Maya Yucatán: An Artist's Journey

Chapter Nine The Xuenkal Archaeological Project

Hacienda and pyramid at Xuenkal. 115 During the summer 2005 field season I finally made it to the Xuenkal Project, which was in its second season. Traci Ardren and Kam Manahan, old friends from the Yaxuná Project, began this research project in 2004 with surveys, mapping, and test pits, the usual first steps in any excavation design. The ruins of ancient Xuenkal (shuuwen-KAL) lie a short distance to the west of Espita, a small city in the less populated northern plains. The restored sites of Ek Balam twenty-five kilometers to the east and Chichén Itzá forty kilometers off to the southwest are the obvious places to consider ancient geopolitical interactions. The main thrust of the project’s research has been to determine the relationships that ancient Xuenkal may have had to these larger sites, particularly to Chichén Itzá, whose early dominance extended to the coast north of Xuenkal’s location. Their early findings through the 2007 chapter nine The Xuenkal Archaeological Project Ruined hacienda at Xuenkal. 116 / Chapter Nine season point firmly toward a Chichén Itzá–influenced settlement in the site center during the Terminal Classic and a wealthy Late Classic population—judging from the numerous rich burials and artifacts of that period. The project remains focused on this cultural transition in the region north of the Chichén Itzá polity, keeping in mind the key midposition of Xuenkal on the salt trade route from the north coast and the number of fertile rejolladas with their crops of cacao and other highly prized produce. The Xuenkal Project lives in town, which does not take much notice of the archaeology project based in one of its houses. Espita was once one of the largest and most important towns in Yucatán. Its heyday was during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when it was surrounded by a number of cattle haciendas and produced truck crops besides the ubiquitous corn and beans. In the The big pyramid at Xuenkal. The Xuenkal Archaeological Project / 117 Ruined church on the road to Tizimín. late twentieth century, the city of Tizimín, larger and a short distance to the northeast, overtook Espita as a cattle center as it was closer to the great pastures carved from the jungle forests. Its influence spread from there to the coast and further out to the sparsely populated eastern corner of the peninsula. Espita remains a stubbornly traditional Maya place. It is off the beaten tourist path and appears somewhat sleepy, especially in that afternoon time when the sun is still hot and the clouds have not released rain yet. Although the buildings of the central town have fallen into melancholy disrepair, the habits of the past three centuries remain strong except, perhaps, strict adherence to the church. One night they began the high school graduation party in the town plaza, and although they were about four blocks from our house, the dance music kept me up until about four in the morning. I noted 118 / Chapter Nine with interest that they played the Numa Numa Dance, that Romanian disco tune that became an international hit. I had never heard the long version before. 2005 Xuenkal Field Season Diary Excerpts Wednesday, June 29: Oxkutzcab, Muna, Mérida, Light Overcast I left Oxkutzcab for good in midmorning, shaking hands with the proprietor of the Hotel Puuc on the way out. At Muna I missed Travis by an hour. He had gone off with Pipo and Rodrigo Morales to Uxmal, eventually back to Oxkutzcab to search for ancient clay sources.1 Arrived at the Hotel Trinidad after noon, my bohemian hangout in Mérida, then to lunch at the Portico del Peregrino. Thursday, June 30: Mérida to Espita, Partly Cloudy to Sunny to Downpour On the way to Espita I stopped in Motul to photograph the church there. Motul is another big Maya town, perhaps twenty thousand people. This is the first time I’ve driven this road. The northern tier is more empty and open, the road almost deserted with less topes along the way. Along the road from Motul to Buctzotz some acres of henequen are growing. The road from Buctzotz to Sucila shows the vast cleared lands of the cattle ranchers. Highway signs warn of fog. The road from Sucila to Espita is a back road with the...