• Kohunlich

  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    Héctor Montaño Morales / INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    Héctor Montaño Morales / INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    INAH-Archivo Técnico de la Coordinación Nacional de Arqueología
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich

    Kohunlich
    Héctor Montaño Morales / INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación

Visit us

Kohunlich

Opening hours
Monday to Sunday from 08:00 to 17:00 h - Last entry 16:30 h
Fee
$100.00
Adress

Francisco Villa-Kohunlich Highway Km. 9, Municipality of Othón P. Blanco. Quintana Roo. Access from Km. 60 of Federal Highway No. 186 Chetumal-Escárcega.

Access

From the city of Chetumal, take Federal Highway 186 Chetumal-Escárcega, in the direction of Escárcega. Passing the town of Francisco Villa, the turn off for the site is 9 km ahead.

Services
Accessibility
Toilets
Guided tours
Important
  • Extra fee for professional cameras
  • No smoking
  • No entry with food
  • Pets not allowed

Kohunlich

Kohunlich

Kohunlich

This is the most visited site in Quintana Roo. It has stunning residential, civic and religious complexes surrounded by jungle. The Temple of the Masks is outstanding with figures of royal personages which still retain traces of red paint and whose attire bears celestial symbols.


Kohunlich is located in the low forest in the south of the state of Quintana Roo, in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco. The region’s climate is wet-tropical and the geology for the most part comprises sedimentary rock, notably limestone and gypsum.

The first mention of the site was by U.S. archeologist Raymond Merwin, who named it “Clarksville” on a map of the region which he prepared in 1912. The archeological site was later named Kohunlich which comes from the English: “cohune ridge,” cohune being a type of palm nut. The local people adapted the pronunciation to “cojumrich” until finally the archeologist Víctor Segovia named it Kohunlich, which fits better with Mayan phonetics.

The excavation of the archeological site was prompted by Ignacio Ek Dzul, a small farmer from the village of Francisco Villa, filing a complaint about the pillaging of the site in 1968. He informed the then governor of Quintana Roo, Javier Rojo Gómez, of the existence of a pre-Hispanic structure with stucco masks, and the latter made the necessary arrangements for their excavation and rescue. The archeologist Víctor Segovia Pinto began work on uncovering the Temple of the Masks in 1969 and in 1972 INAH formally took possession and custody of the archeological site. Restoration work continued during the 1970s and 80s, but it was not until the 1990s that the archeologist Enrique Nalda took over the direction of the project. After long digging seasons, Nalda managed to free the majority of the architectural complexes which today make up this extensive archeological site.

Kohunlich was populated continually during the pre-Hispanic period from approximately 500 BC to 1100 AD. Its population experienced two setbacks, it recovered from the first in the middle of the Classic period, while the second resulted in the complete abandonment of the site after 1000 AD.

The archeological site is an enormous settlement made up of a series of architectural complexes of a ceremonial and residential nature, some of which may have served as elite neighborhoods or family enclaves.

Its buildings display various stages of construction and architectural styles. The earliest may be linked to the style of the Peten region, nevertheless in the Late Classic it developed a style of its own known as Pixa’an, after the residential complex of that name which has the most complete example of the style. This style was typified by its smooth mortarless stone walls, moldings framing groups of small columns, rounded doorposts in the main entrance and embedded or recessed columns and niches in the facades. This style of architecture is also found in the buildings of the Plaza of the Stelae and the Acropolis.

Even though the reasons for the decline of Kohunlich are unknown, it is likely that ethnic diversification resulting from the arrival of numerous groups of migrants during the Late Classic and the possible establishment of autonomous political entities might have been fundamental causes of the break-up of the region, as well as the weakening of the groups which exercised power.


 


 

Templo de los mascarones

Templo de los mascarones

It is located on a natural hill that needed to be conditioned with a giant platform for its construction.

Acrópolis (Estructura B-1)

Acrópolis (Estructura B-1)

This group of structures was called "Acropolis" by the archaeologist Raymond Merwin at the beginning of the 20th century, however, it does not correspond to the type of building to which this name is given within the Mayan architecture; in reality it is the product of a long constructive activity

Plaza de las Estelas

Plaza de las Estelas

It served as the site's center of gravity during the Late Classic period.

Conjunto Residencial Noroeste

Conjunto Residencial Noroeste (Grupo B-5)

This housing complex is located in the western portion of the Acropolis Plaza. To the west it is delimited by a natural drainage, to the north by the annex building of the North Palace (Structure B-6) and to the south by the current access road to the site.

Palacio Norte

Palacio Norte (Estructura B-6)

It is located to the north of the plaza of the Conjunto Residencial Poniente. Together with the Acropolis, it seems to have formed the residential area of the elite.

Edificio de las Once Puertas

Plaza Merwin

The material recovered during the excavations indicates that all the structures around the plaza are Late-Terminal Classic. A platform was built in the center of the plaza, from which a late offering of several ceramic plates was recovered.

Conjunto E. Los 27 escalones

Conjunto E. Los 27 escalones

It is a housing complex integrated by a group of structures arranged around two courtyards, presided by a palace-type building and two additional sets in peripheral position. Its construction dates from the Late-Terminal Classic.

Conjunto Pixa'an

Conjunto Pixa'an

It is a housing complex located on a hill; apparently it was the place of residence of a distinctive group. It is integrated by a total of eleven structures, one of them palace type. Unlike the Noroeste and Los 27 Escalones complexes, its structures are not arranged around a patio.

Plaza Ya'axná

Plaza Ya'axná

Ceremonial complex located 700 m northeast of the Plaza de las Estelas. It is surrounded by several large buildings; those located in the northeast corner were known under the name of "Los Tres Hernamos", however, there are at least nine buildings.

  • Dirección del Centro INAH
    Margarito Molina Rendón
    margarito_molina@inah.gob.mx
    +52 (983) 837 2411
    Administración del Centro INAH
    Williams Ferneli Tun Cab
    williams_tun@inah.gob.mx
    +52 (983) 837 2411 ext. 318005

  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación Héctor Montaño Morales
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Archivo Técnico de la Coordinación Nacional de Arqueología
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación Héctor Montaño Morales
  • Kohunlich
    INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación Héctor Montaño Morales

    Contacto

    direccion.qroo@inah.gob.mx
    +52 (983) 837 2411
    +52 (983) 837 0796

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