Steve's Genealogy Blog

The one thing that visitors want to see in the Mayan city of Kohunlich in Quintana Roo, Mexico is the Temple of the Masks .  The structure is now largely covered with palm thatch, protecting the masks .  On the left side of the temple, two masks may be viewed .  The upper mask was looted .  The two masks on the left side are in generally better condition than those on the right .  The two masks on the left still have elaborate headdresses .  The headdresses on the right masks are missing.

Left Side of the Temple of the Masks in Kohunlich

SOURCE: Â Left Side of the Temple of the Masks in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Kohunlich Mask – Bottom Left

SOURCE:  Kohunlich Mask – Bottom Left (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Kohunlich Mask – Middle Left

SOURCE:  Kohunlich Mask – Middle Left (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Map of Kohunlich

SOURCE: Â Map of Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Stephen J. Danko

The shining star of the Mayan city of Kohunlich in Quintana Roo, Mexico is the Temple of the Masks .  The structure now visible was covered by later construction, leaving the masks in remarkable condition .  At least one of the stone masks in the Temple was looted, leaving five masks, three on the right side and two on the left .  The masks may represent Mayan gods, in particular the sun god, Kinich Ahau .  Some scholars believe that the masks may represent rulers of Kohunlich.

Right Side of the Temple of the Masks in Kohunlich

SOURCE:  Right Side of the Temple of the Masks in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Kohunlich Mask – Bottom Right

SOURCE:  Kohunlich Mask – Bottom Right (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Kohunlich Mask - Middle Right

SOURCE:  Kohunlich Mask - Middle Right (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Kohunlich Mask - Top Right

SOURCE:  Kohunlich Mask - Top Right (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Stephen J. Danko

Adjacent to the Stelae Plaza is Merwyn Plaza and the Ball Court .  The plaque at the Ball Court describes the ball game.

The Ball Game

As with other Mayan sites of importance, Kohunlich has a Ball Game court .  The game played here had great symbolic content, which appears to have been related to the notions of the Under-world and to sacrificial rites.

Further along is the star attraction in Kohunlich, the Temple of the Masks.

Merwyn Plaza in Kohunlich

SOURCE:  Merwyn Plaza in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

The Ball Court in Kohunlich

SOURCE:  The Ball Court in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Temple of the Masks – Front

SOURCE:  Temple of the Masks – Front (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Temple of the Masks – Side

SOURCE:  Temple of the Masks – Side (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Stephen J. Danko

Adjacent to the Acropolis Plaza is the Stelae Plaza, named for the building on the east side of the plaza, the Stelae Structure .  Along the stairs leading up to the Stelae Structure are the stelae themselves: upright stone slabs with ancient markings .  The stelae here, unfortunately, are badly eroded and the inscriptions cannot be read .  To the south of the plaza are the bleachers where residents once assembled for events in the plaza .  To the west is the Temple of the King.

Stelae Structure in Kohunlich

SOURCE: Â Stelae Structure in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Side View of Stelae Structure in Kohunlich

SOURCE:  Side View of Stelae Structure in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

The Bleachers in Kohunlich

SOURCE: Â The Bleachers in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Temple of the King in Kohunlich

SOURCE: Â Temple of the King in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Stephen J. Danko

Stretching out below the Acropolis in the Mayan city of Kohunlich in Quintana Roo, Mexico is a large grassy field called the Acropolis Plaza .  The Acropolis itself is located on the eastern edge of this field.

Acropolis Plaza in Kohunlich

SOURCE:  Acropolis Plaza in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

The northern edge of the plaza is the site of the Palace, described in a plaque in front of the structure:

The Palace

The construction of this palace was undertaken around the year 600 A.D., when it was a mere one-storey structure .  Later on, this primitive dwelling was partially demolished and a large platform was erected, upon which an elegant residence was built .  It probably housed some of the most important personages of Kohunlich .  For 600 years, the Palace suffered modifications .  It was even vandalised, since many of the objects which once were in its interior, were found thrown away as junk in the West side of the platform.

The Palace in Kohunlich

SOURCE:  The Palace in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Interior of the Palace in Kohunlich

SOURCE:  Interior of the Palace in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

On the western edge of the plaza are the ruins of the Western Residential Complex, described in another plaque:

Western Residential Complex

This complex was inhabited between the years 600 – 1200 A.D. and probably functioned as a residence for a group of high-ranking artisans, who basically dedicated themselves to the manufacture of shell artifacts .  By observing the distribution of the rooms, one can see that they are a product of various construction periods in which they were subdivided, remodelled and, in some cased, demolished .  This probably occured due to the need of larger living quarters for an ever growing population.

Western Residential Complex in Kohunlich

SOURCE:  Western Residential Complex in Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Stephen J. Danko

The largest structure in the ancient Mayan city of Kohunlich is called the Acropolis .  As in other buildings with residential funcions, stone beds can be seen with small cubbyholes beneath where the resident could store possessions .  The descriptive plaque near the Acropolis states:

This, the largest construction in Kohunlich, was originally a “C” shaped building .  Its most notable features are its eight meter high vaulted interiors and its false steps faí§ade, which can be seen on the North and Eastern sides, built in the Rí­o Bec style from Southern Campeche .  This building was later covered in its entirely by a huge platform upon which what seems to be a residential complex with restricted access was built .  Finally, during a later period, another residential building was added towards the South- West .  In its interior, some “Graffiti” can still be seen on its stuccoed walls.

The Acropolis

SOURCE:  The Acropolis (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Bed in the Acropolis – 1

SOURCE:  Bed in the Acropolis – 1 (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Bed in the Acropolis – 2

SOURCE:  Bed in the Acropolis – 2 (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

View of the Temple of the King from the Acropolis

SOURCE:  View of the Temple of the King from the Acropolis (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Stephen J. Danko

Kohunlich is an ancient Mayan city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo .  It is located in southeastern Mexico on the Yucatí¡n peninsula, close to the borders of Belize and Guatemala .  The entrance sign states:

Kohunlich Archaeological Site
Cultural heritage of the people of Quintana Roo
Cultural heritage of the Nation

Entrance Sign at Kohunlich

SOURCE:  Entrance Sign at Kohunlich (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Details about the area are provided on one of the descriptive signs in the site (reproduced here with spelling and grammatical errors on the original):

The site is of a city built in the early VIth century A.D, and abandoned in the XIIth or XIIIth century A.D .  Its original name is now lost to us since “Kohunlich”, which apparently comes from the English “Cohoon ridge” (Cohoon being a type of tropical palm), is a relatively modern name .  Its architecture resembles the Rí­o Bec style, to the South of Campeche, and the Petén style, to the North of Guatemala and Belize .  This shows the close ties and importance Kohunlich would have had with the other areas of Mayan culture .  During its days of grandeur, the site looked very different from how we see it now, since all the buildings would have been stuccoed and painted predominantely in red .  Some were also decorated with stuccoed figures and geometric designs .  It boasted a complex drainage system which diverted rain water to an artificial reservoir or “aguada” .  The constructions that can be visited served for different purposes, these being mainly residential, administrative and religious .  They constitute only a part of the site, since the rest was made up of worker and peasant quarters, who supplied the foodstuffs and manufactured the various shell and flint artifacts.

Cohune Palm (Orbignya cobune)

SOURCE:  Cohune Palm (Orbignya cobune) (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Fruits of the Cohune Palm

SOURCE:  Fruits of the Cohune Palm (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 February 2012.

Turtle Carved from the Nut of the Cohune Palm

SOURCE:  Turtle Carved from the Nut of the Cohune Palm (Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, México); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 09 February 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Stephen J. Danko