Mayapan
Mayapan (mayapan-yucatan-site)
Late Postclassic (Mayapan)·Maya (Yucatán)·🇲🇽 Mexico, Yucatán, Mexico
About
About Mayapan
Mayapan — last Maya capital (1220–1440 CE) with 8 km wall, 4,000 house platforms and Temple of Kukulkan replica. Walled city 4.2 km² destroyed by revolt 1440. Carnegie 1950s excavations reveal colonnaded halls and obsidian workshops. Last major lowland political capital with 4,000 structures inside wall and obsidian trade.
Why it mattersLast major Maya lowland political capital — 4,000 structures inside wall.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Mayapan wall encloses only elite — vs dispersed Chichén
Theories
- 01Mayapan as pan-Yucatán confederacy capital with Cocom dynasty
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.1220–1440 CE (Late Postclassic)
- Period
- Late Postclassic (Mayapan)
- Culture
- Maya (Yucatán)
- Purpose
- Walled capital with Temple of Kukulkan replica and 4,000 house platforms
- Abandoned
- c.1440 CE (revolt)
- Rediscovered
- 1841 Stephens/Catherwood; excavated 1950s Carnegie/ INAH
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1220–1440 CE (Late Postclassic)
Initial construction
c.900 CE
Major phase
1970s
Modern excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
20.6292° N · 89.4604° W · 17 m · 2 mapped features
Mayapan — Principal structure
structurePrimary structure at Mayapan
20.6302° N · 89.4594° WMayapan — Ancillary plaza
complexSecondary plaza at Mayapan
20.6281° N · 89.4612° W
Gallery