dwelling of a high-ranking family during the Late Classic.

Palace.

This two-storey construction with 67 rooms is the most important building at the site. Although difficult to believe, several buildings on the top level pre-date the ones on the lower level. This is because the builders levelled and filled a natural hill, using several buildings on the lower level as retaining elements to increase the space at the front of the top level, including the roofs of the buildings. This ingenious building method was used in numerous other multistorey constructions in the Puuc region, filling and levelling to create large terraces on the slopes of karst hills and erect imposing buildings with less effort than if they were constructed on a totally flat surface. The area open to visitors is the lower level, which is composed of the west, central and east wings. Although the structure has yet to be explored in its entirety, the evidence uncovered suggests that it must have had a residential function; even so, the front buildings may have been used for another purpose. Situated in the West Wing are the only building foundations that did not have a corbel vault roof. Similarly, a large quantity of grinding stones and their respective quern stones were found nearby. At the rear of the structure, on the natural surface next to the platform, several caches of broken cooking pots were found. All of this suggests that this must have been the Palace’s service area, where food such as different types of tamales, atoles and tortillas were prepared for the occupants. The Central Wing contains the most elaborately decorated buildings. The excavations indicated that the west building pre-dates the central one, which in turn pre-dates the building on the east side. The west building was constructed in the Early Puuc style, while the north and east buildings correspond to the Puuc Mosaic, a much later style, which means that the time difference between these two must have been much shorter than between them and the west building. The sides of the central building display panels formed by interwoven mats, a symbol clearly associated with the nobility in the Maya area. Other interesting details are the heads carved in the lower moulding and the fact that the interior wall of the room is decorated as if it were an exterior wall and has benches flanking the entrance to the inner room. The decoration of the East Wing is much more elaborate, complex and illuminating. The central motif is a giant long-nosed mask originally flanked by anthropomorphic sculptures; the front of the nose is inscribed with a hieroglyphic date of the tun ahau type, corresponding to the year AD 862. In the southwest corner is a mask with complex symbolism. Although shaped like a reptile, it also has fins, feathers and the open jaws of a lizard revealing a human head inside. On the lower moulding of this corner is a sculpted head. These details, combined with the shape of the building and the dedication date, suggest a ceremony related to the accession to the throne of one of the last rulers of Labna. There are signs that the Palace was undergoing expansion when for some reason the site was abandoned. The north-east wing and sections of the upper level were never completed. There is evidence of unfinished building work at many sites in the mountain region.

Tomas Gallareta

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp 367-371.

Labna

1. Arch; 2. North Square; 3. South Square; 4. Mirador; 5. Sacbe; 6. Temple of the Columns; 7. Palace.

How to get there;

Not easy if you don’t have your own transport. There are no buses or colectivos that run along this road. Although the three sites (Labna, Xlapak and Sayil) are all within a 15km stretch of the road unless you hire a taxi from Santa Elena (expensive) you have to depend upon your wits, imagination and good luck.

GPS:

20d 10′ 26″ N

89d 34′ 46″ W

Entrance;

M$70

Balam Ku – Campeche – Mexico

Posted on 17/09/2023 by Michael

Balam Ku

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