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EK BALAM

The archeological zone is located 114 miles east of the city of Mérida, Yucatan, and can be reached over highway 295 to Tizimin.


EK BALAM means "black jaguar" in Mayan this site many well have achieved pivotal status in the public affairs of eastern Yucatan and judging from its monumental architecture it was quite probably an influential city. Visually most impressive is its splendid central plaza bordered by three massive ceremonial structures.


The complex also features a number of smaller temples, altars, and living quarters. The chief pyramid, known as the tower, is comparable in size (100 feet high, 517 feet long, and 200 feet wide) with northeastern Yucatan's most remarkable Mayan buildings.


The central plaza grouping is encompassed by two low walls girdling 310 of the settlement's overall 2,500 acres. As recently as 1987 a pre-Spanish road, or sacbeob, network, was uncovered and found to fan out to distances of up to one mile or more.

HISTORY OF THE SITE
Recent research shows that the site was inhabited from as far back as the late pre-classic and early classic periods (100 BC. - 300 A.D) and on down to the time of the Spanish conquest and colonization.


Archeological research thus far points to the rise of this site to prominence some time between 400 and 600 A.D., witch in the Mayan area is referred to as the early classic period. In a 16th century Spanish account, Historical-Geographic reports of the government of Yucatan, mention is made of the founding of Ek Balam and the group that ruled it during its first 40 years, though about the time period when those events actually took place nothing is said.

The site was subservient to a provincial capital called TIKIBALON , Mayan for "black tiger", and whose ruler was one Couch Cal Balam, or "Everyone's overlord".


The peak of Ek Balam's development has been traced to the 700-1000 A.D. period, now designated the terminal classic. At that time older buildings were enlarged and given their greatest bulk, while the site held sway over the region north of Valladolid, where one finds to day a dozen or so important sites. Ek Balam may have been the nerve center for local agricultural output and management in pre-spanish times. As much is suggested by the fact that even at present the area produces goodly volumes of corn, wax, honey, and cotton.



The decline of the settlement might have been due to gradual depopulation beginning in about 1200 A.D., a year witch falls within the post-classic period. By then building works had dropped to record low levels, involving but small temples or shrines erected atop classic period stone platforms.
The factors witch in actuality brought on Ek Balam's fall are not known with any certainty, however, perhaps together with other large sites in the Mayan area, its abandonment was due to political infighting which, once it disrupted the social populace to gravitate back to the country side.

 

 

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