Xcalumkin

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Xcalumkin , formerly also known as Holactun, is an important Mayan ruin site in Mexico . It is located on the Yucatán peninsula in the state of Campeche and is 12.5 km east of Hecelchakán as the crow flies and about 5 kilometers southwest of Cumpich . The ruins are spread over parts of the area and hilltops on the edge of an elongated valley basin almost 4 km long, they take up an area of ​​12 hectares.

The earliest description comes from Teobert Maler , who stayed at this place in March and April 1887. Harry ED Pollock provided a very detailed recording of the building remains and monuments still in existence at the time . Since then, many buildings have been badly damaged by robbery and in some cases completely destroyed. Since 1992, a French research group from the Center Français d'Études Mexicaines et Centraméricaines has carried out a complete archaeological survey of the ruins of Xcalumkin. Minor restoration work was led by Antonio Benavides Castillo.

The names of the building complexes are a bit confusing. A distinction must be made between the buildings of the courtyard of the initial series in the main group and the hieroglyphic group around 500 m further south.

Main group

In the northwest of the main group, close to a cenote , there are numerous buildings around two courtyards, which belong to the Proto-Puuc style. They are elongated, one-room buildings designed as a portico with a large number of columns. These buildings were later covered by other buildings.

In the south of the main group is the courtyard of the initial series, which was originally enclosed by four buildings, of which only the two in the north and south are partially upright. The buildings belong to the early Puuc style and, as is characteristic of this, have entrances supported by thick columns.

North building

Group of the initial series, status 1887
Group of the initial series, northern building: middle door beam, behind it left door beam
Group of the initial series, condition after removal of the pillars and subsequent stabilization of the back wall (replacement of the hieroglyphic band with smooth stones)

The building to the north of the courtyard has a peculiar, irregular floor plan. The middle part consisted of a large room, which today collapsed in its front half, the entire front of which consists of the entrance supported by columns. The outward-facing surfaces of the columns, the capitals and the door beams and lintels bear inscriptions (those of the capitals consist of pseudoglyphs that do not reproduce any text). The side surfaces of the lintels showed two lavishly decorated male figures as a bas-relief. At the back of the room, a band of inscriptions ran from the floor to the capstones of the Mayan vault. From the room described, a door opening leads laterally into a transverse room. Parallel to this there is another room further to the west with a direct entrance from the outside. The continuation of the building to the east has not yet been clarified.

The inscription reliefs are now in the Museum Campeche, a small part in the museum in Hecelchakan, the vertical hieroglyphic band in a Mexican private collection, other parts are missing.

South building

Southern building of the group of the initial series

The south building is designed symmetrically: behind a front room that extends over the entire width of the building with an entrance supported by three non-sculpted columns are two rooms, each with an entrance from the front room. It is unclear whether and which connection there was to a parallel building immediately to the south.

Building D4-6

Building at the entrance to the zone

Directly at the current entrance to the main group is an elongated building with a staircase leading over the facade to a second floor that is no longer preserved or not yet completed. The building, which belongs to the pillar style of the Puuc, originally had two rows of 5 rooms each.

Northern group of hills

Northern group of hills, southern building

On a hill near the current entrance to the rooms is a group of courtyards of buildings. The building facing the annex has been preserved and partially consolidated, with three rooms and a staircase leading up to its roof, which leaves a passage along the facade through which one can enter the central room. There are no traces of what was probably a second floor planned on the roof. At the rear of the building is the courtyard, on the opposite side of which there was a four-sided building, which can be assigned to the early Puuc style in terms of construction technology and floor plan. A little less than a hundred meters away on the neighboring hill is a very complex building with several levels, which also belongs to the early Puuc style.

Hieroglyphic group

Hieroglyphic group, southern building, eastern relief (Campeche Museum)
Hieroglyphic group, southern building, right lintel (Campeche Museum)

About 400 m south of the main group is the hieroglyphic group, which has almost completely disappeared. The middle building had two thick columns with inscriptions - they are in the museum in Hecelchakan. The lintels with figures are in a private collection. An inner doorway had a unique band with hieroglyphic inscriptions, which framed the door on three sides. The ribbon ended in two large reptilian heads. The southern building also had columns with hieroglyphic texts and sculpted ribbons as well as rectangular fields with characteristic figures (now in museums in Campeche).

Inscriptions

A large number of hieroglyphic inscriptions have survived in Xcalumkin with some dates from the short period of 35 years. On a monument (hieroglyphic group, middle building, lintel 3) there is a reference to the Jaina site, known for its tombs . Most of the inscription monuments were brought to the museum in Campeche . Parts are also in the Museo Arqueológico del Camino Real in Hecelchakan , along with stylistically closely related monuments from unidentified locations in the area. Individual monuments from Xcalumkin are also in private collections.

monument Gregor. date Long count Calendar round End of period
Door beam 2 729 [9.14.17.0.0]   17 do in k'atun 4 ajaw
Brussels stela 12.2.737 9.15.5.10.1 3 ix 3 pop (Y)  
Panel 6 733 [9.15.2.0.0]   2 do in k'atun 2 ajaw
Panel 2 (Initial Series Build.) 23.10.743 9.15.12.6.9 7 muluk 1 k'ank'in (Y)  
Capital 1 744 [9.15.13.0.0]   13 do in k'atun 2 ajaw
vase 765 [9.16.14.0.0]   14 do in k'atun13 ajaw

Y = date in the Yucatec method of calculation, values ​​calculated in square brackets.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Teobert painter : Península Yucatán . Ed. Hanns J. Prem . Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-7861-1755-1 .
  2. Harry ED Pollock : The Puuc. An architectural survey of the hill country of Yucatan and northern Campeche, Mexico . Peabody Museums of Archeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, Mass. 1980, ISBN 0-87365-693-8 ; Pp. 418-456.
  3. Pierre Becquelin, Dominique Michelet: Xcalumkín: del establecimiento de secuencias arquitectónica y cerámica a preguntas sobre la naturaleza del sitio In: Hanns J. Prem (ed.) Escondido en la selva, arqueología en el norte de Yucatán . México, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia 2003. ISBN 970-35-0052-8 . Pp. 137-157.
  4. Pierre Becquelin, Dominique Michelet et al .: Proyecto arqueológico 'Xcalumkin en su trayectoria cronológica', segunda temporada (enero-marzuo de 1993) , In: Mexico 16 (1994) 93-99. ISSN  0720-5988 .
  5. Nikolai Grube : Hieroglyphic inscription from Northwest Yuvcatán: an update of recent research . In: Hanns J. Prem (ed.): Escondido en la selva, arqueología en el norte de Yucatán . México, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia 2003. ISBN 970-35-0052-8 . Pp. 339-370.

See also

Web links

Commons : Xcalumkin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 20 ° 10 ′ 20 ″  N , 90 ° 0 ′ 37 ″  W.