Everything about Yaxchilan totally explained
Yaxchilan (also sometimes historically referred to by the names
Menché and
City Lorillard) is an ancient
Maya city located on the
Usumacinta River in what is now the state of
Chiapas,
Mexico.
The ancient name for the city was probably
Pa' Chan.
Yaxchilan means "green stones" in Maya.
Ancient Yaxchilan
This was a large center, important throughout the Classic era, and the dominant power of the
Usumacinta River area. It dominated such smaller sites as
Bonampak, and was long allied with
Piedras Negras and at least for a time with
Tikal; it was a rival of
Palenque, with which Yaxchilan warred in
654. Yat-Balam, founder of a long dynasty, took the throne on 2 August, 320 when Yaxchilan was a minor site. The city-state grew to a regional capital and the dynasty lasted into the early
9th century. Yaxchilan had its greatest power during the long reign of King
Shield Jaguar II, who died in his 90s in
742.
Yaxchilan is known for the large quantity of excellent sculpture at the site, such as the
monolithic carved
stelas and the narrative stone
reliefs carved on
lintels spanning the temple doorways.
Rediscovery and modern history
The first published mention of the site seems to have been a brief mention by
Juan Galindo in
1833. Professor
Edwin Rockstoh of the
National College of Guatemala visited in
1881 and published another short account. Explorers
Alfred Maudslay and
Désiré Charnay arrived here within days of each other in
1882, and they published more detailed accounts of the ruins with drawings and photographs. Charnay dubbed the ruins "City Lorillard" in honor of
Pierre Lorillard who contributed to defray the expense of his expedition into the Maya zone.
Teoberto Maler visited the site repeatedly from
1897 to
1900 and published a detailed two volume description of Yaxchilan and nearby sites in
1903.
In
1931 Sylvanus Morley led a
Carnegie Institution expedition to Yaxchilan, mapped the site and discovered more monuments.
The Mexican
National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) conducted archeological research at Yaxchilan in
1972 -
1973, again in
1983, and further INAH work was conducted in the early
1990s.
Yaxchilan has long been difficult to reach other by river. Until recently, no roads existed within 100 miles. The only ways to get to the site were hundreds of miles by boat, or else by small plane. Since the construction of the
Border Highway by the Mexican Government in the early 1990s, it's possible for tourists to visit. To reach the site, it's necessary now only to take an hour long boat ride down the Usumacinta River from
Frontera Corozal.
Images
Image:Stele18YaxchilanMuseum.JPG|Stele 18 from Yaxchilan on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City
Image:Yaxchilan high.jpg|Temple 33 at Yaxchilan.
Image:Yaxchilan labyrinth bats.jpg|Bats in the unlighted labyrinth at Yaxchilan.
Image:Yaxchilanelves.jpg|Carving seen as one ascends to the Acropolis.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Yaxchilan'.
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