Yaxchilán

History

During the Maya Classic period (AD 300-900), Yachilán was, together with Palenque (Chiapas), Piedras Negras 60km/37mi downstream, Tikal and Quirigua (all in Guatemala) and Copán (Honduras), one of the great religious and political centres of the central lowland area of the Maya empire. At the time of its greatest flowering in the 8th c., Yaxchilán seems, as far as can be gathered from glyphs which have been deciphered, to have ruled a number of other places in the surrounding area, e.g. Bonampak. Recently it has been possible to decipher glyphs which outline the chronicle of a dynasty, the legendary founder of which, "Jaguar penis" (Yat Balam), is thought to have ruled in ad 320. Some 130 monuments have been dated between AD 514 (stela 27) and AD 808 (lintel 10), three-quarters of which fall within the reigns of "Shield Jaguar" (AD 647-742, from 681 regent) and "Bird Jaguar II" (AD 709-771?, from 752 regent). Then follows "Shield Jaguar II" (AD 752-806?, from 771 regent). In common with all other sites in the Maya central region, Yaxchilán was abandoned, for reasons unknown, in the 9th c. AD. Until a few years ago nomadic Lacandon Indians still celebrated their ancient rites in the ruins of the temple palaces here.

Edwin Rockstroh was the first person to reach Yaxchilán from Guatemala in 1881; however, it was left to the Englishman Alfred P. Maudslay to discover the site for science one year later. He named the place Menché (Maya: "green tree"). With the approval of the Guatemalan government, which at that time was considered responsible for this area, Maudslay had seven door-lintels removed and these are now on display in the British Museum in London. Soon afterwards the Frenchman Désiré Charnay arrived, but it was the Austrian Teobert Maler, who worked here between 1897 and 1900, who gave the site its present name of Yaxchilán (Maya: "place of the green stones") which he took from the nearby river of the same name. At the beginning of the 20th c. the American archaeologists A.M. Tozzer, S.G. Morley and H. Spinden carried out scientific work here, while in the last few years valuable restoration work has been undertaken by the Mexican I.N.A.H. under the direction of Roberto García Moll.

The Ruins

Before visiting the site it is essential to consult the local tourist offices in order to ascertain conditions at the site and its accessibility. It is advisable to engage the services of a knowledgeable guide on the spot and to take appropriate equipment.

Overview

Only a very small proportion of the buildings, which are scattered along the Río Usumacinta and on the surrounding hills, have been excavated and restored. Most are still overgrown or, having been cleared, are now the property of the jungle again, so that access is very difficult. The groups of buildings are set out stepwise in four rows which stretch out from the river bank over the hilly ground to the west. The buildings display no particular architectural features; there are fewer pyramid temples than palaces, most of which have three entrances and two parallel passages. The upper parts of the facades and the protruding roof-crests (cresterías) were once decorated with stucco and stone figures. As with the large Maya site of Palenque the roofs exhibit the so-called "mansard effect", with the roof combs rising in the middle.

Of great significance in Yaxchilán are the unique elaborate yet powerfully crafted reliefs which were carved into the stelae, altars, door-lintels and steps. So far, inscriptions have been found on no fewer than 125 of these stone panels. Their dates range from ad 454 to 807. The reliefs often show two figures, which apparently symbolise a change of power. The greater, more important personage has his face in profile, while his body and legs are represented frontally and his feet turned outwards. The second, considerably smaller figure is represented completely in profile. Other pictures in stone show prisoners, battle scenes, consecrational and sacrificial rites. Among the latter there is a preponderance of pictures of rulers and their consorts with barbed cords cutting through their tongues and genitalia. In the last few years the research work carried out by H. Berlin and T. Proskouriakoff has succeeded in partially deciphering the glyphs and thereby confirming the long-held suspicion that, in this unique way, historical events and personalities are being immortalised.

Quite a number of the stelae and altars are damaged or, together with many of the reliefs, have been transferred to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City or abroad.