El Rey
Coordinates: 21 ° 2 ′ 6 ″ N , 86 ° 47 ′ 1 ″ W.
El Rey is a Maya ruin site in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo on the east side of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean coast.
geography
The ruins of El Rey are located in the urban area of the city of Cancún on the southern tip of the offshore island of Cancún of the same name . The island is right in front of the city center and is connected to the mainland by two bridges. Today the island has developed into the Zona Hoteleria, the largest tourist center on the Caribbean coast.
The archaeological site is part of Cancun and belongs to the municipality of Benito Juárez .
history
El Rey is the most important pre-Hispanic place on the island of Cancun. It can be assumed that the place was already populated from around 300 AD. Due to the tropical climate, however, no remains of buildings made of wood or other natural materials have survived.
With the dwindling influence of the large inland cities and the flourishing coastal trade from around AD 1200, the former fishing village grew and achieved political and religious importance within the region. As finds show, the place was part of the coastal trade network, which ran along the Caribbean coast with a large number of locations and promoted the region economically. As a port and local coastal center, El Rey probably had a close relationship with important inland cities as well as with neighboring El Meco and the southern towns of Xcaret , Xel Há , Tancah / Tulum and Muyil .
After the arrival of the Spaniards on this stretch of coast, the place gradually depopulated and was deserted in the middle of the 16th century.
archeology
During the archaeological excavations, 47 settlement structures were found with a religious zone, where important ceremonies were probably held.
The building remains visible today come from the late post-classical period (AD 1300–1500) and correspond to the east coast style, similar to those of Tulum. In some of the palatial buildings, fragments of wall paintings from that period have been preserved.
The grave of an important person was found in a building. It contained objects made of ceramics , copper and jade, as well as shell and bone work. You are in the Cancun Museum.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ El Rey Archaeological Site ( Memento of April 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on December 26, 2012.
- ^ Website of the Cancún Archaeological Museum ( Memento of December 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on December 26, 2012.