Temple of the Cormorants
Datedc. 501–600 CE
No licensed photograph yetWe have no photograph we may publish for this site, so the interpretive 3D view leads instead.
Overview
About this site
Overview
The Temple of the Cormorants is a ceremonial Maya temple in the ancient city of Dzibanche in southern Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is part of the Xibalbá plaza in the core of the city, the first capital of the Kaan kingdom, and is also known archaeologically as Temple II or E2 of Dzibanche.
The pyramidal base is formed by a system of funerary chambers holding royal tombs of members of the Kaanu'l dynasty. The main burial is that of the ruler Ut Chan, also known as Sky Witness, who ruled Dzibanche between the years 561 and 572 AD.
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Age sources
How old this site is, and who says so.
Range across all claimsc. 501–600 CE
MeasuredWhat this badge means
A physical measurement of this site: a radiocarbon date, a tree-ring count, a luminescence date, or a record that can itself be dated.
- 561–572 CEHistorical recordThe dated range covers the rule of Ut Chan, whose tomb forms the main burial.Source: en.wikipedia.org
- 501–600 CEWikipedia: Temple of the Cormorants (infobox)Source: en.wikipedia.org
Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
Temple of the Cormorants
The building consists of a large, stepped pyramidal base with entrances to the burial chambers and a temple on the top with a roof comb.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Temple of the CormorantsCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Temple of the CormorantsCC BY-SA 4.0
The temple stands in Xibalbá Plaza in front of the Temple of the Owl. It is 34 meters high and is the tallest building in the central architectural group. The building consists of a large, stepped pyramidal base with entrances to the burial chambers and a temple on the top with a roof comb.
Its architecture follows the local style characteristic of Dzibanche, developed by the Kaanu'l dynasty and called paired pilasters, which consists of facades with decorated pillars. The same style has been identified in Calakmul, the later capital of the Kaan kingdom.
FindsSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Temple of the CormorantsCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Temple of the CormorantsCC BY-SA 4.0
Around 7 tombs have been found inside the temple. The burials share common features of the Kaanu'l lineage's funerary tradition, such as the placement of jade masks among their rich funerary offerings. The burials included polychrome ceramic vessels, obsidian, necklaces, bracelets and jade masks.
The main burial chamber within the stepped base contains the tomb of Ut Chan, a ruler of the Kaan dynasty who defeated Tikal in 562 AD. The skeleton lay on a jaguar pelt, accompanied by polychrome ceramic vessels, obsidian blades, necklaces and bracelets made of jade and shell, a jade pectoral and three jade masks. Because of the richness of the offerings, the tomb has been called the Tomb of the Lord of Dzibanche.
Analysis of the skeleton has determined that it corresponds to a man approximately 30 to 35 years old, 1.62 meters tall, with artificial cranial deformation. Beside the skeleton lay a bone awl used for rituals of self-sacrifice and bloodletting. It bears a hieroglyphic inscription interpreted as: "It is the offering bone of Yuhknom Ut Chan, holy lord of Kaanu'l."
NameSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Temple of the CormorantsCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Temple of the CormorantsCC BY-SA 4.0
The temple takes its name from a ceramic vessel found inside, painted with images of the cormorant, a hunting bird related to the underworld in Maya mythology.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Mesoamerican stelae and carved stone
Mesoamerica's civilisations raised carved stone monuments. Maya stelae are tall sculpted stone shafts, often paired with low circular stones called altars, though their actual function is uncertain. Many stelae are carved in low relief, though plain ones are found throughout the Maya region. The sculpting of these monuments spread across the Maya area in the Classic Period (about 250 to 900 CE), and the pairing of sculpted stela and altar is a hallmark of Classic Maya civilisation. The earliest dated stela found in place in the Maya lowlands comes from Tikal in Guatemala, and during the Classic Period almost every Maya kingdom in the southern lowlands raised stelae in its ceremonial centre.
The Olmec colossal heads, much older, are stone representations of heads carved from large basalt boulders, from 1.17 to 3.4 metres high. They date from at least 900 BCE and are a distinctive feature of Olmec civilisation. All portray individuals with distinctive features of the people who still live in Tabasco and Veracruz, and the backs are often flat. The boulders came from the Sierra de los Tuxtlas mountains in Veracruz, and given the weight of the stone, which was moved over 150 kilometres, much labour was needed.
Many Maya stelae carry inscriptions in hieroglyphs with dates in the Long Count calendar, and so can be dated to the day. This makes them among the most precisely dated monuments in the Atlas. They commemorate rulers and events, not the dead in general.
The Atlas's records in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize are mostly Maya sites with stelae, altars and carved monuments.
When visiting, look at the carved figure on the front, which is usually a ruler, and at the glyphs on the sides and back. Many stelae are now protected by roofs.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Maya stelae, Wikipedia: Olmec colossal heads, Wikipedia: Stele · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 572 CE
The pyramidal base is formed by a system of funerary chambers with royal tombs of members of the Kaanu'l dynasty, the main burial is the tomb of the ruler Ut Chan, also known as Sky Witness, who was the ruler of Dzibanche between the years 561 and 572 AD.
Source
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
561–572 CEHow this date was established: Historical sourcesThe dated range covers the rule of Ut Chan, whose tomb forms the main burial.Source for this date
Measured facts
- Type
- Ceremonial Maya templeSource: Type
- Location
- Dzibanche, southern Quintana Roo, MexicoSource: Location
- Archaeological designation
- Temple II or E2Source: Archaeological designation
- Plaza
- Xibalbá plazaSource: Plaza
- Dynastic tombs
- Royal tombs of members of the Kaanu'l dynastySource: Dynastic tombs
- Funerary trousseau
- Polychrome ceramic vessels, obsidian, necklaces, bracelets and jade masksSource: Funerary trousseau
Where it stands
Mexico
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 18°38′20″ N, 88°45′34″ WFor a GPS or map app: 18.63875, -88.75941
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
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Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q131837610wikidata.org
- 02Wikipedia (en)en.wikipedia.org
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Lore, kept apart
Legends and claims
These are stories and claims reported by the sources. They are not evidence, and they never stand in for the dating above.
- Tradition
The Temple of the Cormorants is a ceremonial Maya temple located in the ancient city of Dzibanche in southern Quintana Roo, Mexico.
The Temple of the Cormorants is a ceremonial Maya temple located in the ancient city of Dzibanche in southern Quintana Roo, Mexico. It was named the Temple of the Cormorants after a ceramic vessel found inside, painted with images of the cormorant, a hunting bird related to the underworld in Maya mythology. Archaeologically it is also known as Temple II or E2 of Dzibanche. The temple is part of the Xibalbá plaza in the core of the Maya city of Dzibanche, the first capital of the Kaan kingdom. The pyramidal base is formed by a system of funerary chambers with royal tombs of members of the Kaanu'l dynasty, the main burial is the tomb of the ruler Ut Chan, also known as Sky Witness, who was the ruler of Dzibanche between the years 561 and 572 AD. The burials included large funerary trousseau with polychrome ceramic vessels, obsidian, necklaces, bracelets and jade masks.
Source - Tradition
The main burial chamber within the stepped pyramid base contains the tomb of the Kaan dynasty ruler Ut Chan or Sky Witness, ruler of Dzibanché, who defeated Tikal in 562 AD.
The main burial chamber within the stepped pyramid base contains the tomb of the Kaan dynasty ruler Ut Chan or Sky Witness, ruler of Dzibanché, who defeated Tikal in 562 AD. The tomb contained the skeleton laid on a jaguar pelt with a large funerary trousseau consisting of polychrome ceramic vessels, obsidian blades, necklaces and bracelets made of jade and shell, a jade pectoral and three jade masks. Due to the richness of the offerings, the tomb has been called the Tomb of the Lord of Dzibanche. Analysis of the skeleton has determined that it corresponds to a man approximately 30 to 35 years old, 1.62 meters tall, and with artificial cranial deformation. Next to the skeleton was found a bone awl used for rituals of self-sacrifice and bloodletting, which has a hieroglyphic inscription engraved on it interpreted as: "It is the offering bone of Yuhknom Ut Chan, holy lord of Kaanu'l." The offering bones or bone awls were used by their bearers to offer blood or perform ritual bleeding to the gods, getting access to the divine world or purifying themselves. According to Maya mythology, each bone awl was directly linked to its owner as a sacred receptacle of their vital energy.
Source
Around this place
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Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Temple of the Cormorants" (English), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors