Ek Balam Essay

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Ek’ Balam Ek’ Balam is a Maya archaeological site of the Northern lowlands in the Yucatan peninsula about 51 kilometers northeast of Chichen Itza. Ek’ Balam was the seat of a Maya kingdom from the Preclassic until the Postclassic period. The site was occupied from the Middle Formative all the way through the early Hispanic periods. Beginning in the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic, the population grew and the city expanded throughout the following periods. Ek’ Balam eventually became the polity that constituted the region around the beginning of the Classic period. Ek’ Balam’s reached its height in power in the Terminal Classic around 770 to 840 CE. This is most notable for having the best preserved and abundant stucco sculptures and murals in all of the Yucatan. Ek Balam provides a rich resource of information for understanding northern Classic cities, due to the poor preservation of many other notable Maya sites for example Coba, Izamal and Edzna. It was during this height in power that the Lake Yumcab ceramic complex (750-1050/1100 CE) dominated the architecture and pottery of Ek’ Balam. Archaeological records confirm that the population decreased dramatically, down to 10% of its highest, during the Postclassic period as Ek’ Balam was slowly becoming vacant. Ek Balam is also known to of been somewhat occupied during the early Hispanic periods. The site is mentioned in a late-sixteenth century Relación Geográfica, an official inquiry held by the colonial government among local Spanish landowners. In the official inquiry reported that the site belonged to a kingdom call ‘Talol’ founded by an Ek’ Balam or Coch Cal Balam who had come from the East. According to the records, Ek Balam and the region surrounding the site was dominated by the aristocratic Cupul family. When traveling on the Sacbe toward the site the first thing to be seen is

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