A Photographer’s Guide to the Puuc Route
By Eric Seale
Seldom Scene Photography, Inc.
Smashwords Edition
Copyright and Other Legalities
Copyright © 2011 Seldom Scene Photography, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide, including resale rights. You are not allowed to give or sell this eBook to anyone else, in whole or in part. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without written permission from the author.
Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability or responsibility for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.
This guide is written for individuals pursuing recreational activities. As all such activities inherently contain an element of risk (limestone steps, for instance, are notoriously slippery when wet), the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book.
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Appendix A – An introduction to Maya history
Appendix B – Architecture of Maya ruins
Appendix C – References and other material
This eBook is one in a series of guidebooks written and published by Seldom Scene Photography, Inc. I wrote them to help photographers (whether professional or amateur) make the most of their time at a variety of Maya ruins, as well as to help you decide just how much gear (and what gear) you need to take in order to accomplish your goals.
This eBook is not intended to be a full-fledged tour guidebook, so you won’t find information about local hotels, quaint shopping areas, exciting exotic local events, etc. It’s also not an archaeology or history book, so I’ll give you just enough of this material to help you put your surroundings in context.
But every eBook in the series will give you...
• A short list of sights to see if time is tight
• Tips on items of interest in the ruins, particularly things that may not be so obvious
• Enough historical and cultural background to help you make sense of what you see
• Suggestions on what lenses and other photographic gear you might want to take
Should you need a bit of background information about Maya history and architecture, please refer to the appendices, which briefly cover this material. Also note that supplemental material for this eBook (including expanded versions of the appendices, and essays on travel to the tropics) is hosted on the Seldom Scene Photography website. See Appendix C for more on this topic.
Since the countries now sited on Maya territory use the metric system (as does the majority of the globe), this eBook gives preference to metric units. I also, though, include imperial equivalents in parentheses for the convenience of fellow U.S. residents.
This eBook includes example images of the structures seen at this site. For each, I’ve identified the camera settings used when making the photograph, as well as the lighting conditions at the time (full sun, bright shade, etc.). Note that I specify lens focal length in terms of a full frame (35 mm) equivalent; if you’re using a DSLR with a cropped sensor, you’ll need to do the math appropriate to convert this to your camera’s system.
The term “Puuc” (from the Mayan for “hill”) has a number of uses in the Yucatán peninsula. Given the flatness of the peninsula, a range of hills here is a big deal, so a string of them running northwest to southeast is known (a bit redundantly) as the Puuc hills. A swath of countryside along the south of these hills is known as the Puuc region, while a set of architectural styles found in Maya sites in that region are referred to as Puuc architecture.
The Puuc hills have some of the most fertile land in the Yucatan, but they have no surface water and only a smattering of wet caves. So while the Puuc was sparsely settled by 300 AD, the lack of permanent water sources precluded dense settlement until the technology (chultunes, see Appendix B) necessary to store seasonal rainwater was either invented or imported. People migrated to the region over generations as the Classic era cities to the south gradually imploded, then left later when developments in Chichén Itzá politically and economically cut off the region from the Mesoamerican mainstream. As a result, the Puuc cities grew, thrived, and withered away within a roughly 300-year period.
A visitor can fairly easily track the history of Puuc sites through developments in their local architecture (see also Appendix B). Among the four sites in this eBook, the earliest architecture you’ll see belongs to the Early Puuc style (circa 670 - 770 AD), built with plain walls with just a decorative band over doors. The majority of Puuc structures were built in one (or sometimes both) of two later closely related styles, occasionally grouped together as “Puuc Classic” architecture. Colonnette style (770 - 830 AD), also labeled “Junquillo” (reed) style in Spanish and possibly derived from Chenes and Río Bec architecture to the south, features column-shaped veneers on upper and lower walls. Mosaic style (830 - 1000 AD) includes some Colonnette features along with façades built from mosaic pieces, often reflecting themes from central Mexico. Later architectural innovations in the Puuc were confined to Uxmal, and appear to show increasing influence from central Mexico before construction in the area abruptly halts.
Politically, the Puuc city-states seem to have been run by a modified version of the old Classic era system. Power was centralized, but not to the degree as was seen before -- and power here doesn’t seem to have been personified in the king the way it was in Classic era cities. Carved monuments sometimes depict rulers as warriors, dressed in Classic-style paraphernalia (as on Stella 14 at Uxmal). But the layout and architecture of Puuc palaces seem to reflect a more distributed allocation of power. In the Puuc, royal palaces and tombs have given way to administrative complexes.
There’s no simple explanation for what spelled the end of Puuc cities, but their decline closely parallels the expansion of Chichén Itzá. Given the Itzá’s coastal trading network, the Puuc cities could have merely been bypassed by the prosperity brought by the new network. Military conquest (or at least, conflict) may well have been part of the package, but the end of the Puuc cities may have been driven more by cultural and economic forces. As the Classic era wound down, Maya mercantile society shifted its focus from trade in luxury goods for the elites (as in the Classic) to trade in more basic commodities like salt and cocoa. Between that shift, and the growth of the newly dominant coastal trade routes, the Puuc cities may have died with a whimper -- a sad, wasting death as they were gradually rendered irrelevant to the new system.
The Puuc sites are strung along two well-maintained highways south and east of Uxmal, starting less than a 90 minute drive from Mérida. This guide discusses the ruins in the order that you’d come across them when driving south from Uxmal.
Kabah is 22 km (14 miles) southeast of Uxmal along Highway 261. The (well-marked) turnoff from Highway 261 to the smaller “Puuc Route” road is about 4 km (2.5 miles) south of Kabah; the ruins of Sayil are about 3 km (2 miles) east of the turnoff. Xlapak is about 4 km (2.5 miles) east of Sayil, then Labná is another 3 km (1-3/4 miles) past Xlapak.
If you’re staying in Mérida and have a car, with an early start you can see Uxmal and the Puuc Route sites in a full day. You’ll need to take plenty of water (no less than 3 to 4 liters per person), and snacks or a sack lunch (food is only sporadically available along this route). From my perspective, a self-guided tour is preferable to tour busses, which rarely give you more than 30 minutes to explore each of these smaller sites.
If you have a GPS navigator, the coordinates of the sites’ parking lots are as follows:
Kabah -- 20°14.940’ N, 89°38.892’W
Sayil -- 20°10.761’ N, 89°39.171’W
Xlapak -- 20°10.560'N, 89°36.383' W
Labná -- 20°10.504’N, 89°34.743’W
All prices I quote in this guide are current as of 2011; for updates, please see the INAH’s web page at http://www.inah.gob.mx/index.php/zonas-arqueologicas (it’s in Spanish, but easy to figure out even if you don’t know much of the language). Use of a camcorder requires an extra fee of M$45, paid at entry.
Meanwhile, remember that Mexico treats its Maya ruins as outdoor museums -- so tripods are not allowed without first paying a substantial fee, and filling out a significant amount of paperwork in person in Mexico City.
Kabah is the second largest Puuc ruin after Uxmal, the full site covers about 5 square kilometers (1.9 square miles), while the site core covers about 1 square kilometer (0.4 square miles). Due to the relative lack of reconstruction work done here, the site looks much smaller to the visitor than these numbers would indicate. An 18 kilometer (11 mile) sacbé connects Kabah to Uxmal (by way of Nohpat), and a text at the site includes the name of Chan Chak K’ak’nal Ajaw of Uxmal, so the two sites are thought to have been linked politically in some way.
Kabah is apparently an ancient name for the site, but its derivation is uncertain -- some experts think it derives from the Mayan for “strong hand,” while others think it comes from “the hand that chisels” or other similar expressions. In any event, Kabah was at least thinly settled between 600 and 300 BC, but most of the visible architecture was built between 800 and 1000 AD. Only two carved dates at the site are found in the archaeological literature -- one corresponding to 879 AD, the other (one of the latest carved in the Maya Classic style) corresponding to 987 AD. The nearest permanent water source is some 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to the south, so a huge number of chultunes were built at the site to store seasonal rainwater. The last major construction at the site completed around 1000 AD, and it’s thought that the site was largely abandoned shortly after that.
Kabah first came to the attention of the outside world with Stephens’ and Catherwood’s account of it in 1843. Two major reconstruction campaigns have since taken place -- one in the 1950s, and another one in the 1990s.
Kabah is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, admission costs M$43. Highway 261 runs right through the center of the ruins; the parking lot is on the west side of the road, while the ticket booth is on the east (as are most of the major structures). If at all possible, allow yourself two hours to walk this site.
From the parking lot, cross the highway to the east, and walk south from the entrance along the road to get started.
(Palace of the Masks, Structure 2C6)
One of the most prominent buildings (and definitely the best known) at Kabah is the Codz Poop. The name comes from the Mayan for "rolled mat," thought to be a reference to coiled snout steps into the structure’s inner rooms. The building has 27 rooms wrapped around 4 sides of a solid core, all sitting (along with a courtyard to its west) on a man-made terrace. Normally the building’s core would support a second level, but a roof comb was apparently built in lieu of extra rooms (or was built to fill and decorate the space until second level rooms were needed). Restoration work began on this structure in the 1950s, and seems to have been ongoing intermittently ever since.
Codz Poop from the west
EXIF: 14 mm, f/13, 1/320 sec., ISO 200 (full sun)
It’s an impressive building, 45 meters (148 feet) long and 6 meters (20 feet) high. Its main (western) façade is completely covered with hundreds of masks built mosaic-style of mass-produced limestone pieces. It’s a unique if somewhat overdone example of Puuc Mosaic (830 - 1000 AD) architecture. Each mask is made from 30 separate pieces; archaeologists differ as to whether the masks depict the rain god Chaac, or a Witz mountain monster. Either way it’s an amazing piece of work, and the only structure of its type yet found. Some sources speculate that the two holes in the bridge of each mask’s nose were used as oil lamps in the building’s heyday -- imagine what it would have looked like with the facade fully lit on a dark Yucatán night.
5 pairs of rooms are on the building’s west side; each is in line behind one of 5 external doors. The coiled snout of a Chaac / Witz mask forms the step into each pair’s inner room. You can no longer enter any of the structure’s rooms, but you can peek in through the external doors.
You’ve got plenty of open space to the west of the building to get a good shot of the building’s whole front face; you can also get up close to take more detailed images of the façade’s mosaic pieces. The structure’s roof comb was restored in 1991, but you’ll need to be well to the building’s west (and have a long lens) to be able to photograph it.
There’s a chultún to the west of the building, but its cap is modern, so it’s not the best photographic example of its kind. There’s also a small rectangular platform here -- the Altar of the Glyphs (Structure 2B2). This platform is edged with stones that have hieroglyphs carved on them in bas-relief. When found by Stevens, its stones “lay scattered about,” so it has since been completely reconstructed. Depending on the lighting you have, you can get some good close-ups of carvings on its sides.
Spend some time strolling through the fallen fragments of the building’s upper façade that are laid out in sorted piles (note that only the north end of the upper façade is still in place on the structure). You’ve got material for all sorts of close-up images with any camera here. South of the Codz Poop’s west courtyard is Structure 2B3. It’s largely in ruins, but if you’re allowed to climb its steps, it makes a great place from which to photograph this face of the Codz Poop.
Codz Poop from the east (2-image panorama)
EXIF: 14 mm, f/4, 1/3200 sec., ISO 200 (sun and bright shade)
The north and south ends of the Codz Poop have collapsed (little left to see here), but you can circle around the north side of the building to get to its rear (east) side. This face of the building is only slightly less impressive than the west side, with stucco figures on a latticework frieze -- these are most easily photographed from the lower courtyard with a 100 mm or longer lens. The figures look more Toltec than Mayan, another indication of influence from the north when these carvings were made.
At the top of the east steps, the main door’s jambs (side panels) depict scenes of battle, prisoner capture, and celebratory dancing. The figures in the carvings are using central Mexican weapons, likely another sign of central Mexican influence near the end of Kabah’s occupation. When we visited, much of the area near the doorway was blocked off, making photography of the jambs difficult. Hopefully you’ll be luckier than we were.
Head down the steps into the courtyard to the northeast of the Codz Poop; our next stop is on its east side.
(Structure 2C2)
Built around 800 AD, Kabah’s Palace is probably the most nearly complete building on the site. The Palace has 32 rooms, 16 on each of two levels, more than half still have their ceilings. This structure and its courtyard neighbors had serious restoration work done in the early 1990s.
The Palace, up close
EXIF: 14 mm, f/4, 1/3200 sec., ISO 200 (sun and bright shade)
The Palace’s architecture (Classic Puuc Colonnette, 770 - 830 AD) is a good example of the transition from the relatively plain early Puuc style to the more ornamented late Puuc style. What’s left of the building’s roof comb resembles that of the Codz Poop. The building’s lower level is largely collapsed, while the upper level is in good shape. The front of the upper level has seven doors; two are divided by columns (doorways supported by columns are a recurring feature in Puuc architecture).
Palace courtyard (4-image 180 degree panorama)
EXIF: 14 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec., ISO 200 (full sun)
You can wander around the Palace nearly freely, great views are to be had of the building both up close and from a distance. You can also get nice shots of the surrounding buildings from the Palace’s top steps. You can walk through the half-vaults under the steps of both the Palace as well as its neighbor to the south.
The courtyard in front of (to the west of) the Palace is ringed by a number of other buildings you can wander around (and in some cases, through). Structure 2C1 is to the courtyard’s north, Structure 2C3 (thought to be an elite residence) is to the south. Structure 2C3 was once a two-level building; the top level’s in ruins, but its first level is open to exploration. If you can climb the north steps of 2C3, it makes a great platform for photography of the Palace.
An altar (in the form of a small isolated column) is in the center of a ceremonial platform in the middle of the plaza. Scattered around it in the plaza are stone rings, each forming the mouth of a chultún.
(Structure 1C1)
A path from the north end of the Palace platform leads east 250 meters (820 feet) through the trees to another palace-type structure. This building is 36 meters (120 feet) long, has five west-facing doorways, and gets its nickname from mosaic columns between its doorways and a façade covered with decorative colonnettes. As with the Palace, this structure was built in Classic Puuc Colonnette style (770 - 830 AD). The path to this structure was closed on our visit; if it’s open when you are there, be careful of two chultunes along the path just west of the temple.
Another path leading north and east from the Palace’s courtyard along a drainage ends at a structure undergoing reconstruction (as of mid-2011). I haven’t been able to find any information about it.
When you’re done here, retrace your steps to the Palace and Kodz Poop, cross back over the road and go past the parking lot to get to the west side of the ancient site.
(Portal Vault, Structure 1B1)
200 meters (660 feet) west of the parking lot, Kabah has a large arch with a sacbé (raised causeway, see Appendix B) connecting it with Uxmal to the northwest, by way of Nohpat. This sacbé is a classic -- 19 kilometers (12 miles) long, 5 - 10 meters (16 - 32 feet) wide, at places more than 6 meters (20 feet) thick, with a monumental arch at each end.
The arch from the south
EXIF: 14 mm, f/4, 1/3200 sec., ISO 200 (sun and bright shade)
This arch was executed in the relatively plain Early Puuc style, nearly free of ornamentation with plain walls and just a thin horizontal molding. Based on its architectural style, the arch (and possibly the sacbé too) can be dated to between 670 and 770 AD. 6 meters (20 feet) tall, the arch serves primarily as a symbolic marker for the starting point of the sacbé to Uxmal. When first discovered, the top of the vault had fallen; it has been restored / rebuilt since 1980.
You can walk all around the arch, so photography of it doesn’t really place many demands on your gear. Red-colored handprints can still be seen on the arch’s inner masonry blocks; these make an interesting bit of history to capture. There’s a short stairway on the north side of the arch, and a gentle ramp on the south side.
(Structure 1B2, Principal Teocalis)
The Great Pyramid is what’s left of a multi-tiered structure with rounded corners, a broad stairway on its south face and a four-roomed temple at its top. This building (and two small structures at its base) face south, toward the center of the site’s monumental buildings.
The Great Pyramid
EXIF: 20 mm, f/4, 1/3200 sec., ISO 200 (full sun)
The Great Pyramid is entirely unrestored, essentially a conical mound of debris. Meanwhile the vegetation surrounding it is quite healthy -- so despite its impressive size, the structure makes a bad photographic subject from ground level (and you’re not allowed to climb it). You can get some decent shots of it with a long lens from the Codz Poop platform, but it still looks more like a large hill than the impressive structure it once was.
Sayil (a modern name derived from the Mayan for “place of the leaf-cutter ants”) is another deceptively large Puuc city. It’s an extensive site, sprawling over a large valley and its surrounding hills, but only a handful of core buildings have been restored and are open to visitors. So the site looks much smaller than it really is, thanks to a relative lack of excavation and restoration.