Cancun - Chetumal Km 230, Hotel Zone Tulum, 307, 77780 Tulum, Q.R., Mexico
The palace was the residence of the Halach Uinik family (Great Lord or, if translated directly from the Maya language, the True Man). Each Maya city was governed by a person with the title Halach Uinik, who also served as the high priest. This house in Tulum is relatively well preserved, located right on the main road (sacbe), and is an important example of residential architecture in Tulum, built between the 13th and 14th centuries. Above the entrance is an intricate carving, now protected by a thatched roof overhead. The Halach Uinik was the supreme leader of the kuchkabal of the Maya, a form of government on the Yucatán Peninsula in the pre-Columbian era (before the 16th century). The Great Chief controlled all power and appointed all administrative officials. Then this position was passed on to the eldest son.
The palace structure consists of several spacious rooms covered with flat roofs, both supported by columns holding crossed wooden beams, and a conglomerate of limestone rocks and sand called calcrete. Benches along the walls were used as seats and possibly as beds. It is located adjacent to the House with Columns.
In the sanctuary of the house, the family conducted religious ceremonies. If you look closely under the red thatched roof of the chief’s house, you will see a recurring carving on buildings in Tulum: the descending or diving God. This leads archaeologists to believe that the building was not only the residence of their supreme chief but also a temple for religious and funerary ceremonies.
