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

Palenque site museum

Posted on 04/07/2023 by Michael

Palenque site museum

More on the Maya

Palenque site museum

Alberto Ruz Lhuillier Palenque Site Museum

This holds the archaeological and historical collection pertaining to the ancient city of Palenque. It opened in May 1993. It is situated 1.5 km from the site and in addition to other buildings forms part of the service area for the archaeological park. There are two rooms with permanent exhibitions. The first one, on the ground floor, contains approximately 260 archaeological pieces ranging from ceramic, lithic, stucco, bone, shell and jadeite artefacts. There are also several magnificent, finely executed limestone tablets with scenes of enthronements; they once decorated some of the buildings at the site. This same room also contains an excellent collection of incense burners made out of clay and profusely decorated and painted, demonstrating the profound magic-religious sense and extraordinary aesthetic sensibilities of the ancient city’s population.

[The second room at the top of the museum is given over to the history of archaeological research at Palenque, from the late 18th century to the present day. The exhibition is accompanied by illustrations and objects representing the milestones when pioneers, travellers, explorers and researchers contributed in one way or another to the knowledge of the site and the conservation of one of the most important cities in the Maya culture. This room also contains a small space for temporary exhibitions.] This was closed in June 2023.

Videos are used in both rooms to offer a brief summary of the archaeology of Palenque. [Not in June 2023]

A replica of the Tomb of Pakal was recently completed and a new area is now open. This space exhibits exact replicas of the funerary chamber (7×3.75 m and 6.5 m high) and the sarcophagus (3×2.10 m and 1.10 m high). Also on display is a reproduction of the limestone lid (3.80×2.20 m and 25 cm thick) with its low-relief carvings. This slabstone represents the image of Pakal and shows all the elements depicted in the sarcophagus and lid reliefs. Meanwhile, the translucent walls display images of the nine dignitaries from the underworld and Pakals ancestors, represented on the inner walls of the original chamber. Using printed, electronic and audiovisual media, the room dedicated to the Tomb of Pakal explains how it was discovered, its significance in the Maya world view and the decipherment of its inscriptions and hieroglyphs. Another of the novelties in this new space is the reproduction of the funerary mask (24×19 cm) worn by Pakal in his tomb, which consists of 340 pieces of jade.

[I can’t find out definitively but, I assume, the original is still in situ, it being almost impossible to remove it without destroying the building in which it is housed.]

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp157-159.

Getting there;

The museum is in the complex where you pay your entrance both into the National Park and the site. If you are facing the ticket office the museum is to your left, about 50 metres away.

Entrance;

Your ticket to the site allows access to the museum – but there is no check, so it’s basically free. Open from 09.00 every day but Monday.

More on the Maya

Toniná – Chiapas – Mexico

Posted on 29/06/2023 by Michael

Toniná

More on the Maya

Toniná – Chiapas

Location

With its privileged location overlooking one end of the Ocosingo Valley, Toniná became one of the great Maya capitals of the Classic period. Situated near the western border of the Maya area, in the transitional area between the low rainforest regions and the cold forests of the Chiapas central plateau, its position enabled it to play a crucial role in the trade relations with other territories. Between the 7th and 10th centuries AD, its political alliances and military advances earned it the status of an important regional power. The site lies 10 km east of the town of Ocosingo, easily reached on route 199.

Site description

The tour of the site commences by crossing a small stream and then climbing up to the large playing area of the sunken, I-shaped ball court. The ground of the playing area is covered by stone slabs which originally had a top layer of stucco, and there are several circular stone markers where offerings of sea shells with a red pigment and jade beads were found; seating areas for spectators seal both ends of the court. The sloping volumes of the parallel platforms were surmounted by imposing sculptures of prisoners, three on each side. One of these is currently on display at the site museum. The sculptures consisted of a large shield interwoven and fringed with feathers carved in bas-relief on a panel; projecting from the latter was the three-dimensional body of a kneeling prisoner with his hands tied behind his back. Thanks to the information recorded in the hieroglyphs, we know that this court was dedicated in AD 699 to celebrate the success of the military campaigns conducted by the governor B’aaknal Chaak in the Usumacinta region, and that it was subsequently remodelled in AD 776; the prisoners, who have been identified by their glyphs, were vassals of Palenque, Toniná’s eternal rival.

On leaving the ball court, you come to the great plaza and, at its north end, the great acropolis of Toning, the core political and ceremonial area of the city built on seven platforms rising from the natural elevation of a hill. On the opposite side of the plaza, along the south side, is a temple-pyramid known as the Temple of war, with five small altars in front of it. Evidence has been found in the Acropolis of numerous platforms, temples and richly decorated palaces, as well as tombs and sculpted monuments, all of which indicates intensive building activity over the course of several centuries. The local architectural style is easily distinguished by the slender slabs of stones, cut into square blocks, which were used for building walls, stairways, vaults and roof combs; the slabs were bonded with a clay mortar and then covered by thick layers of lime stucco. Meanwhile, the facades, friezes and walls of the constructions were often elaborately decorated with modelled stucco and painted, and although this material does not weather well, several examples have survived to this day and provide us with an insight into what the city must have looked like. The sculptural style at Toniná displays characteristics that have not been found anywhere else in the region, most notably manifested in the numerous exquisitely crafted images of governors and prisoners, carved in the round in the local sandstone and accompanied by hieroglyphic texts, although there are also magnificent examples of bas-relief carvings on panels and altars.

As you climb up to the different levels of the Acropolis, you will have the chance to discover different types of precincts and constructions. Situated at the east end of the first platform is the Palace of the Underworld. This is the sub-structure of a palace composed of 11 bays or vaulted passages which are accessed on the south side only, via three doors with a lintel and stepped vault. The layout is not symmetrical but forms a type of labyrinth in which the passages become increasingly narrower and darker; the only source of light comes from two small cross-shaped openings on the south facade of the palace. Structures of this type may have been associated with initiation rites for governors, during which contact was established with the gods or the governor’s ancestors through bloodletting rituals, and they may therefore have represented a symbolic entrance to the underworld. Other examples of pre-Hispanic labyrinths have been recorded at Yaxchilan, in the Usumacinta region, and at Oxkintok, Yucatan. Situated on the third platform is an imposing stepped fret, the symbol of the wind, and next to it a short free-standing stairway culminating in a throne decorated with hieroglyphs, leading to the palace area. The entire eastern section of the Acropolis, which is not open to visitors, was used throughout several dynasties as the residential area for the local elite, marking a clear division from the western section which appears to have been used for administrative and/or public affairs. In general, the different palaces adopt a similar layout, with the rooms opening onto a central quadrangular courtyard. The rooms were originally ornately decorated with polychrome stucco reliefs depicting historical and mythological scenes. The central part of the fifth platform was probably a necropolis because several tombs of important dignitaries, possibly members of the ruling class, have been found in this area. On the seventh and final platform of the Acropolis are several pyramid temples from the top of which visitors will gain panoramic views of the valley. The best preserved structure is the Temple of the earth monster, thus called because the middle of the stairway was decorated with a giant, open-mouthed mask with a stone sphere inside, possibly representing the sun emerging from the underworld at dawn. In this temple it is possible to see how the stepped vault resting on thick masonry walls was built, culminating in a perforated roof comb reminiscent of the Usumacinta style; another interesting element is the presence of an adoratorium inside a second bay, not unlike the ones in the Cross Group at Palenque. At the beginning of the 10th century AD, during the Chenek phase, the site was affected by the Maya collapse and the widespread abandonment of the Maya lowlands; there are clear signs of the arrival of foreign groups who settled at the site, looting the tombs and destroying the sculpted monuments.

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, pp453-459.

Tonina

Great Plaza; 2. Ball Court; 3. South Temple; 4. Great Acropolis; 5. Palace of the Underworld; 6. Palace of the Jaguars; 7. Mural; 8. Temple of War.

Getting there:

From Ocosingo. Colectivo to Toniná from Azucena/Periférico Oriente Sur, in the middle of the busy market area. M$25 right to the site entrance. If there is a delay in a return combi walk back up the road a kilometre to the next junction. Here there are all kinds of transport options going back to Ocosingo, just flag down everything that passes.