Kohunlich (X-làabch'e'en in Modern Mayan) is a large archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located on the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

in the state of

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...

about 25 km east of the

Rio Bec Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

region, and about 65 km west of

Chetumal Chetumal (, , ; yua, label= Yucatec Maya, Chactemàal , ) is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco. In 2020 ...

on Highway 186, and 9 km south of the road. The original name of the site is unknown. The actual Spanish name does not actually derive from Mayan but from the English ''Cohune Ridge'' where cohune palm grew. In 1912 this place was known as Clarksville, referring to the nearby

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that was 3 kilometers north of the site.

Background

The site covers about , surrounded by dense sub-tropical rainforest, and it contains almost 200 mounds, that remain largely unexcavated. The city was elaborately planned and engineered, with raised platforms and pyramids, citadels, courtyards and plazas surrounded with palace platforms, all laid out to channel drainage into a system of cisterns and an enormous reservoir to collect rainwater. The site was settled by 200 BC, but most of the structures were built in the Early Classic period from about 250 to 600 AD. Many of them are still covered with thick vegetation and overgrown by trees. The city appears to have functioned as a regional center and stop along the trade routes through the southern

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate mun ...

from Campeche and Rio Bec area to the west, and the cities along the east-coast and to the south, in the

el Petén EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

region of Guatemala and neighbouring Belize. The site is best known for its Temple of the Masks, an Early Classic pyramid whose central stairway is flanked by huge humanized stucco masks. The Temple was built around 500 A.D. and is one of the oldest structures at Kohunlich. After 700 A.D., this temple was covered over with a Terminal Classic construction, which protected the masks and accounts for the marvelous state of their preservation today. The only standing remains of the later temple are some steps in the lower portion of the stair. The road approaches the site from the north and leads into an enormous central plaza ringed by pyramids and temple platforms. To the north there is a massive, raised acropolis, or citadel, with a palace complex around a courtyard to the north-west. Further east there is the Temple of the Masks, built in honor of the sungod. Originally there were eight carved masks flanking its central staircase; only five remain, three having been looted.

Gallery

File:Kohunlich Mask cropped.jpg, a closeup of one of the masks File:Mayan Ruin at Kohunlich.jpg File:Kohunlich Entrance.jpg File:Kohunlich Wall.JPG File:Kohunlich Sign.JPG File:Kohunlich Sign guide.JPG File:Kohunlich Wide angle Montage.JPG File:Kohunlich Panorama IMG 2562.JPG File:Kohunlich Mask.JPG File:Kohunlich_masks.jpg File:Kohunlich_PanoramaIMG_2716.JPG File:Kohunlich_steps.JPG File:Kohunlich_Residences_IMG_2700.JPG File:Kohunlich_IMG_2633.JPG File:Kohunlich_IMG_2559.JPG

References

External links

The Kohunlich Archaeological Ruins. Southern Quintana Roo, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

Photos

{{Quintana Roo Maya sites in Quintana Roo Former populated places in Mexico Tourist attractions in Quintana Roo