Cobá Part 2: Stela 11 and the temples and palaces on Grupo Cobá's Acropolis

Sela 11 stands directly in front of the staircase of the pyramid called La Iglesia. The existence of this stela was first reported in 1891 by Austrian archeologist Teobert Maler. Modern archeologists believe that Stela 11 was once located elsewhere in Cobá and then moved here during the Post-Classic period (1000 AD-1250 AD). What you see above is only the top section of the stela and its circular altar. Recent excavations behind it unearthed the much better preserved bottom part. Its markings were preserved because it was buried for centuries.  During the same dig, archeologists also found a trove of jade and shell offerings. 

In this posting, I will first focus on Stela 11, its circular altar, and the offerings discovered near it. Then I will show the south and west sides of Patio F, one of several patios on Grupo Cobá's Acropolis. Finally, I will walk you along the structures on the west side of the Acropolis. These were the only accessible parts of the 43 structures on the Acropolis' platform when we visited. Hopefully, more have been opened to the public. Along with my photos and structural descriptions, I will also provide an overview of Cobá's long history.

Overview

Map of the Acropolis, the structures on its platform, and Ball Court #1. North is toward the top of the drawing. The star in the middle of the drawing shows the location of Stela 11. Surrounding the stela is Patio A, which is bounded on its north and south sides by Structures B-2 and B-3. To the east of Patio A is the grand staircase that leads to the top of La Iglesia (see Part 1). 

Along the west side of the Acropolis is the long, low Kaan staircase. To the west of the Kaan staircase is a broad plaza bounded on its north and south sides by two un-excavated structures called B-13 (north) and B-7 (south).  Just in front of the southern end of the Kaan staircase  is Stela 12. South of the stela, another broad staircase leads up to a palace called B-4. The southwest corner of the Acropolis contains B-5, a small colonnaded structure. This may have been either a temple or an elite dwelling. 

North of the Acropolis are Structures 17a and 17b, the parallel sides of Ball Court #1. Patio F is the open space bordered on its south side by the north wall of the Acropolis. The west side of the patio is bordered by the staircase of Structure 17a. The north and east sides of Patio F are formed by un-excavated Structures 18 and 20. (Site map from Pari Journal) 

Stela 11 and its treasures

Patio A, viewed from the lower steps of La Iglesia. From this position you can see the rear side of Stela 11, along with Structure B-3 (upper left). Although Patio A is small, compared to some others on the Acropolis, its position directly in front of La Iglesia suggests that this was a very sacred area. Reinforcing this are the ancient offerings found near the stela. Notice the two arms of the niche protruding from the bottom of La Iglesia's stairs. Buried between them, archeologists found the broken-off lower part of Stela 11. (Photo from Pari Journal) 

When the circular altar in front of Stela 11 was inspected by archeologists in 1926, they found offerings from recent times. These included burned candles and a metal incense-burning receptacle. Local Maya told them that hunters sometimes left offerings to invoke help from the ancient deities of the forests, lakes and cenotes. The hunters believed that these gods were more powerful than the Catholic god. One of the deities was Ix Chebel Yax, who was the goddess of regeneration and the wife of Itzamna, the supreme god of creation. Ix Chebel  Yax was closely associated with Piramide La Iglesia. 

On the other hand, local Catholics believed that the Virgin Mary (whom they called Colebíl) was the figure portrayed on Stela 11. Colebíl was the Maya moon goddess and, not coincidentally, the Virgin of Guadalupe is always portrayed standing on a crescent moon. Lacking any other meeting place, the Catholic faithful used Patio A and its altar to make offerings to her. This is how the pyramid came to be called La Iglesia (The Church). In 2011, Mexican peso coins were found on the circular altar, including one dated 1990. This indicates that the altar and stela were still being used for these purposes at that date. 

Drawing of the upper part of Stela 11. This section of the stela was exposed to the elements for many centuries and is consequently quite worn. However, 18 glyphs can still be seen, along with the head, chest, and mid-section of a richly-dressed royal figure. He wears a double-stranded jade necklace, a feathered head dress, and a loincloth. In his arms, he holds a long cylindrical object, which is a symbol of rulership. The same symbol appears regularly on other Cobá stelae that depict rulers. The missing lower part of his body appears on the recently-discovered section of the stela. (Photo from Peabody Museum, Harvard University)

The glyphs are too worn to provide a complete narrative. However, among them are the name Chan Yopaat, preceded by the title kalo'mte. Roughly translated, kalo'mte it means "king of kings". This would be the title of someone who is a leader of the highest rank in Classic Maya society. A kal'omte rules not only his own city, but has authority over other towns and cities beyond the limits of his immediate domain.

According to a glyph on a stela located in another part of Cobá, Chan Yopaat became Kalo'mte in 682 AD. He died a decade later in 692 AD of an unknown cause. However, a stela at the city-state of Edzna declares that its ruler captured an important noble person from Cobá in 692. We know that Chan Yopaat died in 692 because that was the year his son, Mat K'awill, became Kalo'mte of Cobá. Since ritual sacrifice was the usual fate of a ruler captured in battle, the unnamed Cobá noble may have been Chan Yopaat himself. 

The lower section of Stela 11 is in much better shape. It was long assumed that this part had been irretrievably lost. However, it was found during routine maintenance in 2010 by a worker named Esteban May who noticed part of it protruding from the ground. At some point in ancient times, Stela 11 had been broken (possibly deliberately). This part was then set into the niche in the middle of the bottom of the stairs, about a meter (3ft) behind the position where the top section stands. (Photo from  Pari Journal)

Appearing among the glyphs on the lower portion of Stela 11 are the name and title of Kalo'mte Xaman K'awiil. Archeologists pieced together various Maya calendar dates on this stela and elsewhere at Cobá and concluded that the year that he acceded to the throne was 632 AD. Since he took the throne 50 years before Chan Yopaat, the royal figure on Stela 11 is probably not Xaman K'awiil. It is more likely that Chan Yopaat erected the stela to depict himself and made reference to the earlier monarch in order to emphasize his own legitimacy. To date, Xaman K'awiil's name has not been found anywhere else at Cobá.  

Drawing of the lower portion of Stela 11. Here, we see two "finely carved legs of an individual wearing sandals and a loincloth with a long front flap, as well as the end of a necklace supporting a bar carved in the image of de-fleshed head, with three tubular beads at each end". Similar objects, suspended from necklaces, appear on other stelae at Cobá that portray royalty. These objects were worn by rulers when they dressed as warriors and intended to take captives.

"Accompanying the central figure is a smaller, kneeling captive with hands bound, wearing ear flares, a ko'haw headdress and a belt around his waist." A ko'haw was the war helmet of the War Serpent cult and was made of rectangular shell plaques. It was worn by rulers of city-states. This suggests that the captive was a ruler who was defeated, captured, and probably faced  ritual sacrifice. The depiction of a ruler standing next to bound captives, or sometimes on top of them, is a common image not only at Cobá, but in other Maya cities. (Photo and quotes from Pari Journal)

Offerings discovered near Stela 11 included this treasure trove of jade. After discovering the missing stela piece, archeologists dug deeper into the niche where it was found. They soon unearthed numerous pieces of jade jewelry. These included a necklace, ear flares and tubes, various other beads, an ax, and jade fragments. Jade is not natural to the area around  Cobá, so these pieces were probably brought by sea-going canoes up the Caribbean Coast from Valle de Motagua in Guatemala. That area was dominated by Maya cities like Quirigua. (Photo from  Pari Journal)

Spondylus shells were part of the Stela 11 trove. Spondylus americanus is a mollusk found along the Caribbean Coast in reefs and intertidal areas. Often called the "spiny oyster", their shells were used for jewelry by the ancient Maya. The value that the inhabitants of Cobá placed on these shells is shown by the fact that they were found along with the highly-valued jade offerings. In addition to the Spondylus shells and the jade, archeologists also found two shell beads, a snail shell, two worked fragments of mother of pearl, and two fragments of obsidian blades. (Photo from  Pari Journal)

Patio F's south and west sides 

The north wall of the Acropolis' platform forms the southern border of Patio F. This massive three level wall has a steep staircase near its eastern end. The rounded corners indicate the influence of the Petén architectural style of northern Guatemala. While the staircase steps and the top level were made with cut stones, those of the two lower levels were uncut. This huge platform supports the 43 structures on top of the Acropolis. Building the platform would have been an immense construction project in itself, requiring thousands of man hours from hundreds of workers.

People inhabited the area around Cobá's lakes long before it became a city. Forest clearance began as early as 1650 BC and maiz (corn) was being planted in lakeside milpas (small fields) by 850 BC. Between 300 BC and 250 AD (the Pre-Classic era), there were still only small villages, inhabited by people who supported themselves by hunting and farming. 

During the Early Classic period (250 AD to 600 AD), Cobá's population began to increase. Power became more centralized in the long process of consolidation into a city. During this period of social stratification, limestone began to be used to create temples, pyramids, and residences for the emerging elite. These structures included La Iglesia pyramid, along with many of the other structures on the Acropolis. However, the common people still lived in simple huts called nah'ob, made of perishable materials. 

The west side of Patio F is bordered by a broad staircase. This structure (17a) is the eastern half of Ball Court #1. The ball court has two parallel sides and their interior walls slope down to a ground level corridor that forms the central part of the playing field. I will show the ball court in detail in Part 3. The city's elite class would have mounted these stairs in order to view the playing field on structure 17a's west side. The steps may have also functioned as stadium seats for people facing east, in the opposite direction, in order to view ceremonies conducted in Patio F.  The other two sides of Patio F are the un-excavated Structures 18 and 20, which I didn't photograph.

By the fifth century AD, Cobá had become a thriving city. It is one of the few pre-hispanic cities where we know the original name. Ko'ba'a. means "ruffled or choppy water", an obvious reference to the surface of the lakes around which the city was built. Archeologists know the name because they found it carved on a stone panel on the wall of Ball Court #2 (Grupo D). The glyphs on the panel also contain dynastic information. This includes the name of Juunpiktook, the founder of Cobá's royal dynasty. He acceded to the throne in 494 AD but, at this early stage, he was probably just a local ruler, not a kalo'mte.

The Kaan Staircase and the structures along it

The northwest corner of the Acropolis is formed by Structure B-2.  Note the small stone skull on the sloping wall beside the stairs in the photo's center. This is the same skull I showed in the first photo of Part 1. It is one of a pair that brackets the stairs. At the top of the stairs is a row of square columns that once supported a roof. Structure B-2 forms the northern edge of Patio A. In the background, you can see the massive staircase leading up to the top of La Iglesia. The long Kaan stairway begins to the right of this corner of the Acropolis, just out of sight.

During the Late Classic period, from 600 AD to 900 AD, Cobá was the dominant power in the northern Yucatan Peninsula. It was during this time that most of the major temples, pyramids, sacbeob ("white roads") and stelae were built. Cobá's rulers extended their control over outlying towns and cities, either by conquest or through marriage alliances. In the process, they came into conflict with other powers on the Peninsula. One of them was Oxkintok, a city located 200km (125mi) away on the western side of the Peninsula. Although only 3 hours away by car today, it would have been a tough march in ancient times.

View to the north along the Kaan Staircase. From Structure B-2, the staircase stretches south along the west side of the Acropolis for 100m (327ft), to a palace called Structure B-4. The stairs face west into a broad plaza, from which six sacbeob branch out in several directions. On the top of the Kaan Staircase stand the ruins of a palace. The name Kaan means "snake". This is a reference to the strong connection between the Cobá dynasty and that of the Kaan (Snake) Dynasty, also known as the Kaanul. The Snake Dynasty originated in the city of Dzibanche in the southeastern part of the Peninsula. 

In fact, Cobá's rise was due in part to the support of the Kaanul. The Cobá dynasty's founder, Juunpiltook, came to power under the patronage of the Kaanul. This was part of the strategy of the ambitious Kaanul rulers, who worked to expand their own power by assembling a sprawling network of allies and subordinate city-states. In 631 AD, the Kaanul seized power in the city of Calakmul and moved the seat of their dynasty there from Dzibanche.  Calakmul is located just north of the Mexican border with Guatemala.

The Kaan Dynasty was the great rival of the rulers of Tikal, which is located 350km (220mi) south of Calakmul in northern Guatemala. The rulers of Tikal maintained a network of client states and allies similar to that of the Kaanul. The conflict between these two Maya superpowers lasted for centuries, with the advantage changing hands several times. In the Maya world, alliances were often made through inter-dynastic marriages. Over time, the Kaanul rulers arranged the marriages of several of their daughters to Cobá's rulers. Some of these women became powerful in Cobá and at least one attained the rank of kalo'mte.

 

Stela 12 stands in front of the southern end of the Kaan Staircase. Some pieces of this broken stela were found in 1923. Other fragments were unearthed seventy years later in 1993. The stela is very worn but still contains a few traces of its original markings. These include two captives with bound wrists. They kneel on either side of a pair of legs ending in sandaled feet that belong to a much larger figure. The only traces of this royal figure left on the stela  are the profile of a face and parts of a headdress. Stela 12's position in front of the Kaan Staircase suggests that this monument commemorates an important event or person.

Drawing of Stela 12, showing the kneeling captives. Cobá peaked in its power about 800 AD, but then began a slow decline. Around 1000 AD, at the start of the Post-Classic era. Cobá came into conflict with a rising power known as Chichen Itza. The Itza people of that city were energetic and had learned an advanced manner of warfare, possibly from the highly militarized Toltec civilization of Central Mexico. 

The conflict with Chichen Itza resulted in Cobá's defeat and subjugation. The city continued to prosper economically for a time and even built new temples and monuments over the next couple of centuries. However, Cobá had become politically eclipsed and never regained its ascendancy. 

Structure B4 stands just south of Stela 12 along the Acropolis' west side. The broad staircase leads up to a row of rectangular pillars that form the front of an elite palace. This is one of several "flying staircases" at Cobá. On the right side of the stairs you can see the entrance to a tunnel that extends all the way to the far side of the stairs. This tunnel is what gives the staircase its name. Flying staircases are part of the Puuc architectural style of northern Yucatan that flourished during the Late Classic period.

During the centuries following its defeat by Chichen Itza, the population of Cobá declined by over 90%. Increasingly, the city's role became that of a religious shrine and pilgrimage site. By the time the Spanish arrived in the 1520s, the once rich and powerful city was mostly abandoned. A small population may have continued for a short while, but they too soon departed. Cobá's mighty pyramids and temples became crumbling mounds covered by the encroaching jungle and the city slowly disappeared. Its existence would not be known for hundreds of years, outside of the small number of Maya living near it.

A small palace or temple named Structure B-5 is located just south of Structure B-4. Structure B-5 forms the southern end of the west side of the Acropolis. An un-excavated structure called B-7 forms a right angle with the southern end of B-5. Structure B-7 is a long rectangular mound that extends to the west, forming the southern border of the large courtyard into which the west side of the Acropolis faces. (see the site map above).

This completes Part 2 of my Cobá 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 in the Comments section, please remember to include your email address so that I can respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim