COBA
- Cobá, is located in Quintana Roo, just 30 miles northwest of Tulum
on the road to Valladolid. This archaeological site sits amid 5 small, shallow lakes and
is largely unrestored, however, work is proceeding currently. Cobá is well on its way to
becoming one of the most important finds in the Maya world.
The city was as large in area
as any of the cities of the Maya and maintained a metropolitan population of upwards of
70,000 people within an area of 44 square miles. The huge plaza platform covers almost 4
square miles and houses the city core of pyramids, temples and ball courts. Some 60
sacbe's have been identified and the longest one goes 60 miles, straight as an arrow to
the ancient city of Yaxuná. Another sacbe goes to Ixil nearly 12 miles away.
There are
dozens of other sacbe's that radiate out from the center of Cobá into the middle of
nowhere. There is little doubt that in its day, Cobá was one of the great centers of the
Maya world and ruled over a huge territory. Cobá was allied with small city states
hundreds of kilometers away.
Cobá reached its peak in the Late Classic period around 600 A.D., and eventually fell
before might of Chichén Itzá sometime around 950 A.D. although was inhabited well into
the 1300's. Due to the sites location it was not rediscovered until 1974, although it was
reported by a resident of Valladolid in the late 1800's. Since the 1970's work has been
progressing slowly to try and uncover the secrets waiting at Cobá.
Investigations have
revealed many things to date. One interesting fact is that the architectural styles are
much closer to the grand ruins of Tikal in Guatemala, rather than others in the northern
lowlands. And some 40 stele have been uncovered and one contains the dates: Nov. 30, 780
A.D.; Aug. 12, 3113 B.C. and Dec. 21, 2012 A.D. The last date is the date the famous Maya
Calendar ends.
La Paz Hotel, Playa del Carmen
Q.Roo. México
Cobá's Great Pyramid was the highest Maya structure in the Yucatán until the
mountains at Ek Balam turned out to be pyramids. The temple of the seven levels 'Nohoch
Mul' which means Big Mound in Mayan, is also a very impressive temple. Both rise more than
75 feet above the surrounding forest. Cobá's ball court is spectacular in its detail and
carving. Its panels depict ballplayers in different forms than normal. Some are portrayed
without uniforms. Many other structures are still being excavated and even discovered by
the teams working at Cobá.
Another architectural wonder at Cobá is the alignment of the huge plaza. The buildings
are arranged to mark celestial sightings including the sunrise of the summer solstice, the
sunset of the winter solstice, the northernmost moonrise and the Venus cycles.
Because the reconstruction at Cobá is in the early stages a wealth of discovery is
expected at this site. Not just because Cobá was a huge city state, but also because the
techniques used by archaeologists have improved vastly of the years. Errors that were made
at some of the older site will be avoided here.
Quintana Roo
HOTELS IN:
Riviera Maya: Puerto Morelos, Punta Bete, Playa del Carmen,
Xcaret, Kantenah, Akumal, Puerto Aventuras, Xpu-Ha and Tulum
Cozumel,
Isla Mujeres
DZIBANCHE - Dzibanché is a recently restored, gigantic, and imposing ruin.
Dzibanché, meaning "writing on wood" in Mayan and owes its name to the fact
that one Temple has a fairly large wooden lintel that bears eight glyphs dated 618 A.D.
The site sits on some hills surrounded by flats. Dzibanché can be reached by car on the
same highway that leads to Kohunlich, turning off on the road to Morocoy village, and then
on a dirt road to get to the site. Dzibanche is a definately a discovery of great
importance. Some archaeologists are calling it the "Tikal of Mexico", because of
its size and beauty.
Dzibanché was a major site in the Maya area in the Classic Period from 300 to 900 A.D.
The site's most important architectural complex is made up of a number of plazas ringed by
large palaces and platforms from which temples decorated with Peten-style crests rose. A
Ball Court, somewhat removed from the main block of structures, completes the list of
buildings at this civic-ceremonial center. Besides its natural water sources, this site
has several chultunes (clay lined cisterns) that served as water deposits.
Quintana Roo
EL REY - El Rey is a small site located in Cancún. It is also known as the
Kinich Ahau Group, the king of the Sun's Face, after a carved stone human head found
there. The site is made up of two plazas surrounded by buildings and platforms. The
buildings seen today date from the late post-Classic and are in the East Coast
architectural style.
The most interesting building is a palace that has the largest
dimensions at the site. Its roofing was held up by 18 columns. The temples are the best
preserved units at El Rey and still have vestiges of mural paintings. On these there are
strips containing Ahau glyphs, numerals, and portrayals of human beings.
Quintana Roo
KOHUNLICH - Kohunlich is a corruption of the name "Cohune Ridge".
Cohune is a species of fruiting palm common to the area. Kohunlich is located about an
hour west of Chetumal. The site was previously known as Clarksville, which is how it is
referred to in old maps and reports.
The ruins resemble the Rio Bec style and the Petén
style. This shows the close ties and importance Kohunlich would have had with the other
areas of Maya culture. The site is located in an area of dense jungle with no visible
water source nearby. Archaeologists are reconstructing an elaborate hydro project which
probably allowed the Maya to survive and even flourish.
The site is best known for its Temple of the Masks. It is decorated with various stucco
designs, representing the different ages of the sun. It's an Early Classic pyramid whose
central stairway is flanked by the masks. Built around 500 A.D., this is one of the oldest
constructions at the site.
During its days of grandeur, the site was stuccoed and painted
predominantly in red. Some constructions were also decorated with stuccoed figures and
geometric designs. After 700 A.D., this temple was covered over with a Classic
construction, which protected the masks and accounts for the marvelous state of their
preservation today. The only standing remains of the later temple are some steps in the
lower portion of the stair.
Quintana Roo
Archaeological Sites of Mexico
HOTELS IN:
Riviera Maya: Puerto Morelos, Punta Bete, Playa del Carmen,
Xcaret, Kantenah, Akumal, Puerto Aventuras, Xpu-Ha and Tulum
Cozumel,
Isla Mujeres
MUYIL
- Muyil is located near the east coast of Quintana Roo. It can be
reached by car by driving south from Cancun and Tulum. Muyil is situated around a fresh
water lake called La Laguna. The site was a trading town of moderate importance because it
was located on the coast. Muyil is one of the oldest cities found in the Northern Yucatan
and was probably inhabited in the pre-Classic. The city grew slowly throughout the
Classic, it was not until the post-Classic that it expanded to its maximum size. The
buildings of a civic ceremonial nature were done in the East Coast architectural style.
The Castle is the highest structure at the site and shows architectural features which
reveal the influence of the Petén Region. The temple atop the Castle retains the original
wooden lintels above its entrances, as well as traces of Maya blue and red paint on its
walls. Muyil is mostly covered in vegetation, however, there are 75 temples in the main
complex waiting to be uncovered.
Quintana Roo
TULUM - The name Tulum in Mayan refers to its fortress like walls, but the
real Mayan name for the site was "Zama" which means dawn. The site is located an
easy drive down the coast from Playa del Carmen and is also easily accessible from
Valladolid via Cobá. The ruins at Tulum are now part of a National Park covering some
1600 acres, but the ancient city stretches along the coast for almost four miles. This
royal city, perched on limestone cliffs seems to rise right out of the beautiful Caribbean
Sea.
The ruins are from the post-classic era of the Maya civilization and are fortified.
While walled cities are not normal for the Maya, they existed in many of the postclassic
cities. Tulum rose to prominence around 1200 A.D. a little more than three hundred years
before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. Astronomy and celestial navigation,
maritime trade, even weather forecasting were among the Maya achievements at this small
but powerful city state.
The dominant pyramid is the Castillo which has two columns portraying serpents. It is
also noted for murals found inside the building. These serpent columns speak to the Toltec
influence which is clearly evident at Tulum. The Temple of Paintings also contains frescos
with sacred colors and are in reasonable condition. Carvings at the site include some
recesses containing images of flowers and animals carved in colored stucco. Other
constructions were used for religious rites and ceremony. The Maya who inhabited the
Island of Cozumel were known to worship the sun at sunrise. And even though the site was
named Zama for dawn, the Maya at Tulum are known to have worshipped the setting sun.
Tulum, unlike many other Maya cities has been used as a fortress into the 20th century.
In 1518 the Spanish documented sighting, what is surely Tulum. They compared the city
to Seville in Spain and noted that there was a very tall tower seen there. This is
certainly a reference to the Castillo. During the Maya uprising of the War for the Castes,
which began in 1847 and lasted until 1901, Tulum served as a fortress for the rebels. In
1871 it was used as a sanctuary by the cult of the "Speaking Cross" of Santa
Cruz. They were led by the Indian woman Maria Uicab, who was also known as the patron
saint of Tulum.
Tulum is also right next to Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve. Sian Ka'an is prime hiking
spot for those who want to experience jungle wildlife and unrestored Maya ruins. Tulum
also offers camping, swimming inside the ruins and has a marketplace and mall where
souvenirs and typical archaeological pieces are sold.
SAN GERVASIO - San Gervasio is located on Cozumel Island and is the largest
of the 30 Maya sites found there. From 1250 A.D. to the time of the Spanish conquest this
port was a hub for sea trade. It was also a destination of pilgrims for the worship of
Ixchel, the moon goddess. Set on the north end of the island, San Gervasio was the
administrative seat of Cozumel. It first became important around the year 800 A.D.,
attaining its peak development around 1400 A.D. A network of sacbés connected the site
with the island's east coast and with nearby coves where merchant canoes put ashore.
