A history of the Maya: The Postclassic period and the rise of the Yucatán

As portion of an exploration into Mexico’s agelong and affluent history, Mexico News Daily has teamed up with 1 of the country’s apical Maya experts to analyse the past satellite that flourished crossed Mesoamerica. This is Part 5 successful a bid of articles connected the past of the Maya. Follow the links to work Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

The past metropolis of Calakmul, Campeche, erstwhile the astir almighty metropolis of the Maya. The illness of its power heralded dire consequences for the wider region. (INAH)

However, Tikal regrouped and made a comeback toward the extremity of the Late Classic Period. Around A.D. 736, it subdued its erstwhile conquerors, sending Calakmul into a dilatory diminution and unleashing a question of warfare that swept crossed the region.

The Beginning of the End

This crippled of thrones was exacerbated by the weakening of the strategy of authorities headed by the ineffable lords. Hieroglyphic and iconographic records suggest this was owed to expanding numbers of societal actors surrounding the rulers, on with caller titles and offices — figures asserting much authority, accumulating much power, and acquiring much worldly goods.

After the 2nd fractional of the eighth century, immoderate cities experienced a population, construction, and creator resurgence. The Campeche cities of Xcalumkin and Río Bec basal retired arsenic exponents of the Puuc and Río Bec architectural styles, characterized by facade ornamentation, geometric latticework, Chaahk masks, and zoomorphic facades — but these styles besides permission grounds of sociopolitical change. At some sites, a caller benignant of authorities appears to person emerged, not ruled by the k’uhul ajaw (“sacred lords”) of Calakmul and Tikal, but by members of antithetic dynastic lineages.

Further grounds of situation appears astatine Oxpemul, 25 kilometers northbound of Calakmul, wherever rulers continued erecting monuments into the archetypal fractional of the ninth century, depicting themselves with the attributes and titles of powerfulness that legitimized their status. Their hieroglyphic narratives linked Oxpemul to Calakmul — reinforcing ties of root portion making wide they did not beryllium to the disgraced Kanu’l dynasty, but to different dynasty bearing a bat-head emblem glyph. This perchance reflects a endurance strategy: relation with Calakmul inactive conferred legitimacy, but the Kanu’l sanction had been indelibly tarnished by their defeat.

Though governmental weakening led to interior fragmentation crossed the Maya area, these processes did not unfold successful the aforesaid mode oregon astatine the aforesaid clip everywhere.

A temple successful the benignant of Rio Bec, which represented a question distant from the classical styles of Maya architecture and governance. (Maya Ruins)

Dos Pilas rises and warfare comes to the Petexbatun

In the Petexbatun portion of modern-day Guatemala, the autumn of the Kanu’l dynasty meant the emergence of Dos Pilas, its erstwhile ally. Dos Pilas cemented power of the La Pasión River routes done matrimony alliances with the stream larboard metropolis of Cancuén, portion a dynastic faction established itself 12 kilometers southeast astatine Aguateca — a co-capital defined by its strategical determination atop a ample cliff.

This improvement sparked confrontations with rival cities Tamarindito and Arroyo de Piedra, whose rulers saw their determination authorization threatened. By the extremity of the eighth century, endemic warfare led to Dos Pilas’s demolition and the relocation of its ruling dynasty to Aguateca, igniting yet much aggravated struggle among Tamarindito, Aguateca, Ceibal, and La Amelia. In A.D. 810, Aguateca was brutally attacked, burned, sacked, and wholly abandoned — researchers person recovered grounds that residents’ past activities were abruptly interrupted.

Amid the fragmentation, caller settlements emerged. Punta de Chimino, protected by its peninsula determination and heavy antiaircraft ditches, survived into the Terminal Classic period. Ceibal experienced a resurgence astir A.D. 830, adopting overseas creator and architectural styles with influences from cardinal Mexico oregon the Gulf Coast, suggesting interaction with distant cities — but this splendor was brief, and Ceibal was abandoned astir A.D. 900, its colonisation apt migrating to the bluish Maya Lowlands and Highlands.

A akin concern unfolded successful the Usumacinta region, with escalating struggle betwixt the ruling dynasties of Yaxchilán successful Chiapas and Piedras Negras successful Petén. Around A.D. 810, Yaxchilán emerged victorious — but seemingly lone briefly, arsenic nary grounds of consequent operation oregon caller monuments has been found, indicating swift abandonment. Nearby Bonampak, an state of Yaxchilán, near down painted murals that vividly exemplify the traumatic determination world of the period.

Maya cities connected the Yucatán flourish

Murals astatine the metropolis of Bonampak carnivore testament to the aggravated warfare that broke retired betwixt the Maya kingdoms. (Reddit)

While the Usumacinta and Petexbatún stream basins succumbed to catastrophic warfare, the bluish Yucatán Peninsula — specifically the Puuc portion — flourished. Between A.D. 750 and 1050, municipality centers specified arsenic Uxmal, Sayil, Labná, and Kabah registered important colonisation growth, welcoming elites and displaced populations perchance seeking refuge. Regional alliances consolidated powerfulness successful the Puuc country during the ninth century, with cities similar Uxmal and Kabah connected by sacbes (“white roads”) that facilitated commercialized and interaction. Because the Puuc country lacks rivers, it depended wholly connected rainwater collected successful chultunes (underground retention pits) and aguadas (reservoirs) — making the clime crises of this play a cardinal operator of eventual municipality abandonment.

Further northeast, Ek’ Balam successful modern-day Yucatán authorities stood retired arsenic an enclave preserving the accepted structures of the confederate Maya Lowlands. Under the regularisation of Ukit Kan Lek Tok’, Ek’ Balam emerged arsenic 1 of the peninsula’s hegemonic powers toward the extremity of the eighth century, its power extending to the emergence of Chichén Itzá, arsenic suggested by the Halakal Lintel inscription recovered there.

The autumn of the Puuc alliances

Growing rivalry with the Puuc entities and the emergence of caller subject powers forced the reinforcement of Ek’ Balam, including the operation of concentric antiaircraft barriers. Meanwhile, a terrible h2o situation — perchance compounded by ungraded depletion from overpopulation — collapsed the Puuc determination alliances. The resulting powerfulness vacuum was exploited by Chichén Itzá.

Though quality concern of Chichén Itzá dates to the Preclassic period, its operation and colonisation roar began astir A.D. 600, erstwhile groups arrived from crossed the Yucatán Peninsula and from arsenic acold arsenic cardinal Mexico. Late inscriptions from this play see words from Ch’ol, Tzeltal, Huasteco, Yucatec, and adjacent Nahuatl. From A.D. 1000 onward, Chichén Itzá became the large metropolis of the Maya area, successfully establishing itself wrong the caller political, social, and commercialized realities of the Postclassic period.