Tulum – The distant past

Without the presence of a river or a lake on the arid limestone plateau of theYucatán Peninsula, a natural well was and still is the only possibility of survival. It is therefore the reason why all villages, whether they are ancient or modern, are located close to a « cenote » (well).  This is the case for Tulum.  Around the 10th century the ancient Mayan culture collapsed and big cities were abandoned. The chaos that followed favored the arrival of foreign tribes who were attracted by a different culture.

On the other side of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the marsh and the deltas of the coastal plains of Tabasco and Campeche, lived trader-navigators called the Poutouns. The Poutouns were associated with Mayan language and culture and mixed with the Náhuas people, with whom they assimilated their culture.

Business intermediates were to be found amongst the Mayas and the Náhuas. They sailed up the rivers in their canoes, continued through the forest carrying obsidian and jade stones that they then swapped for cocoa, quetzal feathers and other sought after products found throughout the Mexican highlands.The abandon of the classic cities and the chaos that followed led to the introduction of shipping to the detriment of road transportation which was considered too dangerous at the time.  The Poutons soon controlled the regions’ cocoa manufacturers stretching from the Honduras Caribbean Coast toYucatán. Small seaports were set up and populated in order to receive fleets of traders and to stock the goods.  This was the case for Tulum.

Right picture : »El Castillo » (in the foreground) , then the Temple of the God of Wind (in the background)

Left picture : Small bay previously the Tulum port (Temple of the God of Wind)

The first constructions

Coming from the Mexican highlands, the Toltecs settled in Chichén Itzá, with the supposed accompaniment of the Poutons. They brought with them many innovations to local art as well as the worship of Quetzalcóatl (Kukulkán).Chichén Itzá was, in fact, a city dedicated to Venus, a form derived from Quetzalcóatl, God of Dawn and Day but also God of West and Night, who brought with him the light and life, corn and agriculture, knowledge of the calendar and writing. The influence of the Toltecs soon reached the Caribbean Coast. They created an Empire where the styles and interests were common. The first constructions of Tulum show some of this influence within their sculptures, murals and stucco casts. You can observe proofs of the worship of Quetzalcóatl, often represented in its early morning form of Venus with the feet positioned towards the sky.

Right picture : Tulum Temple of the Descending God

The first sanctuaries and the palaces built by the trader-navigators were located in the same place as the current ones but like almost every other Mayan construction, at a later date they were partially covered with new constructions.

Such was the case for the temple of Frescoes where you can see a stucco sculpture of the Descending God in the oldest uncovered part of the temple. It is also the case for the Castillo and the Temple of the Descending God with blue turquoise frescoes on a black background. The « codex » style of the murals recalls the pictorial art of the Mayan manuscripts. The corners of the roof take the shape of Itzamná’s mask, Creator God with an old man’s face. In this temple, the frescoes and the prehispanic codex are some of the most important sources used for the study of the ancient Mayan religion within the Post-Classic Period.

The Castillo

The Mayan cities were mainly sanctuaries, with temples and palaces. The most important people lived there. They were surrounded by guards and servants while the people lived in the surroundings, in thatched huts.  A road allows access from the large ceremonial place to other buildings. “El Castillo” is the highest monument in all of Tulum.

North of the large «Castillo » temple, there is a small beach for the canoes to dock. We know that other points of the coast were also set up as seaports, such as Tankah, Kehla, Polé and the Cozumel Island. These seaports were linked to the inland cities by paved roads called « sacbé” which means paved or white road. Two of these roads were discovered in Tulum, one leading to Nabalam, the other leading to Cobá.

The “Castillo” or the temple dedicated to Vénus, the morning star, turns its back to the sea, probably in order to protect itself from the bad weather conditions in a cyclonic area. It was modified several times. The big stairs leading to a temple are supported by serpent shaped columns, which resemble the architecture found in Chichén Itzá.

In the main part of the temple, three holes occupied by stucco figurines can be found in the border. The central figurine represents the omnipresent Descending God (or Bee God) in Tulum.

On the north side, the temple of the Descending God preserves the best example of the “Descending God” in a small niche molded into the roof. In the middle of the place, a small covered altar, typical of the area, looks like a canopy. Take the south exit to go closer to the coast and discover a wonderful view of the sea.

The structure is a small monument located on a pyramid platform. The door to the temple, slightly larger at the base and mounted on a readjusted lintel reveals the narrow confines of the temple. Inside the temple, a painted mural is situated on the far wall which has faded slightly however one can still see drawings comparable to those found on the Temple of Frescoes. Despite the erosion, one can still appreciate some vertical and horizontal panels which allow for the imagination of intertwining serpents. These form a grid of female figurines in a seating position. Other sitting Gods are also represented whilst receiving gifts from those worshipping them.

Right picture : Temple of Frescoes in the foreground, « El Castillo » in the background and to the left, The Temple of the Descending God

At the beginning of the 13th century, Chichén Itzá lost its predominance and was replaced by Mayapán, and the dynasty of the Cocoms (a supposed branch of the Poutons who seized power). The reign of the Cocoms corresponded with another time of troubles.  Insecurities led to the construction of walls around their city, this was also carried out by the other cities in the peninsula. The wall of Tulum is 3 to 5 metres high (10 to 16 feet); it has  5 small doors only, two at the north side, two at the south side and one at the west side, facing towards the forest. The west door is the current entrance to the site. It has a rectangular shape of 380 m X 165 m (1247 X 541 feet). The city never had more than 600 inhabitants, priests and dignitaries living inside it’s walls whilst the remainder of the population stayed outside.

The Temple of the God of Wind

Also known by the name of Structure 45, this building has a square base and was built on natural sloping ground. It has been raised with the use of bedrock with rounded corners. In the middle, the stairway leads to a single doorway. The main side of the building is decorated with a simple cornice formed of two straight strips and devoid of ornaments. It is thought that this building, surrounding by stone and dry land was dedicated to Kukulcán, in his role as the God of Wind (Ehécatl-Quetzalcóatl, divinité náhuatl).

The Apogee

Because of its fortified position on the top of a cliff, Zama-Tulum became the most important seaport on the Coast. From this port, local products were exported, such as honey, wax, salt, cotton weavings, incense, fish, dye, plants, etc.  Obsidian objects, jade ornaments, quetzal feathers, amber, turquoise, cocoa, metals and slaves all arrived at this port.

The Decadence

In 1441, when Mayapán fell, the economy of Yucatán collapsed and with it, so did the power of the big trading cities. The rich merchants from Cozumel, Xelha and Tulum headed to the south, to the centers producing cocoa, where they already owned huge properties, or to the old provinces of Campeche and Tabasco. These places were still very important when the Spanish arrived on the Coast. In fact, these seaports were the only ports within Mayan cities that were still inhabited at the time.

When he discovered the coast in 1518, Juan Diaz, the columnist of the Grivalja expedition, wrote: « […] the following day, at sunset, we caught sight of a city or village so big that Seville could no longer seem larger or better, there we also saw a high tower (pyramid)… » (Séville was then the largest city in Spain).
The true decline of Tulum began with the Spanish colonization. The Spanish boats were, by far, bigger than the Indian canoes  In this respect, the European merchants soon superseded their Mayan rivals.

The value of objects also changed, steel replaced the obsidian. The new religion eradicated ritual objects. The merchants became farmers in a region where farming and agriculture was almost impossible.

Left picture : Temple of the God of Wind

Step by step, the coastal cities were abandoned. There were epidemics and the survivors fled inland. The wild Indian raids on Central America also contributed to the depopulation. On the map belonging to Juan de Dios Gonzalez, drawn in 1766, Tulum was only a reference. Tulum was gone…. Nowadays, we are sure that the Mayas perfectly mastered astronomy, mathematics and a writing system whose decoding is still in progress. But, it might be the knowledge of the secrets of shipping that played a predominant role in the influence of Tulum as a trade city, sentinel and lighthouse, located close to the sea.

In September 2006, a skeleton whose origin seems to date back 10,000 years ago or even predate the Mayas was discovered in the archaeological zone. The anthropologists found it with 3 other remaining skeletons about 100 meters deep inside a close by well. Recall that specialists of INAH have been on the site since 1999 and discovered more than 100 skeletons belonging to different times of Mayan culture and more than 50 pots and other ruins.

The last published studies show that Tulum was undoubtedly one of the main Mayan trade cities and one of the most important maritime resource exploitation centers in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was the place to go to for all trade routes and for the exploitation of maritime resources of the Coast of Quintana Roo.  From a politic point of view, Tulum was independent of the other provinces until its depopulation due to the arrival of the Spanish at the 16th century.Open daily 7AM-5PM, MXN$51 in Tulum and daily 8AM-6PM, MXN$51 in Cobá.