     sales@tequilagrantulum.com |
Tulum InformationTulúm, meaning "wall" or "fortification" in Yucatec Mayan, is located on the east coast of the Yucatán peninsula in Quintana Roo, near the southern tip of Cozumel Island. A popular tourist spot near beach resorts, Tulúm is easily reached by highway from Cancún, 128 km to the north. Setting and Chronology: Tulúm was probably glimpsed as an active, occupied site in during Juan de Grijalva's 1518 expedition when a brief coastal exploration was made south of Cozumel. Juan Díaz, chaplain of the expedition, reported "a very large town," and "the highest tower they had seen" in the area of Tulúm, Xelhá and Tancah (Fuentes 1963). Largest of these three coastal sites was Tulúm on the edge of 12 meter-high cliffs, with the Castillo overlooking the sea at the only rocky promontory on the Quintana Roo shoreline. All structural and ceramic evidence at Tulúm, as well as its important corpus of murals and relief sculpture, date from the Middle and Late Postclassic (AD 1200-1520), corresponding to the Hocuba and Tases phases, as defined at Mayapán (Smith 1971). The site's chronology appears complicated by reused Classic inscriptions brought from neighboring towns. Stela 1, found at Tulúm by Stephens and Catherwood in 1843 with an Early Classic date of 9.6.10.0.0 (AD 564), probably came to Tulúm from nearby Xelhá. Another reused stela of AD 761 (9.16.10.0.0) originated only a few km to the north at Tancah, a site whose pottery shows continuous Late Preclassic through Late Postclassic occupation. At Tulúm, the earliest ceramics date from the Middle Postclassic Hocaba phase (Smith and Gifford 1965). Besides possible Puuc-derived roof combs, pecked masonry, and colonnades, there are few other signs of direct Classic period influence. The site's oldest buildings include an earlier version of the Castillo, and structures with multiple columns such as the House of the Columns, and the House of the Halach Uinik or "Primary Lord." After AD 1250, Tulúm became a commercial port, probably settled by a group of Putún Maya trading in alliance with the new Maya capital at Mayapán. The population within the walled town itself of Tulúm may have been only several hundred persons. History of Exploration: After probable sighting by Grijalva's 1518 expedition, Tulúm may also have been mentioned in the 1549 Tax List of Yucatán (Gates 1937). The site then remained in obscurity until rediscovered by Juan José Gálvez in about 1840. Shortly thereafter it was visited by Stephens and Catherwood, as the last major place they described (1843). Catherwood made a number of excellent drawings of Tulúm's major structures, plus a site plan. Excavations began in 1913 by Sylvanus G. Morley and George P. Howe, and continued from 1916 to 1922 under the Carnegie Institution. Later excavations were conducted by Miguel Angel Fernandez (1938 to 1940s), Ignacio Marquina in 1951, and William Sanders in 1955 and 1960. In the 1970s Arthur Miller (1982) studied the site's mural paintings. Site Description: The many visible structures at Tulúm date from the Postclassic, with most rebuilt in the Late Postclassic using methods such as beam and mortar construction similar to that at contemporary Mayapán. Many of Tulúm's buildings are unusually small, with low doorways. The masonry at Tulúm is relatively crude and thickly plastered, with many of the façades built with a strong negative batter or outward slope. The Great Wall on the three landward sides (N,W,S) of Tulúm encloses an area of 385 by 165 m. The masonry Wall, 2 to 5 m high and averaging 6 m thick, has watchtowers on its NW and SW corners. Access is gained through five narrow, corbel arch gateways, with guardhouses on either side of the NE gateway, and small rooms spaced irregularly along each of the walls. Roads (sacbeob) lead out into the countryside from each of the five gates. Within the enclosure, Tulúm is laid out along a main street axis, as a planned town. Tulúm's main plaza, the recinto interior, is within a low masonry wall near the edge of the cliff, centering around the Castillo. This, the largest building at the site, was built over the central portion of an earlier colonnaded structure with beam and mortar roof. The wings of this still extend N and S beyond the platform. Most of what survives today dates from the 12th or 13th century AD. The two-room, vaulted temple on the 7.5 m-high platform of the Castillo has a doorway with two round columns, later modified into feathered serpents like those at Mayapán and Chichén Itzá. Three niches above the Castillo doorway each held stucco relief decorations, with a statue in the center of the Diving or Descending God. These unusual figures, also known at Cobá and Sayil, are commonly thought, based on their apparent antennae and insect-like torsos, to represent the bee gods Ah Muzencab, known from the Madrid Codex. Just north of the Castillo, the smaller Temple of the Diving God is named for a stucco relief of this deity in a niche above its western doorway. The exterior walls were painted with images of sun, rain, and maize gods framed by snakes, in a mixture of Mayan and Mixteca-Puebla styles typical of Late Postclassic Tulúm. The interior back wall is also covered with mural paintings. Among the motifs are a large feathered rattlesnake head and a richly adorned god with seashells, possibly Chalchihuitlicue ("Jade Water"), the consort of Tlaloc, the Mexican rain god, and goddess of the sea. The Temple of the Frescoes or Structure 16 , located west of the Castillo, has a small colonnaded lower gallery with murals in the Mixteca-Puebla style somewhat resembling that of the Paris Codex, and dated to about AD 1450 (A. Miller 1982). The paintings show the Maya deity Itzamná or Lizard House, and the moon goddess Ix Chel holding two small Chacs or rain deities. The central theme of these murals is maize and associated ceremonies of death and rebirth. The interior shrine of the lower gallery is the oldest part of the temple. Outside, the temple frieze has three niches, with two surviving stucco reliefs including a central Diving God. On the corners are low relief Chac masks of late types (without the protruding nose) combined with Mixteca elements. In front of the temple is a small altar and stela with a short count date of Katun 2 Ahau (AD 1263). A cluster of temples stands on a promontory near the north wall of the site. In 1924 Lothrop observed that the altar inside the small Temple of the Wind (Structure 45), built on the circular platform, was still being used for religious purposes. Nearby, a small shrine aligned with a break in the offshore reef may have been used as a beacon to signal trading canoes. There is also a break in the cliff between this promontory and the Castillo which formed a natural harbor. Along the north wall is the House of the Cenote (Structure 35), built on the edge of a small sinkhole providing essential fresh water. Also within the walls are house platforms (Structures 26, 33, 37, 38, 46-53), ceremonial platforms (Structures 8, 17), small shrines (Structures 15, 39-44), and tombs (Structures 13, 19). The Murals of Tulúm: The stylistically complex wall paintings found in various buildings, usually blue, red, and yellow figures outlined in black, show Maya deities portrayed with strong Mixtec and Central Mexican influences. Some paintings also show Mexican figures such as the Aztec war god Tezcatlipoca, prominent about the time (AD 1450-1500) these murals were painted (M. Miller 1986). Similarities between the Tulúm murals and the style of the Paris and Madrid codices led Thompson (1972) to conclude that these manuscripts may have been written in the area of Tulúm. Arthur Miller (1974) has found many symbols of birth and rebirth in these wall paintings. Umbilical cord motifs are seen in the Temple of the Diving God, Temple of the Frescoes associated with Ix Chel, and the House of Halach Uinik. The round platform of the Temple of the Wind may also symbolize birth, as an aspect of Venus as the Morning Star, reborn after passage through the Underworld. Tulum Mayan ruins Tulum is one of the most representative Mayan ruins of the Riviera Maya in Mexico. By the time the Toltecs had annexed the Maya lands to their vast territories, Tulum was a thriving merchant port and remained so until the Spanish arrived there in 1518. The city reached its splendor in around 1200 AD as a characteristic example of the Maya late PostClassic era. Tulum means wall, trench or fence in the Maya languaje and the conquerors were amazed by the beauty, size and strength of this ancient fortress built on a cliff overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean below. At the time it was built, the Maya cut-and-carve stone art and dexterity had degraded to a large extent but what was lost in intricate decoration and grandiose architecture is made up by the beauty of the location. Tulum Archaeological Site The Tulum archaeological site faces directly the sunrise and the 900 years old fortress is surrounded by an enormous wall on its 3 landward sides. Within the fortifications are some 50 buildings many of which were dedicated to worship, others were administrative buildings or living quarters. Many of the representations on the monuments relate to the Descending God although only one Temple built for this deity can be found. Some of the major structures are: The Castle, the Temple of the Descending God, House of the Columns (The Great Palace), Temple of the Frescoes, among others. The main buildings lie in the center of the city with 2 roads branching out to the north and south along which houses were aligned sitting on top of platforms. Plebeians lived in the surrounding countryside as the inner city was inhabited by the upper layers of society. Visiting Tulum will take you 600 years into the past when man embarked on one of the greatest adventures of all times. Tulum archaeological site is one of the most amazing Maya ruins you can find in the Riviera Maya. Main Buildings in Tulum "El Castillo" is one of the main buildings in Tulum, the wonderful archaeological site located in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. The Castle El Castillo is the largest building among the ruins in Tulum and sitting almost at to the edge of the cliff, it overlooks the Caribbean sea like a frozen sentry. It was actually built in different periods with the 2 platforms, 2 galleries and a central access stairway being the oldest part which was later used as a base for the erection of the upper temple. The structure has 3 entrances, 2 vaulted rooms and a lintel supported by two serpent-shaped columns. The most recent additions to the monument were 2 oratories, one at each side of the staircase. This ancient castle by the sea was used primarily for religious rituals and may have been a lighthouse or beacon for Maya merchant ships navigating along the Yucatan seashore. Its imposing structure resemble from far a dominating tower symbolizing for ever the greatness of the people that built it. The Temple of the Frescoes The Temple is one of the monuments in Tulum thought to have had great social and religious importance: its architectural features, mural paintings, decorations, sculptures and general appearance point to a place of deep veneration.It was built in successive stages, the first one being a rather basic structure containing a single chamber with an altar, murals on the fachade and the entrance decorated with a human figure head downward. The second stage consisted of a gallery with entrances formed by several columns decorated with stucco figures. Later on part of the gallery was filled in with stone to be used as a base for the upper Temple. A stone platform, stele number 2, carved with a human figure contains a sign indicating the year it was added but unfortunately it has not been deciphered yet. The Palace This complex was without a doubt the largest residential building in Tulum: a three story structure 85 meters long by 35 meters. The monument has numerous small chambers and it was inhabited by the upper echelons (nobles, spiritual leaders) of Maya society. The original structure was shaped like an L and it is only later that a west wing was added to respond to population growth demands. A narrow room in back is a shrine with small windows which still have today the ring that held curtains. The architectural style is consistent with Puuc design and the Palace is decorated with carvings and images honoring deities including The Descending God.  Create your own visitor map! |
