Calakmul's downtown area of ~1.75 square kilometers was recently mapped: archaeologists discovered it includes a total of 975 buildings, 300 of which are of vaulted stone masonry. Ninety-two of these buildings are constructed atop platform pyramids, and many are adjacent to and define open areas, plazas and courtyards.
The central plaza of Calakmul includes enormous public buildings, including Structure II, an immense pyramid measuring 140 meters square at the base and 55 meters high. It is the largest at Calakmul, and indeed one of the larger buildings built in prehispanic Mesoamerica, similar in size and layout to the Preclassic El Tigre pyramid at nearby El Mirador. Excavations into the interior of this structure revealed a 28-meter long tunnel. Structure 1, shown on the first page of this photo essay, is not as tall, but was built on a low hill so it seems taller.
The best-known ruler of Calakmul was Yukom Yich'ak K'ak', or Jaguar Paw, born in 649 AD, who became ruler of Calakmul in 686. Jaguar Paw was the head of the vast Serpent Head polity. According to stele accounts at Tikal, Jaguar Paw was captured by the Tikal ruler Hasaw Chan K'awil and sacrificed in 689 AD. Archaeologist Ramon Carrasco Vargas, among others, believes that the person captured at Tikal was a war lieutenant of of Jaguar Paw, and Yich'ak K'ak himself is buried in Tomb 4 at Calakmul.
Sources and Further Information
- About.com's Guide to the Maya Civilization
- Calakmul, from Ancient History at About.com
- Nakbe
- Tikal
- Finding Site Q
Carrasco Vargas, Ramon, Veronica A. Vazquez Lopez, and Simon Martin 2009 Daily life of the ancient Maya recorded on murals at Calakmul, Mexico. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.
Carrasco Vargas, Ramon, et al. 1999 A Dynastic Tomb from Campeche, Mexico: New Evidence on Jaguar Paw, a Ruler of Calakmul. Latin American Antiquity 10(1):47-58.
Folan, William J. 2001. Calakmul (Campeche, Mexico). pp 88-90 in Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia, Susan Toby Evans and David L. Webster, eds. Garland Publishing, Inc. New York.
Folan, William J., et al. 1995 Calakmul: New Data from an Ancient Maya Capital in Campeche, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 6(4):310-334.
Pincemin, Sophia, et al. 1998 Extending the Calakmul Dynasty Back in Time: A New Stela from a Maya Capital in Campeche, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 9(4):310-327.
