Por: Ing.

Luis Dumois His Bio

The Maya Civilization - La Civilizacin Maya Cities of the Maya

(This is an image intensive page - It's orth the ait!) (Each image is linked to an enlargement) The material splendor of the Maya culture is appreciated, more than in any other field, in the architecture and ornamentation of their cities. These citystates were the center of power for the king-priests who administered the o edience, the tri ute and the manpower of the people who elie!ed in them. Many Maya cities and ceremonial centres ha!e een disco!ered, some of which appear in our map of the Mayan country, from the now Me"ican states of #ampeche and $ucat%n down to Honduras in #entral &merica. 'ot all the cities were de!eloped at the same time. &t the eginnings of the Maya culture, the highlands raised the first edifices. (n the apogee of the #lassical )eriod, etween *+, and -,, &..., the lowlands witnessed the flourishing of great cities such as Tikal, located in the heart of the /uatemalan )et0n. &fter that, the creati!e impulse mo!ed to the plains and low plateaus of the south end of the $ucat%n peninsula, where the )uuc cities saw their moment of glory. Each Maya city e"hi its a uni1ue style, although regions and epochs lent them certain common features. 2hen we !isit the ruins of the cities that seem to suddenly appear from the dense 3ungle, we cannot ut admire the engineering workmanship which guaranteed the supply of pro!isions and water to the inha itants4 the fine stucco decorations4 the stone estelas, dum witnesses to the most ad!anced calendar system of those days4 the ample and comple" network of roads that criss-crossed all the land, keeping communications, commerce and interchange open to all Maya centres.

The names of the old cities are forgotten. The ones we use today were made up y e"plorers and missionaries, tra!elers and archaeologists. 5ne of the few prehispanic names we keep is that of the #ity of the 2i6ards of the 2ater, #hich0n (t6%.

TI"#L
The $reat Plaza The huge ceremonial esplanade in Tikal contains three ig platforms, and o!er them rest the pyramidal uildings so common in the ancient Maya cities. To the north of the /reat )la6a, one of these platforms defines the area. Ten pyramidal asements are uilt o!er it, distri uted in a symetric manner to the west and east of its central a"is. To the center of the pla6a, and to the south of it, two more !ast platforms perform the same function, to gi!e the comple" a uni1ue, ma3estic atmosphere. 7een from a distance, the uildings seem to surface from the ottom of the green sea of the tropical forest. Tall %uil&ings The temples that emerge so gracefully from the 3ungle, with almost !ertical walls, ha!e a molded ase and composite corners, to accentuate the impression of height. 5!er the ack walls you may appreciate the typical crests of Tikal. The stairs go up on the front and they do not show any lateral support, something which gi!es the uilding an aura of e!en greater height. Many of the palaces contain one or two rows of rooms on 3ust one floor, ut in Tikal there also two, three and e!en fi!e storey uildings. The emphasis put in height and !erticality gi!es an imposing touch to the city. (t seems that the constructors wanted to come closer to Hea!en and to their gods in this way, and in doing it, they raised the tallest uildings in ancient &merica. 5ne of the temples in Tikal reaches 8, meters in height.

The 'tone (stelas Tikal is a city of many estelas. To this day, more than 9, ha!e een found, a fourth of them car!ed with as reliefs representing personalities, figures, glyphs and :long count: dates. (t is possi le that the non-car!ed estelas were painted, ut the merciless passing of time has erased the commemorati!e messages that might ha!e een written o!er them.

P#L()*+(
)alen1ue is located to the north of the 7ierra de #hiapas, o!er a plateau that e"tends itself o!er the plain. 2ith the e"ception of #omalcalco, it is the most western city of the Maya. The first !estiges in )alen1ue show that the area was occupied as far ack as the ;th century &..., ut it did not reach its 6enith until the 8th and the 9th century, when the Maya #lassical )eriod was at its height. The ceilings of the uildings in )alen1ue follow the outline of the false !ault, or Mayan !ault, so their profile reminds us of the straw huts which, then and today, ser!e many Maya families well. #rests are widely used as ornaments to uildings. To admire in )alen1ue, a o!e almost e!erything else, are the !ery fine decorations in stucco, !ery characteristic of this city. The Palace The )alace is uilt o!er a gigantic trape6oidal platform, <,, y 8+ meters, and to a height that !aries to compensate for irregularities in the terrain.

7team aths and water distri ution installations ha!e een found in this uilding, something that leads to the idea that it was used as a dwelling in its time. The tower of the )alace, which may ha!e ser!ed as o ser!atory or watchtower, lends a !ery distinct profile to )alen1ue, although it is thought that the original form was not preser!ed when the uilding was restored. 'tucco &ecoration .ecoration in relief, molded in stucco, reached a high degree of perfection in )alen1ue. 7tucco was a !ery fine paste made of lime with a it of sand in it, which was in turn applied o!er stone supports anchored to the walls, ceilings or crests. (n many cases, the interior side of the walls were co!ered with stucco and later painted. 5ne of the most spectacular e"amples of stucco sculpture in )alen1ue is the representation of the god of .eath, oasting an admira le, dramatic realism in its features and detail. &nother good e"ample of this type of ornamental sculpture is found in one of the rooms of the )alace, where a cross-eyed Mayan priest shows his carefully modeled face from a doorhead. )umerals an& $lyphs (nside the )alace there is a series of stairs, decorated with glyphs and Maya numerals. The unusually large si6e and the perfection of the workmanship in these reliefs sets them apart from the rest of mar!els found inside this super uilding.

+,M#L
#onstruction work in ="mal egan in the >th century &..., ut the effort went on for more than >,, years. This is the most important )uuc style city in the Mayan country. The name )uuc comes from some !ery modest ele!ations found near y, which the $ucatecans refer to as the :7ierra: )uuc.

The low half of each edifice in ="mal is plain and unadorned, while the superior half is decorated with ela orate limestone mosaics and car!ed masks that represent the god #hac, the ig nosed god of rain. The uildings in ="mal are huge, ut not !ery high, something that lends an elegant and so er air to the city. The soft colors of the limestone almost lend with the surroundings. Pyrami& o- the .izar&/'oothsayer This temple rests upon a massi!e asement of elliptical shape, with a highly slanted talus. The staircase, protected y rows of masks car!ed in stone, clim s to the top and to the temple itself, which is so erly decorated.

*ua&rangle o- the )uns This !ery eautiful compound of four long palaces is grouped around a patio 9, meters long y 8, meters wide. To get in, you pass elow a Mayan arch located halfway to the south side of the comple". The palace which delimits the south side is ele!ated o!er a terrace si" meters high, accesi le y way of an ample staircase. The facades on the uildings that conform the 1uadrangle are adorned with ela orate representations of Mayan huts, rectangles and #hac masks, with superimposed ornaments such as car!ed loops, lattices, small columns, human shapes, irds and monkeys.

The Palace o- the $overnor The )alace is uilt o!er a staircased platform di!ided in three sections. The walls are crowned y a cornice shaped as a knot, with a serpent that shows its heads on each corner. ?i!e #hac masks preside o!er it, superimposed on the corners of each section.

The decoration includes representations of sea shells, laces and knots, masks, two headed serpents and tufts of feathers car!ed in limestone.

0ouse o- the Turtles Towards the end of the terrace outside the )alace of the /o!ernor lies the House of the Turtles. (t shows a regular layout, a simple facade, and a frie6e with small columns surrounded y ornaments shaped as lacings and series of stone turtles anchored from roof to roof at the top.

"#1#0
(nside the )uuc cities most easily side of the #ampeche to which acted as kilometers of reached its -,, &..., ample than that The Maya 2ault The Maya in!ented their own !ault, made of superimposed flat stones, called Maya !ault or false !ault. (n @a ah there are se!eral places where the Maya !ault and arch may e appreciated. (t is !ery interesting to see how the ancient engineers managed to sol!e the pro lem of sustaining their roofs, doors and windows. Chac Mas3s #hac, the huge nosed god for rain and weather, appears in @a ah as the principal decorati!e motif. 2e ha!e to remem er the great importance that the Maya assigned to the weather, the seasons and the rain. The growing of mai6e, which was almost 6one, @a ah is one of the Mayan accessed, since it is located to the )yramid Highway that runs from M0rida. (t is connected to ="mal, capital city for @a ah, y <9 :sac 0:, or Mayan white road. (t apogee etween the years 9,, and although its history is much more rief period.

considered as a god, is what made them different from the nomad peoples, hunters-gatherers with no means for a sedentary life. #hac was (and still is) a deity much appreciated y the Maya for of that reason. &long with #hac, the architects of @a ah used car!ed lacings, small columns and false capitals to adorn the walls of their city.

'#4IL an& L#1)5

'ot far from @a ah, 7ayil and Aa n% complete, along with ="mal, the picture of which is the Maya &rchitecture known as )uuc style. This 6one was de!eloped at the eginning of the 9th century &..., when the lowland cities of the Maya were in decadence or already a andoned. 'ayil. Bust in the middle of the dense /uatemalan tropical forest, in the department of El )et0n, the greatest of all the ancient Maya cities thri!edC 7ayil. Her constructi!e de!elopment spans more than <,*,, years, from the Drd century B.#. to the -th century &... & definite characteristic of its architecture is the height of its temples and palaces -sometimes counting se!eral storeys- crowned y ornamented crests. ?inely car!ed lintels and doorheads are also found in 7ayil. The small centre of 7ayil oasts a couple of uildings decorated in the )uuc style. The so called 5 ser!atory was perhaps used as an astronomical o ser!ation de!ice, hence the name. 2ith rudimentary instruments, Mayan priests managed to accomplish one of their more e"trordinary feats - the astronomical o ser!ations and measurements that led to the de!elopment of the Maya calendar, a system more precise than the /regorian calendar we use todayE

La%n6. 2hat gi!es deser!ed fame to Aa n% is its great Mayan arch, which connects two ad3acent 1uadrangles. (t is the first thing the fortunate tra!eler sees when he or she arri!es in the city. Towards the end of the ceremonial esplanade, the Edifice of the #olumns permits access, to this day, to the water stored in the chultn elow. & chultFn is an underground reser!oir of water, commonly uilt in the $ucat%n to store rainwater. The Maya families who li!e near y clim e!ery day to the roof of the uilding to gain access to the round mouth that opens to the water elow. (n this way they get the water they need for personal use, daily ath included.

Tulum
Tulum, which means wall in the Maya tongue, is the modern name for the city of Gam%, this last meaning 7unrise. (t is uilt o!er a cliff that falls to the ocean, close to #hetumal, capital for the state of Huintana Ioo, on the Me"ican southeast #ari ean coast. The rest of the perimeter of the city is protected y a strong stone wall, > meters tall. Hence the name, Tulum. Tulum reached its highest splendor in the <*,, &..., and it was still thri!ing when the 7panish arri!ed. They were ama6ed y the eauty, si6e and strength of the city. (t must has een an important point in the network of commercial ports and ha!ens that the Maya maintained o!er all of the southeast coast of the $ucat%n peninsula. These maritime shelters, along with the sac 0s, or white

roads, were the heart of the communications and transportation system used y the $ucat%n Maya in their time. Temples and administrati!e uildings are located inside the fortress. &mong these areC The #astle, The 2atchtower, The Temple of the ?rescoes, and the Temple of the .escending god.

Photo 'trips -rom this article - Las 7otos

89: - Ti3al ; Tulum

89< - Palen=ue

89> - +?mal ; "a%ah

89@ - 'ayil ; La%n6