Balamku . Ancient city of the Mayan civilization . Nestled in the middle of jungle areas of Campeche . It has the only stucco-based frieze, unique in the Mayan area.
Summary
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- 1 Origins
- 2 History of the city
- 3 Description of the city
- 1 Architecture
- 1.1 South Group
- 1.2 Central Group
- 1.3 Frieze composition
- 4 Importance
- 5 Related Links
- 6 Sources
- 1 Architecture
origins
Its name comes from the words balam and kú, which in Yucatec Mayan mean jaguar and temple, respectively, that is why it is translated as Temple of the Jaguar . The name comes from the decoration of feline motifs on the frieze found.
History of the city
Balamkú was reported in]] 1990]] by the archaeologist Florentino García Cruz when he was commissioned by INAH Campeche to deal with a complaint of looting in an archaeological zone unknown until that moment. And that it had only been visited by people from the region. The looting was of such magnitude that it left exposed a large part of a frieze modeled in stucco and painted in red and black, mainly. In addition, it is considered a modest-sized site made up of four main groups and their immediate peripheries (spanning one square kilometer). Of all these, the architectural ensembles of the South , Central and North , are those that have been explored and restored by specialists.
The Balamkú site shows a long human occupation that goes from the Middle Preclassic period ( 600 – 300 BC) to the Terminal Classic ( 800 – 1000 AD). During the first years of its history it was strongly influenced by the cities of the Petén such as Calakmul , Nakbé , Le Mirador , Uaxactún and Tikal , but between the years 600 and 1000 of our era it shows close similarities with the site of Becán , in the Rio region. Bec .
Description of the city
Architecture
The constructions of the city are very uniform, they describe in a general way the work of those who inhabited it.
South Group
The South Group, the smallest of the three, is organized around four seats; Its main structure is a pyramidal basement of approximately 10 meters high that has a staircase, ending in a temple that presents in the upper part of its main facade and near its door, two oval depressions covered with stucco that are interpreted as the eyes of a zoomorphic mask .
The three structures that delimit the north plaza of the group, date from the Terminal Classic, and present characteristics of the Río Bec style, although some features of the Petén style are also distinguished. On the other hand, the presence of stone mosaic masks superimposed on each side of the main entrance of the southern structure of the plaza, which were associated with a large zoomorphic mask that crowned the door, is very notable.
Central Group
It consists of two squares of which only one, the North, has been partially excavated. There is Structure I composed of three pyramidal bases (IA, IB, IC); Inside the IA basement there is a substructure consisting of a small palace with three entrances on its south façade, crowned by a battlemented frieze of patterned and polychrome stucco of approximately 16.80 meters. long by 4.10 meters. high, which was built between 550 and 650 AD. Later this structure was covered with a pyramidal base that concealed and protected the frieze .
Frieze Composition
There are 4 ascension scenes alternated with three jaguars. Each comprises an animal with its head turned back, seated in the front slit of a mask of the Monster of Earth ; its mouth, open 180 °, gives way to a king seated on his throne. There were two toads on the left side and two crocodiles on the right, emerging from the Earth Monster. In an iconographic reading of the frieze, the level of the cornice represents the land surface that separates the Underworld from the upper world.
Frieze based on molded stucco.
Besides illustrating in detail the opposing and complementary aspects of the Underworld, the frieze shows that the dynastic cycle is equated with the solar cycle. In this conception, the accession to the throne is illustrated by the king emerging from the jaws of the terrestrial monster, as the Sun rises from the mouth of the Earth; the king’s death is seen as a sunset, when it falls into the mouth of the Earth Monster.
The frieze illustrates a double emergence: the amphibian emerges from the fissure of the terrestrial monster , from whose mouth the king emerges. Masks and jaguars express the conceptual richness of the Earth, and amphibians ensure the transition between two worlds.
The upper level of the frieze corresponds to the earth’s surface and the entire building below it is Underworld. Thus, the frieze defines the building as an image of the Earth: when one enters through one of its doors, one enters the Mayan Underworld .
Importance
The archaeological site is located within a jungle area, which offers the visitor the opportunity to live with nature while touring this interesting pre-Hispanic city. In Balamkú there is a frieze made of polychrome and modeled stucco, unique in the Mayan area, which was built between 550 and 650 AD. A careful reading of this work of great iconographic richness reveals the complex conceptual world of the ancient Maya.
