16 OCT 2017
A UNESCO World Heritage site, one of the most visited, and the most attractive of the archaeological sites, UXMAL is located about halfway between Campeche and Merida in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. It is one of the best-restored and maintained archaeological parks and is home to magnificent examples of puuc architecture and construction.
Chac was the Mayan God of rain, and the honored God at Uxmal due to the lack of natural water supplies in the city. Unlike other archeological sites in the Yucatan, Uxmal does not have an on-site fresh water source. Although the Yucatan has few surface rivers, most Maya cities, including Chechen Itza, used to access underground water however there were nothing at Uxmal. Instead, it was necessary to collect water in cisterns, built in the ground.
First settled in the 6th century CE, or even earlier, it was between 850 and 925 CE that Uxmal fully established itself as the capital of a collection of eastern Puuc region. Along with other northern sites like Chechen Itza, Uxmal survived the collapse which affected most other Maya cities c. 900 CE. The limestone buildings of Uxmal are, in the main, oriented along a north-east axis. The exception is the House of the Governor which faces the rise of Venus at its southern-most cycle. Fortification walls surround the central sacred complex are Puuc style architecture and arched doorways are a common feature of Uxmal buildings. Uxmal was one of the largest cities of the Yucatan peninsula on the Ruta Puuc, and at its height was home to approximately 20,000 Maya. Uxmal and other surrounding Puuc sites flourished in the Late Classic Period -around 600-900 AD before they were overruled by neighboring settlements.
