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Mayan World Archaeological Sites
| Maya Ruins | Ruin Locations | Major and menor sites | Listing by Location |
Maya Ruins
Maya ruins are the visible, astounding evidence of a long lasting, dynamic
cultural tradition. Travelers to the Maya World can now, more than ever, see the
structures, palaces and pyramids built by the Maya. Walking through the maze of ancient
stone structures you can still feel the greatness of the Maya. These architects were
concerned with creating monumental ceremonial spaces within which untold rituals could
take place.
The ruins of Maya cities tells us many things. They were in fact administrative, ritual and trade
centers for entire regions. As trade centers they were used for every day commerce. The
greater part of these cities was built from wood and thatch and have not withstood the
wrath of time.
So what remains are the elaborate ritual sites. A city from the Classic
period usually would contain a series of temples, palaces, platforms, pyramids and
individual house mounds. Maya architecture is characterized by a sophisticated sense of
decoration and art, expressed in bas-relief carvings and wall paintings.
The type and
style of this "art" would vary from location to location and also changed with
time. We now know that what look like completed temples and palaces were in fact built and
rebuilt. Some large temples are built on top of what used to be a palace and so on. The
Maya seem to have taken these constructions a step at a time, in fact the pyramid of
Kukulcán at Chitchén Itzá was built over a period of three hundred years.
Temple-pyramids are often the most striking feature of these cities. They were built
from hand-cut limestone blocks. Although the temples were the most imposing structures
within a Maya city, the bulk of construction was composed of palaces.
They were structures built like temple-pyramids but,
on much lower platforms and with as many as several dozen plastered rooms.
These palaces probably did not contain living quarters due to the size of
the rooms. It is thought that in most cases dwellings were constructed of
materials that have not survived.
Typical Maya architectural features various styles of roof combs. The Maya roof comb
was a lattice of stone added to the temples and pyramids to extend the height of the
building. They vary from very high and delicate styles to very broad and bulky types.
These roof combs were always highly decorated as was the temple facade. Doorways,
doorjambs and facades of many other Maya structures were also ornamented with heavy
carving, lattice work and paint. The type of decoration depended on the time frame of
construction and the specific culture of the Maya architect.
Another very unique
architectural feature of the Maya is the use of the corbel vault. This arch has no
keystone, and appears more like a narrow triangle than an archway. It has been suggested
that this lack of keystone was deliberate and used in a fashion representing the nine
layers of the Underworld. A keystone would have created a tenth layer, outside the Maya
cosmology.
Archaeological Sites
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
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RUIN LOCATIONS
The archeological zones of the Maya are located in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and
Honduras. The zones vary from locations on great rivers to locations where no water
sources are apparent. Some of the temples are built on hills using the terrain to great
advantage and others were built in the jungle. There are several different ways to present
these locations, however, the easiest way for the traveler is by location. For in each
location there are Major sites and Minor sites.
Archaeological Sites
MAJOR AND MINOR SITES
- In the eyes of the very serious Maya Investigators there really are no "minor"
sites. Each of the sites played a part in the scheme of the civilization of the Maya but,
for "Ecotourism" the difference can be found in two basic premises:
1)
Location and Accessibility and
2) Size and status of the archeological restoration.
The interested tourist or visitor to the ruins is generally under time and travel
constraints which archeologists are not. While it is true that some amateur investigators
will want to spend the time and money to visit some of the very remote sites, the vast
majority of visitors cannot. Nor is it possible to visit all or even most of the sites on
a normal vacation.
Archaeological Sites
WORLD OF THE MAYA
LISTING BY LOCATION
Click in the name for
more information
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M E X I
C O: |
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Campeche |
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Chiapas |
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Quintana Roo |
Cobá,
Dzibanché, El Rey,
Kohunlich, Muyil,
San Gervasio, Tulum;
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Tabasco
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Yucatan |
Acancéh,
Aké,
Chacmultún,
Chichen Itzá,
Dzibilchaltún,
Ek Balam,
Izamal,
Kabáh,
Labná,
Mayapán,
Oxkintok,
Sayil,
Uxmal,
Xlapac,
Yaxuná;
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B E L I Z E:
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Altún Há,
Cahal Pech;
Caracol,
Cerros,
Colhá,
Cuello,
El Pilar,
Lamanai,
Las Milpas,
Lubaantún,
Nim Li Punit,
Nohmul,
Santa Rita de Corozal, Uxbenka,
Xunantunich;
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GUATEMALA: |
Aguateca,
Altar de Sacrificios,
Ceibal, Dos Pilas, El Mirador, Piedras Negras, Quiriguá, Tikal, Uaxactún, Kaminal Juyú, Yaxhá, Zaculeu;
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HONDURAS: |
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Archaeological Sites
MAYA RUINS OF HONDURAS
In Honduras you will find the ruins of Copán.
COPAN
The ruins of Copán are a four-hour
drive from the city of San Pedro Sula in Honduras. You have to walk more
than 200 yards of steamy tropical-forest trails before reaching Copán's
Great Plaza, where the city's main acropolis rises some 300 feet.
The ancient city produced some of the most skillful stone carvers of
the Maya world. Copán was once a Classic Maya Royal center, the largest site in the
southeastern part of the Maya World. Covering about 29 acres, it was built on the banks of
the Copán River. Copán Ruins is one of the most exceptional and best preserved
monumental cities of the whole Maya World and is highly appreciated by experts for the
quality of its architecture and Maya sculpture.
The tallest structure in sight is the Hieroglyphic Stairway with more
than 1,500 elaborately carved glyphs. Many of the other ruined buildings and monuments are
undisturbed, wrapped tightly by the thick roots of ancient ceiba and cedar trees. The
great human faces which are seen on the East and West sides of one temple are the only
remains of its outside decorations.
They correspond to the enormous bulky sculptures which
decorate the corners on the North side. Those on the south side were also decorated with
gigantic crocodile sculptures with their faces in a downward position. These are found
among the material accumulated at the Court entrance. At a few kilometers distance from
Copán, lies "El Puente" (The Bridge). This bridge is of great importance to
archaeological investigations now being performed at Copán.
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