El Palmar — Second Temple Plaza (Jimbal–Palmar)
El Palmar Campeche Second Plaza
Late Classic 550–850 CE·Maya (Río Bec–Chenes–Central Petén blend)·🇲🇽 Campeche, Calakmul hinterland, Mexico
About
About El Palmar — Second Temple Plaza (Jimbal–Palmar)
Second plaza 600 m southeast of main El Palmar hieroglyphic stairway Plaza (600–950 CE): 15 m pyramidal platform with vaulted temple, hieroglyphic altar recording Wak–El Palmar alliance vs Tikal, marsh causeway to bajos, prolific Copo ceramic. Kenichiro Tsukamoto shows Palmar as secondary capital controlling Tikal–Calakmul corridor, with 44 stelae and 200 structures over 5 km². Looted main plaza, second plaza intact.
Why it mattersCaptures Tikal–Calakmul great-power rivalry from buffer perspective; altar texts decode alliance switching.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Which stela records Wak marriage alliance
- 02Second plaza as refuge after main falls
Theories
- 01El Palmar as hinge buffer state switching hegemons
- 02Causeway as military march road
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.550–850 CE
- Period
- Late Classic 550–850 CE
- Culture
- Maya (Río Bec–Chenes–Central Petén blend)
- Builders
- Maya (El Palmar polity)
- Purpose
- Secondary administrative plaza and alliance recording center
- Abandoned
- c.950 CE
- Rediscovered
- 1930s Ruppert notes stela; Tsukamoto 2007–
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
600
Main hieroglyphic stairway dedicated
750
Second plaza causeway and pyramid
On the ground
Structures & features
18.0967° N · 89.3331° W · 280 m · 2 mapped features
Second Pyramid Temple
pyramid15 m vaulted pyramid with altar hieroglyphs
18.0970° N · 89.3330° WMarsh Causeway
causewayCauseway crossing bajos to main Palmar group
18.0960° N · 89.3335° W