Edzná Part 7 of 8: The Platform of the Knives

Main entrance to the elite residence known as the Platform of the Knives. The name comes from knives left as offerings here. They were made from chert, a sedimentary silica rock that was widely used in pre-hispanic times to make tools. The Platform of the Knives (also called Structure 431) forms the northern boundary of Edzná's Main Plaza. The platform's position and the quality of its construction identify it as the dwelling-place of a very high status family, possibly the city's rulers. The Platform of Knives was built during the Late-Classic era (600-900 AD).

In the previous parts of my Edzná series, I have focused on the architecture of the temples and pyramids of the city's ceremonial center, including their construction styles and the time periods in which they were built. In Part 7 and Part 8, I will focus on the lifestyles of the elites who lived in these structures. I will also talk about the history of Edzná, its rulers, and the role the city played in the great power struggles of the ancient Maya world.

Floor plan of the Platform of the Knives. The platform is rectangular on an east-to-west line. In the schematic above, north is at the top. The south side, seen in the previous photograph, faces the Main Plaza. The east end faces the northern section of the Great Acropolis, while the west end overlooks the Patio of the Ambassadors (see Part 8).

The dimensions of the platform are 80m (262ft) long and 35m (115ft) across. The highest point measures 5m (16.4 ft) above the level of the Main Plaza. There are broad staircases on the south and west sides and narrower ones on the north and east.

Archeologists have excavated a total of 20 rooms. Twelve of these once had masonry roofs, while the other eight were covered with perishable materials which have long since disappeared. The rooms are arranged in the shape of a capital "I" placed on its side. Several of them contain sleeping platforms or benches, providing strong evidence that Structure 431 was residential.

View toward the west along the south side of the Platform of Knives. Broad grassy terraces run along the south and north sides of the platform. Two Puuc-style columns stand in the main entrance, seen in the upper left. Doorways open into rooms on either side of the main entrance. The well-cut facing stones of the walls are in the Puuc style. Some of the other rooms are constructed with stones of a rougher cut, indicating that they were added later, in the Post-Classic era.

As I outlined in Part 1 of this series, Edzná had an unusually long and unbroken period of occupation that spanned nearly 2000 years. Early settlement began somewhere between 600-400 BC. Not long after this, efforts began to drain the swampy but agriculturally productive area in order to control seasonal flooding. During the Mid-to-Late Pre-Classic era (400 BC - 300 AD), ancient engineers created a huge system of canals, drainage ditches, and water reservoirs in the Edzná Valley. 

This not only resulted in bountiful harvests but provided water for drinking and other purposes. This, in turn, made possible a rapidly growing population. At its peak, Edzná had  25,000 inhabitants. In addition to water control, the canals and reservoirs enabled fish farming and also served as transportation corridors for goods and people. All this helps explain the size, prosperity, and longevity of this great Maya city.

The long "stadium seat" stairs of Nohoch Ná, viewed through one of Structure 431's south facing doors. Similar to Nohoch Ná, the Platform of the Knives was positioned so that people could view the great ceremonies conducted in the Main Plaza. The Platform of Knives and the neighboring Patio of the Ambassadors are the only residential areas that border the Main Plaza. It can therefore be assumed that the people living here were of the highest status.

In the Middle Pre-Classic period (400 BC - 1 AD), the construction of massive waterworks prepared the way for Edzná to become a large and influential city. During the Late Pre-Classic period (1 AD - 300 AD), Petén-style masonry structures began to appear, including small pyramids and temples. These included the Temple of the Stelae (Structure 419-1), on the Small Acropolis. By 200 AD, Edzná had become an important regional city. 

However, the construction of large pyramids and temples did not occur until the Early Classic (300 - 600 AD). The style the Maya builders used got its name from the great Maya civilization developing in the Petén lowlands of northern Guatemala. Nohoch Ná (structure 424) and the Pyramid of the Five Levels were both initiated in this period. However, unlike Nohoch Ná, the Five Level Pyramid was modified numerous times, using other architectural styles popular during the centuries that followed. 

View toward the eastern end of the platform. The rooms in the middle of the platform have an east-west alignment. Those on the ends--the capital and the base of the "I"--are oriented north-south. The shapes of the rooms range from rectangular to square and most are entered through a single door. However, several of the north-south rooms are connected by internal doors. The surviving rooms in the central area all face south, toward the Main Plaza. Six of the north-south rooms face inward toward the center of the platform, three on each side. They are back-to-back with six others which face outward, three toward the east and three west.

The rooms are not large by modern standards, but they would have been much more substantial than the na (house) of the common people. The latter would have been constructed on a low stone platform with walls of vertical sticks  plastered with mud and a thatched roof. The stone rooms of the elite would have been cooler than the commoner's na during hot months and warmer in the cool season. In any case, most daily activities would probably have occurred outside, on the broad terraces along the north and south sides of the platform.

Sleeping platform with Puuc-style decorations. At least four of the rooms have platforms for sleeping, a further indication that this is a residential complex. The stonework along the border of the platform shows a clear Puuc influence. In the nearest corner are three stone cylinders that archeologists have dubbed "drums". There are two more sets of drums on each side, separated by well-cut square blocks. When in use, the sleeping platform may have been covered by one or more woven reed mats called petates. These would have provided cushioning and insulation. Drawings of people sitting or lying on petates can be found in the ancient Maya codices. Similar mats can still be purchased on the streets of the village where I live.

Tikal was the dominant city-state in Guatemala's Petén region during the Early Classic era. Its style of monumental architecture was adopted by Edzná and many other city-states in Yucatan peninsula including Dzibilchaltun, a city in the far north of Yucatan. It has a Petén-style palace closely resembling Nohoch Na. Tikal, in turn, was influenced by the great trading empire of Teotihuacán, located 966km (600mi) away in central Mexico. 

In fact, Tikal's pre-eminence may have depended upon its relationship to Teotihuacán. Around 600 AD, a still-mysterious but definitely violent event destroyed the elite power structure at Teotihuacán. The city's influence began a rapid decline, leading to the fragmentation of its empire. Not long after, Tikal's hegemony over the Maya world also began to decline. It is probably no coincidence that about this time Edzná and other city-states began to replace the Petén architectural style with the Puuc style.

Another platform that could have been used either for sleeping or sitting. This one doesn't have drums but its border is faced with well-cut stone blocks typical of Puuc architecture. The walls are also faced with finely cut blocks, but their internal structure consists of rubble. The rooms of Structure 431would have been plastered with stucco and painted in bright colors. Furnishings could not have been extensive, given the size of the rooms. Anything made of wood or other perishable materials disappeared long ago. Baskets and pots for storage would have been used, along with ceramic vessels and dishes for food consumption. Ceramic fragments from household dishes are an additional indicator of a structure's residential use.

The Early Classic period was a time of growing prosperity and influence at Edzná. Unlike many of the other of the city-states of the Yucatan Peninsula, it had a stable water supply. When the fertile sediments of the Edzná's large swampy aguada were uncovered by drainage projects, food production increased dramatically. Further, the city was geographically well-situated for trade. Edzná's location in the center of a galaxy of city-states in the western Peninsula made it a commercial hub. In addition, one of key trade routes from the Petén to northern Yucatan ran through the city. Finally, Edzná was close enough to the Gulf Coast to benefit from the seaborne trade routes that circumnavigated the Peninsula, as well as from the Gulf's rich maritime resources such as fish and mollusks.

View toward the east, along the terrace on the north side of the platform. Above, you can see the north-south rooms on the east end of the platform. They face west, into the platform's central area. Out of sight on the left is a small staircase that leads up to this terrace. Spaces like this would have been ideal for domestic work like cleaning or mending clothes or food preparation. It is possible that such work would have been performed by servants or slaves. An interesting study of households at the Maya city of Aguateca indicated that elite family members were directly engaged in craft production, such as leatherwork and shell jewelry. This even included members of the king's family. So, perhaps that sort of activity was also happening here.

The period between the middle of the Early Classic era and the middle of the Late Classic was marked by intense competition and conflict between Tikal and Calakmul. They were two great "superpowers" of the Classic Maya world. Each city dominated an array of satellite city-states that were linked to them through alliances or conquest. While Tikal is located in the north-central region of Guatemala, Calakmul is in Mexico, just a few miles from the Guatemalan border. It should be remembered that the nations of Mexico and Guatemala did not exist at that time. The lowland region within which both cities were located is called the Petén and it was the center of Classic Maya civilization. Today, most of it consists of thousands of square miles of trackless jungle dotted with ruined cities.

Edzná was on the northern fringe of the Petén civilization, in the west-central Yucatan Peninsula. It was a rising regional power that had developed its own satellites. From the Late Pre-Classic through the beginning of the Early Classic, Tikal exerted some influence over Edzná. However, this was primarily cultural since Tikal was simply too far away for political domination. Calakmul, on the other hand, was much closer and Edzná was eventually incorporated within its sphere of influence. The city generally exercised considerable autonomy as a subordinate regional power. However, for a time during the mid-7th century AD, Edzná was ruled directly by the king of Calakmul, 

Near the platform is an underground water cistern called a chultun. Another indicator that the Platform of the Knives was residential is the large chultun located a few meters to its north. Chultunes were bell-shaped, with a narrow neck reaching to the surface. The interior was sealed with a stucco lining. The total depth of the Edzná chultun in the schematic above was 5m (16.4ft). The ground-level opening was at the low point of a plaster-lined, bowl-shaped depression that collected rainwater.

Sometimes, channels would be cut in patios or plazas to direct water off those surfaces and toward a chultun's opening. The average capacity of a chultun was about 7,500 gallons, enough to supply 25 people with year-round potable water. Occasionally, chultunes were also used to store perishable foods. When they were no longer considered suitable for those purposes, they often became refuse dumps or even sites for human burials.

View of the west end of the platform. The two rooms visible above are the south and middle west-facing rooms. The north room is out of sight. The wall at the back of these rooms also forms the back of the east-facing rooms. Visible in the lower left is the corner of Structure 432 of the Platform of the Ambassadors. The line of stones in the grass in the foreground is part of the sacbe (processional way) that runs from the Great Acropolis, across the Main Plaza, and then between the Patio of the Ambassadors and Nohoch Ná.

One of the turning points of the Classic era was the decisive defeat of Tikal in 562 AD by an alliance of city-states led by Sky Witness of Dzibanche's Kaan (Snake) dynasty. The result was the political eclipse of Tikal for the next 130 years. In 631 AD, Yuknoom Cheen II took power in Calakmul. He had been another of Dzibanche's Kaan rulers, but shifted his capital to Calakmul after he seized power there. Yuknoom Cheen II expanded Calakmul's area of influence to its greatest extent and eventually assumed direct rulership of Edzná. 

This concludes Part 7 of my Edzná series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly.

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Hasta luego, Jim