Weeks 7 and 8: Quintana Roo

Tulúm (2/22/08)

            Instead of visiting Cobá as planned, we traveled to the East Coast site of Tulúm in the state of Quintana Roo. In the Mayan language, Tulúm means “Stinky Dirt”, which refers to the smell from the mangrove wetlands. While the Toltec-influenced site overlooking the Caribbean looked fairly small, the city held as many as 300 along with an additional 5,000 to 7,000 inhabitants behind the walls. This city was constructed around 925 AD and witnessed its collapse in 1525. Initially, the Spaniards tried to reach Santo Domingo but could not due to a hurricane. Geronimo de Aguilar and Guerrero both saw the city in 1511 prior to its collapse four years later, and now we only see 25% of what is left of Tulúm as well as 49 temples that remain to be restored. Stephens and Catherwood visited this site around 1848, and the Carnegie Institute in Washington DC became involved in the restoration process. Some of the important temples include the Temple of the Cenote, which now has a near-dead cenote with barely any water. At the Temple of the Wind, there is an opening nearby that lets light through on June 21, corresponding with the summer solstice. Some of the buildings here, such as the Temple of the Descending God, were slanted in the uneven terrain near the coast. Like the Temple of the Wind, the Temple of the Cistern also was constructed in relation to the sun. This building faces east to honor the rising sun. Similar to Mayapán, there is a structure with paint residues, but are ultrasensitive to light.

            This was a small site with an impressive view of the ocean, though it was like a mini Chichén Itzá. The Toltec influence was evident along with a heavy tourist atmosphere. There were many gift shops and restaurants with Mayan themes as well as a trolley, but the vendors did not sprawl out everywhere like in Chichén. While it was interesting to see the city and the sea, it can be tough to appreciate with continuous flows of people. Tulúm has the combination of an incredible view of the sea to go along with a short distance from Cancún – nothing like that will remain uninhabited for long. I guess after Chichén, this seemed like nothing in comparison. I remember reading in one of my Mexico guides to expect big crowds, so I tried my best to appreciate what I saw and tune out the distractions.

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj35/jonroth/Mexico/Quintana%20Roo/Tulum/

Sian Ka’an/Muyil (2/29/08)

            Today consisted of a visit to the Post-Classic site of Muyil within the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, in the state of Quintana Roo. In Mayan, Sian Ka’an means “Entrance to Heaven” and Muyil means “Place of the Hills”. Muyil was the largest of the East Coast Mayan cities spanning 1,002,000 square acres, but not all of it has been restored. One of the major features within the reserve was the extensive network of canals created by the Maya people in the area. The canals were used for trade amongst the cities amongst the mangroves and the Caribbean. A major feature of the archeological site was the Petén-style Castillo, which stands 17 meters in height. As many as 264 ornamental offerings were found during excavation, which includes objects made of obsidian and jade. At the top of the Castillo was a round temple and altar, representing the sacred ceiba tree. On the back of the temple were carved images of wading birds used to represent celestial beings. Another equally important building was Temple 8, also known as the Pink Palace. This was constructed from 1250 to 1550 AD in the Late Post-Classic. The Pink Palace still has its stucco and paint residues preserved, though they are increasingly sensitive to light. Paintings were also present at Estructura 7H-3 near the site’s entrance. Within the area stood buried pyramids from the Post-Classic and Late Classic. Like Tulúm and Sayil, archeological expeditions revealed the presence of descending god imagery representing the fall from the celestial realm. Like with many of the other sites we observed, it was interesting to see how much of the structures and art were still present after centuries of abandonment.

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj35/jonroth/Mexico/Quintana%20Roo/Bacalar/Sian%20Kaan/

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj35/jonroth/Mexico/Quintana%20Roo/Bacalar/Muyil/