Chunchucmil was discovered by modern archaeologists and considered as one of the most perplexing among all the Mayan cities, as well as one of the most important as it gave us knowledge of the way their individual city-based empires connected and interfaced. It’s not recognized by amazing structures, having very few pyramids, stelea, or huge ancient monuments of all kinds. It was not dominated by a renowned master. It was not even constructed in a very good area – somewhat the opposite, based on modern scientists. However this city, is a lot more than any other in the region as it illustrates as well as informs our understanding of the ancient Mesoamerica trade systems. During its peak, it was a distinctive as well as enormous business center, without dominance by any alliance group, however the meeting place and also melting pot for a wide array of influences and cultures from over the region – without whose continuous mutually beneficial exchanges and intermingling the Chunchucmil city would not have been able to live in any way.

An Inhospitable Area

In the face of its evident importance, Chunchucmil was established on one of the Yucatan peninsula’s most hostile location. The city’s remains sit on a strip of partially desert ground having the driest environments among any of the lands controlled by the Maya. The area has poor and sparse soil; measuring just a few inches at its deepest, nearly half of the region is free of any covering, causing the limestone substrate that underlies most of the Yucatan particularly disclosed. It was in fact named for a well, which literally translates to “well at the base of the Chukum Tree”. Sitting at the north-western tip of the peninsula, it is situated approximately 30 kilometres from the ocean, halfway between the shore and Ixkintok – the inland city of the Mayan. The size of the city was only estimated to be in the range of 25 to 65 square kilometres but has not been exactly determined. Besides being constructed in such an unfavorable environment – and in some cases, exactly because of this fact – there’s adequate evidence that Chunchucmil was a massive trade route centre that spanned the distance between the Gulf of Mexico and also the peninsula’s interior.

Assembled Structures

It was during the Mayan Classical Pyramid that Chunchucmil’s development reached its peak. The layout of the city is clearly defined as well as provided us with a remarkable insight as to how the land was utilized, even though t was not known for its monuments. Nearly all of Chunchucmil was separated into “quadrangles,” or rectangular grids on which individual settlements were made. Such quadrangles were interconnected using a network of stone-lined paths which generally extended outward from the center of the city, lending its construction that is comparable to that of a honeycomb; these stone paths, when leaving the city, led to the outlying suburbs with larger roads connecting them, and then finally to the long-distance roads that joined Chunchucmil to its trading partners.

There are two types of quadrangles which can be determined by the buildings that they contain. The so called “picj” quadrangle groups were determined by pyramids, typically between 8 and 18 meters high. Resting between the pyramid as well as the other buildings lining the edges of the rectangular plot was a big courtyard, which would generally consist of ceremonial platforms or altars; this group is actually shown to be of religious significance. The residential groups, in contrast, were bounded by stone walls, and even comprised housing for the population of Chunchucmil. A small yard can be found in the centre of these building groups. The clear boundaries between lots, and the shrine or small temple for household rituals which is represented at most such excavated plots, isn’t distinct in style to the ones discovered at various other cities in Mesoamerica such as Teotihuacan, affording even more evidence to the true trade routes reached by Chunchucmil.

A Thriving Economic Condition

The very fact of its existence is one of the major puzzles of Chunchucmil. In such an inhospitable and dry environment with poor prospects for cultivation and farming, how could such a city thrive, survive and grow sufficient food to provide its citizens? The undeniable answer appears to be that Chunchucmil was the most flourishing marketplaces of Mesoamerica. Goods from all over the region traveled back and forth this city on the numerous roads which generally spiraled out from its centre, pulling a great and different range of people and goods together in just one sizeable marketplace. This likewise goes far towards explaining the absence of any sort of king, lineage, or religious dynasty enshrined on stele through the entire urban centre, as was de rigour for most Mayan cities; it was a centre with many cultures as it is where tribes, cultures and religions met and exchanged goods, where commerce is given much importance than politics and religion.

A historical hint to such puzzle comes in the form of “prismatic blades,” or sharp cutting tools splintered from larger special stones such as obsidian, that happen to be considerably found at Chunuchmil. By looking at it closely, we know these blades were not locally produced, even if there is sufficient technology and resources that exists to make them; the fact is that they came from Guatemala which is located more a thousand kilometers away! The amount of these blades recovered from the site – quite enough that they could be viewed as disposable items for the hoi polloi of the city – helps make the conclusion very clear that the frequent long distance trade made them easily obtainable and always available that the locals of Chunchucmil thought nothing of procuring such tools from the trading markets, much like we barely think twice about the true geographical source of the processed or canned food we buy from the supermarket!

Wanting to visit and explore the cities of the ancient Mayans? Simply come to Chichen Itza.

More information on Yucatan Travel: Birding Sian Ka’an Reserve and Whale Sharks from Cancun. Both are in the Yucatan Peninsula.