Ek Balam Part 1 of 7: An ancient Maya metropolis in northern Yucatan

An exquisitely carved statue decorates the tomb of one of Ek Balam's rulers. The statue wears the attire of a highly-placed member of Ek Balam's Classic-era aristocracy. The jewelry on the wrists and ankles represents jade, one of the most precious stones of the ancient Mesoamerican world. The necklace and ear spools would also have been jade. The upper body is naked except for an elaborate head dress and a feathered cloak which spreads out from the shoulders. The mid-section is covered by a garment resembling an embroidered kilt.  Hanging over the groin is a pouch decorated with a grinning face.

This posting is the first of a seven-part series on the ancient Maya city of Ek Balam ("Black Jaguar"). The ruins are less than 1/2 hour drive north of Valladolid and we visited them during our stay there. However, since Ek Balam can also be easily reached from Cancun or Mérida, I decided to present this as a stand-alone series. Part 1 will be an overview of the major features of the city, while the following six parts will show each of these features in detail.

Overview

Google map showing the route from central Valladolid to Ek Balam. The distance from Vallolid's central plaza to the ruins is 27.8km (17.2mi). Proceed north on Highway 295 about 20km to a right-angle intersection with a small hotel on the corner. About 100m before this intersection there is a large sign on the right which points toward Tizmin and Rio Lagartos, but makes no mention of Ek Balam. Be alert for this intersection with its hotel when you have traveled approximately 20km from Valladolid. 

About 100m after you turn right, there is a sign pointing toward Z. A. (Zona Arqueologica) Ek Balam. After about 5km, you come to a four-way intersection. A left takes you to the modern pueblo of Ek Balam, while a right goes to the pueblo of Santa Rita. Instead, head straight into the Zona Arqueológica. Follow the road about 2km to the large parking area. A short trail from there will take you to the beginning of the ruins. 

One of several iguanas that we encountered in the ruins. While I am not certain, this may be one of the Black Spiny-Tailed species (Ctenosaura similis). The Yucatan Peninsula and Central America abound with many different iguana species. The ones I have encountered are almost always totally unconcerned by the approach of humans. They usually remain completely still while I take my photo, almost as if they are posing. Despite their languid appearance, this species is the fastest lizard on the planet and can reach speeds of 21mph, if threatened. They like places where they can bask or hide in rocky crevices, if frightened.

The mouth of a chultun, which once stored water for Ek Balam's inhabitants. I found it near the Acropolis (Estructura 1). A chultun  is a man-made water storage chamber shaped like a globular pot with a neck that narrows to a circular opening at ground level. Chultunes were carved into the thick limestone sheet which lies just below the soil. The opening for this one looks big enough for a man to squeeze through and then move around inside. Once carved into the desired shape, the inside walls were made watertight with lime plaster. 

Northern Yucatan has no natural water sources other than rainfall and the limestone sinkholes called cenotes. To solve this problem, chultunes were invented by ancient Maya hydraulic engineers to help expand the available water supply. Rain running off nearby structures was channeled to an opening like this so that the water could be stored for use in dry periods. Smaller chultunes had a capacity of 7,500 gallons (enough for 25 people). Some were much larger, however, with capacities ranging from 16,000 to 110,000 gallons. 

A Maya welcoming committee, as they would have appeared in the early 16th century. 

Unlike the statue in the first photo, the men above are warriors, dressed for battle, not for style. They are naked except for loincloths and light capes over their shoulders. Two of their capes are fringed with large animal teeth, possibly jaguar fangs. The two warriors on the left carry wood-handled weapons, set with razor-sharp obsidian blades. All four are decorated with intricate tattoos (possibly temporary), which symbolize strength, spiritual power, social status, and possibly membership in a warrior clan.

The first Spanish encounter with the Maya was peaceful. In 1502, one of Christopher Columbus' ships encountered a large, sea-going Maya canoe in the Caribbean Sea. However, when the Spanish began exploring the coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula in 1517, they met fierce resistance. Serious efforts to conquer Yucatan did not begun until 1542, twenty years after the conquest of the Aztecs. The last Maya stronghold did not fall until 1697. The Aztecs managed to hold out for about 2 years, but the Maya lasted for 180! Sporadic revolts in the Yucatan continued over the centuries, including the 67-year Caste War, which ended in 1915.

The elite ceremonial precinct of Ek Balam. This area is surrounded by two concentric sets of low walls with five entrances. There is one each on the north, east, and west sides and two on the south side. Leading to each of these entrances is a sacbé ("white road") paved with stones covered with white lime plaster. Sacbé #2 is 10m (33ft) wide and extends 190m (623ft) out from its gate. Originally, it may have been much longer. The longest sacbé in Yucatan reaches 300km (186mi) from Mérida to the Caribbean Coast. The intersection of  five sacbeob with Ek Balam is an indication of the city's political and economic power. 

A total of 45 of the city's structures have been excavated. The most important of these surround Plaza Norte (North Plaza) and Plaza Sur (South Plaza). In the map above, the Plaza Norte is shaped like an inverted "U". It is bounded on the north by the Acropolis (Estructura 1), on the west by Estructura 2, and on the east by Estructura 3. The smaller Plaza Sur is also "U" shaped (but not inverted). The Oval Palace (Estructura 16) is at its base (south side). The west side is bordered by a pair of structures called the Twin Temples (Estructura 17). The east side is formed by a large platform called Estructura 10.

Perimeter Walls and Main Entrance

Sections of the inner and outer walls. The Sacbé 2 entrance arch is in the upper left. The Oval Palace can be seen in the upper right. Archeologists have long debated the purpose of these walls. Originally, they were thought to be defensive structures and are still described this way in some tourist publications. However, although they are thick, they were never much higher than what you see above. Such low walls would not have been of much use in warding off determined attacks.

Modern archeologists now believe that the purpose of the walls was to establish boundaries and restrict entrance to the areas reserved for the city's rulers, nobility, and priesthood. The general the population would have lived in thatched huts called "nah", spread out widely over the area outside the walls. 

The main entrance (Estructura 18) to Ek Balam is through this ceremonial arch. It sits on a three-tiered platform and is approached from the Sacbé 2 by ascending the ramp seen above. A similar ramp on the north side leads down into the ceremonial area. The east and west sides also have arches, but these are approached by stairs. The architecture of this structure indicates that it was the main ceremonial entrance to the city.

View of the Sacbé 2 entrance (Estructura 18). I took this shot looking southwest from the top of the Twin Temples. Here, you can see both the ramp on the north side, as well as the east-side arch and its stairs. Although this is not one of the larger structures in Ek Balam, its unusual architecture makes it one of the most photographed. In the center left background, you can see a bit of the outer perimeter walls.

Plaza Sur

The Oval Palace (Estructura 16), viewed from the top of the Twin Temple. The structure gets its name from the sides and back of its second level, which has a the curved, oval shape. This is an elite residential building, rather than a temple, although some ceremonial activities are likely to have occurred here. An impressive staircase leads from the Plaza level up to the top of the platform, which contains a small structure. Some archeologists speculate that the Oval Palace may have had an astronomical, as well as a residential, function. There are similar curved structures at other Yucatan sites such as the "Observatory" at Chichen Itza.

The Twin Temples (Estructura 17) form the west side of Plaza Sur. These two temples face east across the Plaza toward Estructura 10. Because they are nearly identical in size and design, archeologists decided to call them "The Twins". Each of the two temples sits on a two-level platform accessed by broad staircases. Each temple has two doors and each door leads into two rooms, one behind the other, giving the Twins a total of eight rooms.

These rooms don't appear to have served as living spaces but were more likely used for religious and ceremonial purposes. Archeologists believe the Twin Temples may be related to the Hero Twins of Maya mythology. The Lords of Death in Xibalba (the underworld) challenged them to a ritual Ball Game. The Hero Twins were triumphant and, after overcoming a variety of other challenges, they were transformed into the sun and moon.

Estructura 10 faces west, toward the Twin Temples. The base of this structure is a huge, raised platform which makes up the eastern border of Plaza Sur. It is accessed by a broad staircase on its west side. A small altar is on top of the platform, near the top of the stairs. On the far side of the platform is a small temple (see above) containing another altar. The temple is flanked by two long, low, rubble mounds. 

While the little temple and the low mounds are not impressive on their own, the platform on which they sit is the largest of Plaza Sur's structures. Estructura 10 was clearly intended for large ceremonies and rituals, rather than for living quarters. The large space on top of the platform would have accommodated a sizable crowd. It is possible that the mounds served as raised viewing ares for elite spectators, sort of like the viewing stands on either side of a modern playing field.

South and east sides of Plaza Norte

The Ball Court sits a few yards to the north of the Twin Temples. Its proximity to the Twin Temples is probably not coincidental, if the archeologists are right about the Hero Twins myth. Ek Balam's Ball Court is made up of Estructura 8 (right) and Estructura 9 (left). The playing field includes the sloping areas on each structure and the narrow, rectangular space between them. 

Some ball courts, like the one at Chichen Itza, were fitted with a stone ring half-way down each side of the court. However, there are no stone rings in this court. While the game was played for thousands of years, all over Mexico and Central America, the rules differed from place to place and sometimes didn't include the rings.

The east side of the Plaza Norte is bordered by Estructura 3. This is the second largest structure at Ek Balam, in terms of the space covered. Only the Acropolis (Estructura 1), on the Plaza's north side, is larger. Estructura 3 is a low platform, measuring 110m long and 55m wide (361ft X 180ft). It is accessed by a small, 5-step staircase on its west side. In front of the stairs is a standing, two-sided rock called a stela. Sometimes a stela contains images or glyphs, but this one is unmarked. The ruins of a small temple stand in the center of the platform. Etructura 3 was likely for ceremonial rather than residential purposes.

Estructura 3 was first excavated in 1886 by the French explorer Desiré Charnay . He found "a severed head modeled in stucco with the fragments of an inscription." Charnay dug around, looking for a tomb, but found only fragments of decoration and parts of a black-painted clay figurine. More recently, archeologists found a stucco mask which may be the severed stucco head that Charnay reported. The west side of the Plaza is bordered by Estructura 2, which I didn't photograph because it was almost entirely un-excavated rubble.

  

North side of Plaza Norte

The Acropolis (Estructura 1) is the largest building in Ek Balam. It was built as a palace during the Late Classic era by the city's most powerful ruler and contains his tomb. A single, broad staircase leads six levels up to the top of the structure. Each level contains multiple rooms, some with intricate glyphs and other decorations. The tomb is decorated with exquisitely-carved stone statues of rulers and other aristocratic figures (see first photo). Some of the statues were deliberately decapitated centuries ago, probably when the city was captured by enemy forces.

A tourist carefully descends the Acropolis' wide staircase. While the steps are wide across, they are also very narrow. This makes them somewhat dangerous, particularly when descending. Over the years tourists have occasionally been injured or even killed from falls down stairs like these. Once you start to tumble, it would be very difficult to stop yourself. 

As a result, the Mexican government has prohibited climbing on some ancient ruins, including the stairs of the famous El Castillo, or Pyramida de Kukulkan, in Chichen Itza. Fortunately, these prohibitions were not in place when we visited Ek Balam, although this may since have changed. If you are fortunate enough to be able to climb up a pyramid or temple, please be extremely careful, particularly when descending.

This completes Part 1 of my Ek Balam series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I can respond promptly.

Hasta luego, Jim