Comalcalco

Comalcalco is a Mayan settlement located in Tabasco, in the southeastern part of Mexico, on a flood plain surrounded by tropical rain forest. This setting gave the inhabitants access to plentiful and diverse resources, although the swampy environment brought them an array of physical ailments and other problems. The original name of the settlement was Joy Chan (knotted sky) and its civilization reached its apex between the sixth and ninth centuries ce.

Located on the right bank of the Mezcalapa-Mazapa River (known today as the Río Seco, or dry river), the site measures 2.3 square miles. It is made up of three aligned groups of monumental architecture surrounded by over three hundred scattered mounds, where common people built their houses with perishable materials. Nearby were fields for growing corn and cacao, which has been the primary trade product in the region from pre-Hispanic times to the present day.

The earliest monumental architecture consisted of building earthen platforms with thick coat of lime plaster. The invention and widespread use of bricks allowed the old constructions to be resurfaced, and enabled the construction of new masonry buildings with high vaulted ceilings and wide bays and passageways.

The spaces that were created were used as plazas, courtyards, residences, sanctuaries, a popol nah (council house), temples, and administrative areas. A unique characteristic of these bricks is that some were decorated on one side with paint, incisions, or impressions representing anthropomorphic features such as animals, plants, or geometric designs, which were hidden inside the masonry. With clay widely available, villagers modeled it into large funeral urns, spindles, weights for fishing nets, personal ornaments, figurines, and vessels for domestic use and trade.

The first descriptions and illustrations of Comalcalco were made in 1880 by the French explorer Desire Charnay. Since that date, several archaeologists have researched the site, the most notable among them being Ponciano Salazar, who explored six buildings from 1972–1982, and the Ricardo Armijo project which began in 1993. The latter has excavated eleven structures in the monument area and made substantial research progress, including the ability to read text inscriptions that reveal a portion of the dynastic history of the site, a record of a possible eclipse, the celebration of regular rituals, and particularly the history of the priest Aj Pakal Than, who held prestigious posts and titles in local society. The ceramic and stone materials used show that the people of Comalcalco maintained trade and political relations with settlements and regions as far away as Xcambó, Yucatan, southern Campeche, Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, and northern Chiapas, traveling on rivers as well as by sea around the Yucatán peninsula. History relates that Palenque conquered Comalcalco in the year 649 ce. Before that, Comalcalco was an important settlement, with its own glyphic emblem. Its geographic location and the productivity of its soil to cultivate cacao must have upheld its status within the pre-Hispanic Mayan world.

See alsoMaya, The .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alvarez, Luis Fernando, María Guadalupe Landa, and José Luis Romero. Los ladrillos de Comalcalco. Villahermosa, Mexico: Instituto de Cultura de Tabasco, 1990.

Andrews, George F. Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico: Maya Art and Architecture, 2nd edition. Culver City, CA: Laby-rinthos, 1989.

Armijo, Ricardo, Marc U. Zender, and Miriam Judith Gallegos. "La urna funeraria de Aj Pakal Than, un sacer-dote del siglo VIII en Comalcalco, Tabasco, México." Temas Antropológicos 22, no. 2 (2001): 242-253.

Armijo, Ricardo. "Comalcalco la ciudad maya de ladrillos." Arqueología Mexicana 61 (2003): 30-37.

Gallegos Gómora, Miriam Judith, and Ricardo Armijo. "La corte real de Joy'Chan a través de las mujeres, hombres y dioses de barro. Estudio preliminar de género." Los Investigadores de la Cultura Maya 12, no. 2 (2004): 304-318.

Centro Studi Americanistici and Universidad Veracruzana, Perugia, Italia "Sistemas constructivos y materiales en la arquitectura de Comalcalco, Tabasco." Quaderni di Thule. Rivista italiana di studi americanistici, Atti del XXV Convengo Internazionale di Americanistica, III-2 (2005): 391-398.

                     Miriam Judith Gallegos GÓmora