COBA A Classic Maya Metropolis William J. Folan Centro de Investigaciones Históricas y Sociales Universidad Autònoma del Sudeste Campeche, Campeche, Mexico Ellen R. Kintz Department of Anthropology State University of New York College Geneseo, New York Laraine A. Fletcher Department of Anthropology Adelphi University Garden City, New York ACADEMIC PRESS A Subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers New York London Paris San Diego San Francisco Säo Paulo Sydney Tokyo Toronto
COPYRIGHT 1983, BY ACADEMIC PRESS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL, INCLUDING PHOTOCOPY, RECORDING, OR ANY INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, WITHOUT PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER. ACADEMIC PRESS, INC. Ill Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10003 United Kingdom Edition published by ACADEMIC PRESS, INC. (LONDON) LTD. 24/28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DX Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Folan, Wi11iam J. Coba, a classic Maya metropolis. (Studies in archaeology) Bi bliography: p. Includes index. 1. Coba (Ancient city) 2. Mayas--Urban residence. 3- Cities and towns, Ruined, extinct, etc.--mexico. ^4. Mexico--Ant iqu i t ies. 5 Indians of Mexico Urban residence. I. Kintz, Ellen R. II. Fletcher, Laraine A. III. Title. IV. Series. F1435.1.C63F63 1982 972'.67 82-8895 ISBN 0-12-261880-7 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 83 84 85 86 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The authors dedicate this volume to Nicolas Caamal Canche, Jacinto May Hau, and the citizens of Coba both past and present. May their efforts toward our understanding of the past illuminate our journey into the future.
List of Figures Figure 1.1 The Maya area 5 Figure 1.2 Major groups and sacbeob 6 Figure 1.3 Zones surveyed and code numbers 7 Figure 1.4 Opening brechas 8 Figure 1.5 Platform perimeter seen through undergrowth 9 Figure 1.6 Surveying in a milpa 10 Figure 2.1 Regional centers, ports, and agent-of-trade cities 15 Figure 2.2 Central Maya Lowlands 16 Figure 2.3 Maya area, showing coastal and interior zones and the core area 17 Figure 2.4 A schematic graph of climate conditions 18 Figure 2.5 Climate and sea-level chart 19 Figure 3.1 Physiographic districts of the Yucatan Peninsula 23 Figure 3.2 North-south and partial east-west section of the sascabera Figure 3.3 Plan view of the sascabera 26 Figure 3.4 A folk sketch of the sascabera 27 Figure 3.5 Sascabera interior 28 Figure 3.6 Sascabera with an hourglass support Figure 3.7 Sascabera with a barrel-shaped support Figure 3.8 Sascabera with tool scars in face of deposit Figure 3.9 Sascabera with tool scars in roof of mine 29 29 30 30 Figure 3.10 Miscellaneous vegetation fronting La Iglesia, Group B 35 Figure 3.1 1 Mean annual rainfall distribution Figure 3.12 Climates of the Yucatan Peninsula 41 42 xi 26
XÜ LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.13 Aerial view of core area 44 Figure 3.14 Aerial view of Lake Coba showing west dikes 45 Figure 3.15 Aerial view of Lake Coba showing flooded dikes 46 Figure 3.16 Rancho Jalal 47 Figure 4.1 Aerial view of the Coba core area 60 Figure 4.2 Main facade of El Cuartel 61 Figure 4.3 A completed and partially assembled pole and thatch structure 62 Figure 5.1 Aerial view of the south side of La Iglesia 60 Figure 5.2 La Iglesia 67 Figure 5.3 La Iglesia after excavation and consolidation by INAH 68 Figure 5.4 Stela fragment cum sacrificial stone fronting La Islesia 70 Figure 5.5 Pinturas complex: section 72 Figure 5.6 Las Pintras complex: plan 73 Figure 5.7 Las Pinturas oratorio 74 Figure 5.8 El Xaibe (or El Cono) 76 Figure 5.9 Ixmoja after excavation and consolidation 77 Figure 5.10 The vaulted temple structure topping the Ixmoja complex 78 Figure 5.11 Structure X following excavation and consolidation 79 Figure 5.12 Cross section of a sacbe 82 Figure 5.13 Sacbe 3 83 Figure 5.14 Four-way ramp with small shrine at junction of Sacbes 1 and 3 84 Figure 5.15 Large ramp on Sacbe 3 84 Figure 5.16 Ramp with added platform on sacbe between Coba and Ixil 85 Figure 5.17 Ramp on sacbe between Coba and Ixil 85 Figure 6.1 House-lot boundary wall enclosing a modern solar 95 Figure 6.2 Barbed wire and low stone house-lot boundary wall 94 Figure 6.3 Sacbe-like walkway connecting two ancient household compounds 95 Figure 6.4 Linear feature Type I 96 Figure 6.5 Linear feature Type IIA 97 Figure 6.6 Linear feature Type IIB 98 Figure 6.7 Linear features Type III 98 Figure 6.8 Linear feature Type IV 99 Figure 6.9 Linear feature Type V 100 Figure 6.10 Linear feature Type VI 102 Figure 7.1 Modern solar in Coba with nai nal 104 Figure 7.2 Modern solar in Coba 105 Figure 7.3 Garden boundary marker formed of poles 108 Figure 9.1 Kitchen area in present-day Coba 134 Figure 10.1 Present-day houses showing guano roofs and pole walls 152 Figure 10.2 Metates, perhaps representing a cottage-industry complex 153
LIST OF FIGURES XÎU Figure 10.3 A tailor, an example of cottage industry in present-day Coba 154 Figure 11.1 High-ranked elite unit in residential zone 170 Figure 11.2 High-ranked elite household 171 Figure 11.3 Middle-ranked elite household 172 Figure 11.4 Middle-ranked elite household 172 Figure 11.5 Middle-ranked elite household 173 Figure 11.6 Middle-ranked elite household 173 Figure 11.7 Small elite household 174 Figure 11.8 Small elite household 174 Figure 11.9 High-ranked commoner household 175 Figure 11.10 Middle-ranked commoner household 175 Figure 11.11 Middle-ranked commoner household 176 Figure 11.12 Small commoner household 176 Figure 12.1 Social clusters at ancient Coba, Zone I 183
List of Tables Table 7.1 Rank Order of 144 Solares by Size, Zone I 109 Table 7.2 Location of Geographical Units A-G in Zone I 112 Table 7.3 Distribution of Solar Area by Geographical Units A-G, Zone I 112 Table 7.4 Distribution of Household Platforms: Areas Associated with Solares by Geographical Units A-G 113 Table 7.5 Pearson's Correlation Coefficient: Solar Area and Platform Size in Zone I 114 Table 7.6 Pearson's Correlation Coefficient: Solar Area and Distance North of Lake Macanxoc in Zone I 116 Table 7.7 Contingency Coefficient: Solar Area and Social Status in Zone I 118 Table 8.1 Solar Units in Unit D in Coba 126 Table 8.2 Solar Units in Squares H and I at Mayapan 127 Table 9.1 Breakdown of Household Units by the Number of Structures Associated with Each Compound 142 Table 9.2 Area of Vaulted Structures by Household 146 Table 10.1 Frequency of Platforms with No Apparent Superstructures for Zones I-XIII 156 Table 11.1 Social Classes of the Classic Maya Reconstructed from Ethnohistoric Reports 163 Table 11.2 Social Organization and Residential Pattern of the Classic Maya Based on Ethnohistoric Reports of the Sixteenth Century 164 Table 12.1 Frequencies of Distances between Zone I Households 182 XV
XVI LIST OF TABLES Table 12.2 Zone I: Clusters of Elite and Commoner Compounds: Their Location and Description 184 Table 12.3 Population Size of Neighborhoods and Wards, Zone I 189 Table 13.1 Areas of the 13 Zones Surveyed at Coba 196 Table 13.2 Roofed-Over Space in Square Meters for Zones I-XIII 198 Table 13.3 Population Estimate Based on Structure Counts for Zones I-XIII, Excluding Platforms with No Visible Superstructures 199 Table 13.4 Population Estimate Based on Structure Counts for Zones I-XIII, Including Platforms with No Visible Superstructures 200 Table 13.5 Number of Structures per Household Unit and Total Square Meters of Roofed-Over Space in Zones I and Zone VI 201 Table 13.6 Number of Structures per Household Unit and Total Square Meters of Roofed-Over Space, Excluding "Kitchens," and Excluding "Kitchens and Storehouses" in Zones I and VI 202 Table 13.7 Number of Houses and Average Number of Inhabitants per House during the Ethnohistorical Period 203 Table 13.8 Ethnohistorical, Ethnographic, and Archaeological Figures for Household Composition Utilized to Reconstruct the Population of Residential Zones I and VI at Coba 205 Table 13.9 Calculation of the Residential Population of Ancient Coba Based on Figures for Occupants per Household during the Ethnohistorical Period 206 Table 13.10 Number of Structures per Household and Their Frequency of Occurrence in Zone I and Zone VI 206 Table 13.11 Population Estimates for Coba: Data from Zones I-XIII for Roofed- Over Space and Structure Counts 209 Table 13.12 Population Estimates for Coba: Data from Zones I and VI for Household Compounds as the Unit of Analysis 209 Table 14.1 Periods of Cultural Development in Coba 212