Yaxuna
Encyclopedia
Yaxuna is a Maya
archaeological site
in the municipality of Yaxcabá in Yucatán
, Mexico
.
The settlement had a long continuous occupation running from the Middle Formative Period through the Postclassic. The Late Formative saw the construction of a number of triadic architectural groups
linked with roads running north to south. Some of the larger pyramids were remodeled during the Early Classic, and held royal tombs. In the Late Classic (ca. 600-800), the city-state of Coba
conquered Yaxuna and built a 100 km Sacbe, or raised road, to connect the two cities. This was the longest the Maya ever built. Internally, new roads running east to west were constructed. In the Terminal Classic (800-1100), the state of Chichén Itzá
to the north began a war with the Coba state, and Yaxuna constructed a city wall, but Chichén Itzá appears to have conquered the city by around 950. Sacked and ritually destroyed, the city never recovered. By the Postclassic (1100-1697), the population was much reduced, with new construction limited to minor additions to older architecture.
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
in the municipality of Yaxcabá in Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
The settlement had a long continuous occupation running from the Middle Formative Period through the Postclassic. The Late Formative saw the construction of a number of triadic architectural groups
Triadic pyramid
Triadic pyramids are a Preclassic Maya civilization innovation consisting of a dominant structure flanked by two smaller inward-facing buildings, all mounted upon a single basal platform...
linked with roads running north to south. Some of the larger pyramids were remodeled during the Early Classic, and held royal tombs. In the Late Classic (ca. 600-800), the city-state of Coba
Coba
Coba is a large ruined city of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is located about 90 km east of the Maya site of Chichen Itza, about 40 km west of the Caribbean Sea, and 44 km northwest of the site of Tulum, with which it is...
conquered Yaxuna and built a 100 km Sacbe, or raised road, to connect the two cities. This was the longest the Maya ever built. Internally, new roads running east to west were constructed. In the Terminal Classic (800-1100), the state of Chichén Itzá
Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Municipality of Tinúm, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico....
to the north began a war with the Coba state, and Yaxuna constructed a city wall, but Chichén Itzá appears to have conquered the city by around 950. Sacked and ritually destroyed, the city never recovered. By the Postclassic (1100-1697), the population was much reduced, with new construction limited to minor additions to older architecture.
External links
- Selz Foundation Yaxuná Archaeology Project website, Southern Methodist University, hosted by California State University, Hayward