The Mayan Ruins of Tulum

Tulum is a Mayan ruin located on the east(Caribbean) coast of the Yucatan peninsula. It is perched on the top of the cliffs with its back to the sea. It is easily accessed from either Cozumel or Cancun and is therefore visited by many tourists.There is a resort area near the ruins and a beautiful beach below the cliff on which the ruins perch.

Tulum was constructed between 1200 and 1400 AD, and was first mentioned by the Spanish in 1518. It was a walled city on three sides with the cliff  as the fourth side. Apparently it was a port for the Mayas, receiving canoes and sending them out with trade goods. Obsidian was one of the important trade items. Tulum was occupied by the Mayans at the time of the Spanish arrival, but by 1600 was abandoned.

Below are three photos of the Caribbean from the Tulum cliffside, just outside the walls. The second photo shows the Castillo on top of the cliff, while the third shows some guy parasailing(?)

The next two photos show a view from just outside the wall with the Castillo in the center.

The two photos below are of the Palace.

The photos below are of the Castillo. When we were there no one was allowed to climb the steps.

The photos below are of the Temple of the Diving or Descending God. Roberta and I thought it looked like the descent of the birth canal.

The photo blow shows the remains of a mural on the wall of one of the buildings. As you can see there is no appreciable color left.

In the photo above you can see intact plaster with some streaks of red color still present. Below are two photos of some of the ruins from a different vantage point.

The final photo is of a very large lizard perched on top of the outer wall.  As a desert dweller I have seen lots of lizards, but this guy was BIG.

Tulum is a very beautiful place. Just think of what it looked like in 1490, with all the murals and brightly painted plaster on the building walls, sitting on a cliff above the beautiful Caribbean.

Hovenweep National Monument

Hovenweep National monument is located on the Utah-Colorado border just north of the Four Corners of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. There are the remains of six Anasazi villages located along a small canyon. The Anasazi, also called Ancient Puebloans, built these between about 1200 and 1300 AD. The unique things about the construction at Hovenweep is the number of towers they built and the quality of their masonry. Some of them were built on large boulders or outcroppings of rock and so have managed to stay standing. Before they left, sometime around 1300-1350, there were about 2500 people living in the Hovenweep area. No one knows for sure why they left; drought, overuse of the resources and/or enemy predations or a combination of these and other factors have all been suggested. It is thought that these people are the ancestors of today's Pueblo people.

Above are the remains of two towers built on substantial rocks. These are quite close to the visitor center. The function of the various towers is uncertain. They are often associated with kivas, so may have been ceremonial. They may also have been living quarters, used for storage, or used for defense. They may have started out as one thing and then morphed into something else.

The ruin above looks to me like it is some sort of rock crocodile or something similar. At first it appeared to have  fallen but if you look closely the wall on the far left is perpendicular. I think this structure was built on a piece of rock already tilting to the right. Below is another interesting structure. This one is built inside the rock, so it looks like it is being swallowed by some prehisoriac beast.

The first two photos below are of lichens found growing on the rocks and sometimes on the masonry in the area. I love the orange and turquoise colors. The third photo is of some small high desert flowers. The photos were taken in mid April; the elevation is about 5800 feet.

The photo above is part of a ruin called Hovenweep Castle. The wall below is a remaining part of a round structure, could have been a tower or even a kiva. Note the masonry with the use of the small rocks in the mortar lines. Very attractive.

The two photos above are of a ruin called Square Tower. This ruin sits in the botton of the canyon, built on a substantial rock outcropping. There are the remains of a small dam in the creek bottom just to the right of the tower. This ruin is located at the north east end of the canyon.

This is as far as the Old Cowboy made it on this venture. The rest of the photos shown below were taken with my camera by my wife or the OWH. A few days before we left home the Old Cowboy tripped and fell flat on the sidewalk in front of his house. I lay there awhile sunning myself but decided I hadn't hit my head and nothing else appeared to be broken so I got up and went on about my business. I thought I was fine. By the time we drove the 440 miles to Blanding, Utah I was quite stiff. The trails around Hovenweep are uneven and rocky, so when we got to the Square Tower I was in a world of hurt. I gave my camera to my wife and went back to the visitors center. That ended my walking around. After we got home I did a lot of heat therapy and am fine now.

From the visitors center we drove abut 4 miles into Colorado and two other areas of the Hovenweep monument. The photos below are of that area. Below is a tower , again built on a large rock outcropping. The second photo shows the door up close.

The photo above is of a rectangular building or tower built on the canyon rim.

An up close look at the masonry.

It was cloudy the whole time we were there--until we left to come home, of course. Oh, well. You just have to play the hand you're dealt.

Chaco Canyon

Chaco Canyon National Historical Park is a National Park Service site that contains the largest collection of stone masonry ruins north of Mexico. It dates from about 850 AD to 1250 AD. It was built and populated by people referred to as Anasazi by the Utes and Navajos, which means "enemy ancestors" or "ancient ones." These people are thought to have been the ancestors of modern Pueblo peoples and are also referred to as "ancient or ancestral Puebloans".

Chaco is located in the four corners area of New Mexico southeast of Farmington. It is about 6200 feet elevation. The climate is high desert, with an average of about 9 inches of rain per year. Temperatures range from well below zero in the winter to 102 or so in the summer. Water is not plentiful in this area. Scientists say that the climate has not changed appreciably since the Chacoans setled there. One of the great mysteries to me is why? Why settle here instead of a more hospitable area?

The Anasazi culture included the Mesa Verde, Betatakin, Aztec, Hovenweep, and Canyon de Chelly villages and people. Chaco Canyon with its villages, called Great Houses, numerous kivas and dwellings is thought to be the religious and trading center of the Anasazi people. They built genuine roads out from Chaco. Trade goods from Mexico-Central America have been found, including macaws, copper bells, etc. Traces of cacao have also been found.

No one knows for sure why they abandoned these settlements and moved on, but the most common explanation is a 50 year drought that started in 1130 AD. The modern Pueblo people have oral traditions about their journey away from Chaco. They also regard the ruins as sacred; the Zuni and Laguna people return on the summer solstice for dances and ceremonies.

The ruins show evidence of master planning and fairly sophisticated engineering. The tallest part of the structure appears to have been 5 stories high. There is evidence that they made astronomical observations of the solstices, equinoxes and lunar cycles. The Great House at Pueblo Bonito is laid out with the straight front wall on the east-west axis and bisected by a north-south wall. The GreatHouses are generally laid out this way and some also on either the east-west axis or the north -south axis leading to Pueblo Bonito.

Above is a photo of Pueblo Bonito take from the mesa/cliff behind it. You can see the D shape of this 650 room structure and its two axes, north-south and east-west. You can also see the many kivas in this pueblo.

The photo above is the first part of the trail to the top of the cliff, through the talus at the bottom of the cliff. Part way up you get into a crack which takes you to the top, and is much easier than the bottom talus. The two photos below are in the crack.


Below is a photo of walls and rooms at the southeast corner of Pueblo Bonito.

The photo below shows a corner door. There are seven of these in Pueblo Bonito. Architects say this is supposed to weaken the walls. I suppose that may be true, but these have been there about 1000 years. The wood is original.

Below is a photo of an original ceiling at Pueblo Bonito.

Below is an unusual "keyhole" door at Pueblo Bonito.

Typical masonry with a beam sticking out is shown below. The mortar is mud. Timber was brought to Chaco from as far as 50 miles away, such as from the Chuska mountains or the Mt. Taylor region.


Below is the great kiva at Casa Rinconada, directly south of the wash from Pueblo Bonito. I believe this is the largest known kiva in the southwest. Four huge tree trunks held up the roof. 3-400 people could be in this kiva for a meeting or a ceremony. According to current scientific thought, the kivas were deroofed and any contents removed by the Chacoans when they were abandoned. Some were apparently burned.

At the Great House of Chetro Ketl there are the remains of colonnades along one wall, shown below. The spaces between were filled later for some reason or another. The nearest colonnades were constructed by the Toltecs in Mexico or Central America.

Chaco Canyon is one of the most interesting places I have ever been. The first time we went there as a family we camped about three feet from a ruin wall. There are many unanswered questions about this place which we are probably not going to get answers for, at least in this life.