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Archaeological Sites
Kohunlich
Discovered in 1967 by a local
Mayan who stumbled upon looters who had uncovered and were preparing to remove a
6 foot stucco masks from one of the Temples, Kohunlich possibly dates to the pre-classic period. It appears to have been a major city from 300-900AD, when this area was one of the heaviest populated areas of the entire Yucatan. This is a city with beautiful forest walks with toucans, monkeys and flowers. Its architectural style is similar to both Northern Belize and the Rio Bec areas.
Named after the cohune palm tree which is abundant, Kohunlich is a moated city with walls. It has sophisticated drainage and plumbing. It also has a high number of solid stone residential complexes suggesting great prosperity and a democratic distribution of wealth. Many of these residential complexes have unusually large interiors. There is some indication that it was lived in by master artists, potters and scribes. Unfortunately, because the stelae are in poor condition it has been difficult to determine dynastic history.
There are over 500 mounds within Kohunlich, most of them unexplored, with one major mound group due east of the Temple of the masks. To date only a handful of buildings have been restored, most between 1992 and 1994. Recent excavations have turned up 29 single and multiple burial sites inside the temple of the 27 steps, which was the home of the ruling families of Kohunlich.
There are two major structures of particular interest, the Temple of the Masks and the Temple of the 27 Steps. The Temple of the masks is an excellent example of building on top of preexisting buildings, a process that sometimes preserved and sometimes destroyed what was buried underneath. In this case it preserved the masks which date to the early classic. These masks are some of the greatest treasures in the Mayan world, and are representations of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau. They face west so that the setting sun can light there faces at the end of each day.
These masks depict an individual coming froth from an upper and lower mask with the breath of life in his nostrils. The lower mask is the earth monster and upper the astral world, indicating that the wearer of this headdress is among the living and not in the other worlds. The eyes suggest that the individual is associated with the sun god and the god of the night who brings light to the world of the dead. One archaeological interpretation states “The ceremonial aspects of these masks represent the sun, the star itself and the king with whom it was associated.”
Of particular interest, both the Temple of the masks and the Temple of the 27 steps, have 27 steps, a number of particular interest in both the Jewish and Mayan worlds.
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