A large community is one that is made up of people who don't know each other, and yet the group nevertheless requires some level of cohesion, some glue that keeps people together and working for the same values, traditions and identities. These values and identities don't remain static in any society, of course, and so they require some level of practice on a regular basis. In pre-modern societies, the societal cohesion is often expressed by construction projects and state-sponsored ceremonies, but it must also be conveyed in daily lives. Public rituals--in which the public both watches and participates in the performance and the preparation for it--may have held that role in Maya communities.
Although Uxmal started out as a small community at its beginnings about 600 AD, the community became one of the largest urban centers of ancient Mexico, reaching its heyday during the latter part of the classic period (AD 800-1000). The site covers nearly 10 square kilometers, and it is located at the northwestern-most end of a series of causeways (called sacbeob in the Maya language) connecting Uxmal with Nohpat and Kabah. This photo illustrates one of several plazas at Uxmal, this one in the interior of the so-called Nunnery Quadrangle.
For more information, see
Although Uxmal started out as a small community at its beginnings about 600 AD, the community became one of the largest urban centers of ancient Mexico, reaching its heyday during the latter part of the classic period (AD 800-1000). The site covers nearly 10 square kilometers, and it is located at the northwestern-most end of a series of causeways (called sacbeob in the Maya language) connecting Uxmal with Nohpat and Kabah. This photo illustrates one of several plazas at Uxmal, this one in the interior of the so-called Nunnery Quadrangle.
For more information, see
- The Role of the Plaza in Maya Festivals, more on the project by Takeshi Inomata
- Uxmal, for more information on Uxmal
- Uxmal Site Map and Photographs, from Barb McKenzie at the Maya Ruins website, has several photographs of Uxmal from different angles
- Michael P. Smyth. 2001. Uxmal. Pp. 793-796 in Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America, S.T. Evans and D.L. Webster, eds. Garland Publishing, Inc., New York.
