The last great capital of the Maya

Mayapán (Màayapáan in the modern Maya language; in Spanish Mayapán) is an abandoned pre-Columbian Maya city located a few kilometers south of the city of Telchac Pueblo in the municipality of Tekoh, approximately 40 km southeast of Mérida and 100 km west of Chichén Itzá; in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. Mayapán was the political and cultural capital of the Maya on the Yucatán Peninsula during the late Postclassic period from the 1220s to the 1440s. It is estimated that the total population of the city was 15,000–17,000 people.

The area of Mayapán covers 4.2 square kilometers (about 1.6 square miles), and it contains more than 4,000 structures, most of which are residential houses located within the complex inside the city walls. The built-up areas extend about half a kilometer beyond the city walls in all directions. The stone perimeter wall has twelve gates, including seven main gates with vaulted entrances. The wall is 9.1 km (about 5.65 miles) long and is roughly egg-shaped with a pointed northeastern corner. The ceremonial center of the site is a dense cluster of temples, colonnaded halls, oratories, shrines, altars, and platforms (used for speeches, dances, or displaying stelae). Archaeologists from the Carnegie Institute estimated that 10,000–12,000 people lived within the walled city. According to research by Dr. Gregory Simmons, there were many dwellings outside the city walls, and he revised the total population estimate to 15,000–17,000 people. People living outside the city walls engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and the production of building materials such as lime. Russell also discovered a colonnaded hall outside the city wall, revealing much that remains to be understood about the complexity of this urban landscape.

The Temple of Kukulcán, a large pyramid also known as the Castillo, is the main temple in Mayapán. It is located directly east of the cenote Chen Mul, from which caves extend. However, the Mayapán temple appears to be a poor imitation of the temple at Chichén Itzá, and the city’s buildings overall are not as well constructed as those in other Maya cities. For example, most or all of the vaulted roofs in Mayapán have collapsed, whereas many of the better-built structures in Chichén Itzá remain intact. Other major temples in the ceremonial center include three round temples, which are unusual for the Maya area and are also associated with the deity Kukulcán/Quetzalcoatl in his aspect as the wind god (Ehécatl). Unlike Chichén Itzá, Mayapán has no ballgame courts.

The extensive residential zones of the site consist of houses and auxiliary economic buildings, with those located around the ceremonial area being larger and of higher quality, while those closer to the outskirts are generally poorer. Houses were often arranged in small patio groups surrounding small courtyards. Houses were built haphazardly, without organized streets. Alleys wind between houses and walls. Numerous cenotes are located in the residential areas of the site, possibly up to 40. Settlement was densest in the southwestern part of the city, where cenotes are more numerous.

Ethnohistorical sources, such as Diego de Landa’s “Relación de las cosas de Yucatán”, compiled from local sources in the 16th century, tell that this place was founded by Kukulcán (the Maya name for Quetzalcoatl, the Toltec king, cultural hero, and demigod) after the fall of Chichén Itzá. He summoned the lords of the region, who agreed to establish a new capital at Mayapán. The lords divided the cities of Yucatán among themselves and chose the head of the Cocom family as their leader. There are many different stories about the rise and fall of Mayapán. These stories are often confusing, chronologically implausible, and difficult to reconcile. For example, some sources claim that the Maya revolted in 1221 against the Maya-Toltec rulers of Chichén Itzá. After a short civil war, the lords of various powerful cities and families met to restore central government in Yucatán. They decided to build a new capital near the city of Telchac Pueblo, the hometown of Hunac Ceel, the general who defeated the rulers of Chichén Itzá. The new city was built inside a defensive wall and named Mayapán, meaning “Banner of the Maya people.”

The head of the Cocom family, a wealthy and ancient lineage that participated in the revolt against Chichén Itzá, was elected king, and all other noble families and regional lords were required to send members of their families to Mayapán to play a certain role in government (and possibly serve as hostages to guarantee the submission of the cities). Mexican mercenaries from Tabasco were also used to maintain order and uphold power. Another family, the Xiu, may have lived in the Mayapán area before the arrival of the Cocom; the Xiu claim to be part of the Uxmal dynasty. This agreement lasted for more than 200 years.

Mayapán became the main city in a group of allies that included most of northern Yucatán and trading partners that extended directly to Honduras, Belize, and the Caribbean island of Cozumel, as well as indirectly to Mexico. Although Mayapán was governed by a council, the jalach winik and aj k’in (the highest ruler and supreme priest) dominated the political sphere, with a class range from nobility to slaves. In 1441, Ah Xupan of the powerful noble Tutul Xiu family became outraged by the political machinations of the Cocom family and organized a revolt. As a result, all members of the Cocom family, except one who was in Honduras engaged in trade, were killed; Mayapán was looted, burned, and abandoned; all major cities declined, and Yucatán fragmented into warring city-states. Archaeological evidence indicates that at least the ceremonial center was burned at this time—excavations revealed charred roof beams in several major buildings in the center of the site.

In 1841, John Lloyd Stephens was the first to document Mayapán with two important illustrations. The first depicted a round temple, and the second showed the Kukulcán pyramid. He was the first in a long line of explorers who drew the ruins of Mayapán. The first large-scale archaeological investigations were conducted only in 1938 by Edwin M. Shook and William R. Bullard. These studies mapped the main plaza group and the city wall and formed the basis for later maps.

Sources:

The Sacred Landscape of Mayapán, A Postclassic Maya Center BY KHRISTIN NICOLE LANDRY B.A., University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, 2004

Susan Milbrath: Last Great Capital of the Maya Volume 58 Number 2, March/April 2005