Chichén Itzá and its maritime ports during the Terminal Classic period

Summary

The ancient city of Chichén Itzá reached its apogee as a regional capital in the tenth century. Part of this apogee included the territorial hegemony that Chichén Itzá exerted over a vast area of the maritime coasts of the Yucatán peninsula and Belize. By controlling the coasts, Chichén Itzá maintained strict authority over the different objects and merchandise that were distributed and exchanged throughout the maya lowlands in the Terminal Classic period. In order to control the distribution and exchange of objects and merchandise, Chichén Itzá developed a complex and efficient seaport infrastructure, which resulted in the establishment of at least two contemporary types of seaports along the Gulf of México and the Caribbean seas. The morphological differences between seaports founded in those two areas suggest that Chichén Itzá faced distinctive economic as well as political challenges, however, the ancient city successfully acquired objects and merchandise from other regions of the maya area and beyond.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Ports, Trails, and Waterways: Trade and Economy in the Ancient Maya World

Keywords

Spatial Coverage