Oxkintok
Encyclopedia
Oxkintok is a pre-Columbian
Maya
archaeological site on the Yucatán Peninsula
, located at the northern tip of the Puuc
hills - a few kilometers to the east of the modern town of Maxcanú
, Yucatán
, Mexico
.
periods of Maya prehistory. However, Oxkintok became a major center between the Early Classic and Terminal Classic periods (including what Carmen Varela terms the "Middle Classic"). It is well known as possessing a very early Long Count date in AD 475 (on the lintel of Structure 6 in the "Canul" group). The latest dated monument at the site records a date in AD 859.
, Monte Albán
and Cholula
(but can also be found among certain Maya sites, such as Tikal
, Kaminaljuyu
and neighboring Chunchucmil
, during the Middle Classic).
The most popular structure at the site is the tzat tun tzat (sometimes written Satunsat, but most commonly called "The Labyrinth"). This relatively small structure has a labyrinth of vaulted tunnels within it.
As already mentioned, Oxkintok is well known for its early Long Count date. However, it is also known for its anthropomorphic columns. These Late to Terminal Classic columns were sculpted to represent elites, warriors and deities – a potential precursor to the “warrior columns” of Chichen Itza
and Mayapan
. Notes on some of these columns were included in the pioneering work of Tatiana Proskouriakoff
(see references, below).
and Frederick Catherwood
explored Oxkintok, including The Labyrinth.
In the early 20th century, under the Carnegie project, Edwin M. Shook
spent a short time at the site.
Since the 1980s a long-term project directed by Miguel Rivera Dorado (of Madrid, Spain) has produced a vast amount of data on Oxkintok.
Most recently, Mexico's INAH has invested in excavations and reconstructions at the site (under the direction of Ricardo Velasquez).
, approximately 62 km (38.5mi) south of Mérida
on Federal Highway 180
. The site lacks facilities, but is attended by guides. Nearby attractions include the Calcehtok caves.
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
archaeological site on the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
, located at the northern tip of the Puuc
Puuc
Puuc is the name of either a region in the Mexican state of Yucatán or a Maya architectural style prevalent in that region. The word "puuc" is derived from the Maya term for "hill". Since the Yucatán is relatively flat, this term was extended to encompass the large karstic range of hills in the...
hills - a few kilometers to the east of the modern town of Maxcanú
Maxcanú
Maxcanú is a large town in the western part of the Mexican state of Yucatán; it also functions as the seat for the Municipality of Maxcanú. It is located on Federal Highway 180, approximately 62 km south of Mérida....
, Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Etymology
In the Maya language, the name "Oxkintok" can be parsed as "Ox" (three) and "Kin" (day/sun), but there are multiple possibilities for "Tok" (if the final letter is a soft /K/ then it may mean "snatch away / defend, lean, fall, or burn", but if the final letter is truly a glottalized /K’/ then it may mean "puncture, let blood, or chert / flint / hard stone"). Different translations, based upon the various meanings of "Tok" are found in the literature.Chronology
The site has provided evidence of habitation from the Late Preclassic through the Late PostclassicMesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
periods of Maya prehistory. However, Oxkintok became a major center between the Early Classic and Terminal Classic periods (including what Carmen Varela terms the "Middle Classic"). It is well known as possessing a very early Long Count date in AD 475 (on the lintel of Structure 6 in the "Canul" group). The latest dated monument at the site records a date in AD 859.
Architecture
The style of architecture is an interesting mix of Early, Late and Terminal Classic techniques. Some of the structures exhibit slab-vaulted masonry (indicative of the Early Classic and early Late Classic periods), while many quadrangles contain structures with veneer masonry (introduced at the end of the Late Classic and elaborated during the Terminal Classic period). The site is used as an example of the transition from traditional Classic Period architecture to Puuc Veneer masonry by George F. Andrews. Oxkintok also exhibits a type of "talud-tablero" architecture, most commonly associated with central Mexican sites such as TeotihuacanTeotihuacan
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
, Monte Albán
Monte Albán
Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca...
and Cholula
Cholula (Mesoamerican site)
Cholula , was an important city of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, dating back to at least the 2nd century BCE, with settlement as a village going back at least some thousand years earlier. The great site of Cholula stands just west of the modern city of Puebla. Its immense pyramid exceeds the Pyramid...
(but can also be found among certain Maya sites, such as Tikal
Tikal
Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala...
, Kaminaljuyu
Kaminaljuyu
Kaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization that was primarily occupied from 1500 BC to AD 1200. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World by Michael Coe, although its remains today - a few mounds only - are far less...
and neighboring Chunchucmil
Chunchucmil
Chunchucmil was once a large, sprawling pre-Columbian Maya city located in the western part of what is now the state of Yucatán, Mexico.Although the famous explorer and author John Lloyd Stephens traveled within a few kilometers of Chunchucmil during his historic journey across the Yucatán...
, during the Middle Classic).
The most popular structure at the site is the tzat tun tzat (sometimes written Satunsat, but most commonly called "The Labyrinth"). This relatively small structure has a labyrinth of vaulted tunnels within it.
Sculpture
Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Municipality of Tinúm, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico....
and Mayapan
Mayapan
Mayapan , is a Pre-Columbian Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately 40 km south-east of Mérida and 100 km west of Chichen Itza; in the state of Yucatán, Mexico...
. Notes on some of these columns were included in the pioneering work of Tatiana Proskouriakoff
Tatiana Proskouriakoff
Tat’yana Avenirovna Proskuriakova was an American Mayanist scholar and archaeologist who contributed significantly to the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs, the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica.-Early life:...
(see references, below).
History of research
In 1842, John Lloyd StephensJohn Lloyd Stephens
John Lloyd Stephens was an American explorer, writer, and diplomat. Stephens was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America and in the planning of the Panama railroad....
and Frederick Catherwood
Frederick Catherwood
Frederick Catherwood was an English artist and architect, best remembered for his meticulously detailed drawings of the ruins of the Maya civilization. He explored Mesoamerica in the mid 19th century with writer John Lloyd Stephens...
explored Oxkintok, including The Labyrinth.
In the early 20th century, under the Carnegie project, Edwin M. Shook
Edwin M. Shook
Edward M. Shook was an American archaeologist and Mayanist scholar, best known for his extensive field work and publications on pre-Columbian Maya civilization sites.Ed Shook was born in Newton, North Carolina...
spent a short time at the site.
Since the 1980s a long-term project directed by Miguel Rivera Dorado (of Madrid, Spain) has produced a vast amount of data on Oxkintok.
Most recently, Mexico's INAH has invested in excavations and reconstructions at the site (under the direction of Ricardo Velasquez).
Modern site and tourism
The site of Oxkintok is a protected “zona”, open to visitors with an admission fee. It is accessible from the nearby town of MaxcanúMaxcanú
Maxcanú is a large town in the western part of the Mexican state of Yucatán; it also functions as the seat for the Municipality of Maxcanú. It is located on Federal Highway 180, approximately 62 km south of Mérida....
, approximately 62 km (38.5mi) south of Mérida
Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán and the Yucatán Peninsula. It is located in the northwest part of the state, about from the Gulf of Mexico coast...
on Federal Highway 180
Mexican Federal Highway 180
Mexican Federal Highway 180 is a Mexican Federal Highway that follows Mexico's Gulf and Caribbean Coast from the Mexico-U.S. border at Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, to the resort city of Cancún, Quintana Roo, in the Yucatán Peninsula....
. The site lacks facilities, but is attended by guides. Nearby attractions include the Calcehtok caves.