Tuesday, March 16

Today we will be traveling to Tulum and Coba, south of Cancun. Our first site, Tulum, was established in the early 1200s AD as a fortified port for Coba and other interior centers. An ancient sacbe or elevated road connected Tulum with Coba. The comparatively modest structures at Tulum reflect a decline in construction technique and artistic quality from the high-point of the Mayan classical period prior to the 10th Century AD.


A larger version of the map will open by clicking on the image.

The Maya were very interested in zenial passages, the time when the sun passes directly overhead. The Yucatan is below the Tropic of Cancer, so zenial passages occur twice a year equidistant from the solstice. To represent this position of the sun overhead, the Maya had a god named Diving God (or Descending God). The Diving God is given particular prominence at Tulum

Coba was well-established in the pre-classic period (before 300 CE). The city reached its population peak of roughly 50,000 or more between 600 and 900 CE. Unlike other urban and ceremonial centers Coba was not abandoned in the sudden collapse of the late classical. Construction continued until the 1400s, but there is evidence of a significantly reduced population and much less construction than previously.

Nohoch Mul at Coba is the tallest of the Yucatan pyramids at 42 meters or 138 feet (El Castillo at Chichen Itza is 33 meters)