Dzibilchaltún: The scorching hot ancient city
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
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Dzibilchaltun (The Place of the Carved Stones)
21.0924° N, 89.5961° W
Yucatec Maya
Inhabited since at least the pre-classic period (900-600 BCE). Fluorescence in the classic period, beginning around 150 AD, peaking as a regional capital around the 7th or 8th century. Largely abandoned in the 10th century with no new construction although some people continued to live there until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century and for some decades afterwards. Located just north of Merida, the colonial era capital of the Yucatán. First excavated in the 1940’s by an archeological team based in Tulane university.
Further reading:
Some Archeological Similarities Between Dzibulchaltun and Palenque by E. Wyllys Andrews V
www.mesoweb.co...
(About the 7 dolls themselves:)
On the Origin of American Tuberculosis by PA Mackowiak
academic.oup.c...
GEOGRAPHIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON MAYA SETTLEMENT PATTERNS OF THE NORTHWEST YUCATAN: AN EXPLANATION FOR THE SPARSELY SETTLED WESTERN CENOTE ZONE by PATRICK C. ROHRER
caracol.org/wp-...
Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital of the Tizimín region in Yucatán, Mexico by Leslie Knowles
www.researchga...
I rather watch this than anything trending on RUclips, thanks for your hard work.
That means a lot, thank you
Thank you for taking me with you on your walking tour of Dz'ibil Chaltun. I enjoyed the visit and benefited from it.
I’m glad to hear that; it’s why I make these videos.
@@pyramidreview8664 The pleasure was all mine. Thank you.
Wow! I loved that you included the drawing of the lost stucco work on the entablature of the Temple of the Dolls. I have never seen it before. Thank you for including this.
Great presentation
Thank you!
I find you informative and not annoying.
It works for me.
I like the information you have provided before, during, and after the tour. Interesting!
You are doing fine. Very informative,thank you.👍👍
Casually walking thru centuries of ruins. How lucky, how awesome, thank you for the experience of learning that Mayans built pyramids to keep track of time. Egyptians made pyramids to harness energy...
Ahh. Most Mesoamerican pyramids are NOT for tracking time and Egyptians did not build pyramids to harness energy. They are as you see them. Burial chambers
I love the fact that you heroically continue your monologue from the safety of your room....... drenched in water. (smile)
I also love the replica Maya vase over your shoulder, although I find the replica tzompantli macabre.
The two niches that you see up on the arch were where wooden beams were stretched from the side of the arch to the other side. These helped to hold the arch from collapsing outwards. They were also used internally to hold shelves up above, and to drape curtains below, to provide areas of privacy inside the room.
Ah ha. Yes, I have seen some intact beams in those places before, in Guatemala.
The stink is probably other tourists that have expired in the heat and lay dead in the bushes (smile). When you enter under a Maya arch always look for evidence of painting or writing on the stones that span the top of the arch, and always take note of the niches in the walls and sides of the arches. At the top of both sides of the doors you may even be lucky enough to see stone loops. These were used to affix the curtain across the doorways. It is the little things like this that bring the buildings back to lived in spaces for the traveler.
By the way..... you have chosen an amazing day to be at the site. I have not seen another tourist there in the whole time that you have moved through the site. Lucky (smart?) you!
Thank you for the tip! I saw a very strange niche with a column in it at the Palace of Sayil, I still don’t understand that, but you can see it in my video about Sayil. I have not yet seen any loops as far as I know. As for the lack of other tourists, that is a mix of good luck, good planning (I always go in the middle of the week, and often very early in the morning), and an effort to avoid people while filming, or wait patiently for them to pass. I think it makes an important difference. But for this video in particular, I think very few other people were stupid enough to go there on such a hot day in August. :)
Much enjoyed! Thank you
The "bowl for grinding" was called a Metate, and the roller pin shaped stone used in it to grind the corn was called a mano. They are all over Dz'ibil Chaltun.
I truly enjoy all of your videos. However, I like the old format best. I am happy to see you making the videos either way. thank you so very much for taking the time and effort to make these videos.
I think I will mostly stick to the old one or find some middle ground, not super happy with how dry this one turned out. Thank you!
now this is quality content
All of your videos are very informative and well done! Thanks never knew mesoamerica and pyramids from these times were so vast and they were so many of them!
There are so many more, and I have only started. Stay tuned!
@@pyramidreview8664 Looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Thanks...
Just stumbled upon this channel and subscribed. Love the serious research that you put into it.
I live just 10 minutes away from this site btw, and you made me discover things I hadn't seen.
@@intiorozco5063 That's great to hear! They have been rebuilding the museum and cleaning up new parts of the site, so it should be even more interesting once it reopens.
Dude, you are a BAD ASS ! Okay? You’re So Impressive bud, a true inspiration! A Real Life Indiana Jones, I’m learning SO much from you, thank you for sharing! Fascinating to see how the arch’s were built; graduation to smaller slice like pieces. I may be way off base here, but from 1st hand knowledge, I suspect that Mayan Blue comes from magic mushrooms, which turn that exact shade when bruised. Thanks again sir!✌🏻
@@OttoChenault Thank you! Although the Maya did use magic mushrooms for their psychological effects (as well as many other sacred plants, some of which are depicted in art and haven't even been identified yet), chemical analysis shows that the blue comes from dye from indigo plants mixed with copal (tree resin/incense), and a very particular type of soil called polygorskite. There is some mystery about where they found the latter. I bet they would have appreciated that color appearing on mushrooms though!
@@pyramidreview8664 Thank you so much! I appreciate the insight, so much respect for your research and passion.✌🏻Wow,just read up on polygorskite…amazing properties, thanks professor!
@@OttoChenault 🤠
The "bowl to catch water" is actually another metate for grinding corn (as is the other stone beneath it). This means that food was prepared by the Maya women in this location.
There are still a few remaining Remada open front Franciscan churches in the Yucatan. These were the first Franciscan churches built to convert the Maya. One of these is the one at Dz'ibil Chaltun. Another is a small one in the north coast Maya site of Xcambo. Still another is a superb surviving example at Mani. Although there are many others that are still visible in the alterations of many other early Franciscan churches across the Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo.
Nice work. I just subbed. I look forward to new shows!
I am a huge fan of your show! I have a backlog of videos from Edzna and other interesting places to edit and publish, enjoy!
@@pyramidreview8664 Keep going! If you want to post links to your videos in my comments sections, feel free. I'd be happy to get the word out about your show.
@@pyramidreview8664 And thanks for being a fan of the show. Much appreciated.
@@mexicounexplained I will definitely take you up on that. And thanks to you for being part of the inspiration for me to go out and explore these wonderful places!
@@pyramidreview8664 Please do. I am always happy to help in any way I can.
The "zigzag pattern of small rocks that you see on the face of the low pyramid is generally created 'intentionally' by the restorers to mark the boundary between the older rocks that were still in place, and the rocks that have been recovered and used in the restoration.
I really enjoyed this video, but I’m also just really happy that you’re back making content! Whatever format you settle on will be great! 👍
Awesome, thank you . .
This is nice, I live just a couple of minutes from there
Very interesting to see the drawing of the original external pyramid on the Temple of the Seven Dolls, and this is a very enjoyable and thorough video. As I understand there's a larger pyramid outside the visiting zone which is not uncovered, called edifice 89. It is about 400 yards to the west-southwest of the very long structure. I read somewhere that it is unstable, and therefore not excavated. This would have been the second largest pyramid structure after the original structure covering the Temple of the Seven Dolls. The top pokes through the trees, but it has trees on it so apparently it is not obvious. I cannot find the source of this anymore, it was something I read on the net, but apparently a lot of the site is still in the forest and not accessible for visitors.
When I was on top of the long structure I definitely saw some big structures in the woods nearby. Apparently it has changed a bit since I was there, and more things are opening to the public.
@@pyramidreview8664 obviously it takes a lot of time and effort to excavate a larger structure like that, if it is even possible.
Btw; those airplants are not 'parasitic'. They need a place to attach themselves but they get all their nutrients and moisture 'from the air'. You can buy them at nurseries and on-line for your home! People may be thinking of 'Spanish Moss' (named after the beards!) but it will 'choke' a tree, not rob it of anything.
There is a lot of debate about this on the internet even though scientists say they are not parasitic; because for some reason the are almost always on very dead-looking trees. But they also grow on electricity cables so I guess they’re fine without a host.
@@pyramidreview8664 They'll also grow on rocks/pyramids/walls (if the conditions are right). I have one on a metal fence at home and one in a 'vase' without any water. I just spray them twice a week....
Thank you!
I visited Chichén Itzá back in 98. I was uneducated about the Myans, and would love to return knowing what I know now, or better yet with you! 😁
I was thinking about arranging some kind of trip to several sites and inviting my viewers. The problem is that you aren't allowed to give a tour without a license, so I could talk about the site before or after, or we could hire a guide at the site and go together as a group, but I can't lead a tour.
@@pyramidreview8664 We flew a private plane into the airport next to Chichén Itzá, it was the sketchiest airport I have seen, dirt runway, armed military. It was great, you could still climb the structure then. We did not do any tour.
Awesome! Hope you brought tons of water. It looks super humid!
You make a very good argument for the similarity between the Temple of the Dolls of Dz'ibil Chaltun, and the temple on top of "El Castillo" at Chi Ch'en Itza. My first reaction to looking at the lost stucco freize on the Temple of the Dolls was how similar it is to similar stucco work at both Chi Ch'en Itza and UxMal. If Chi Ch'en Itza and UxMal are inspired by the Temple of the Dolls I am left wondering how they would have known of it, IF, the Temple of the Dolls was already covered in its later temple. This may mean that we can date the outer covering of the Temple of the Dolls to after the constructions of similar stucco work at both Chi Ch'en Itza and UxMal.
Yes indeed. I know it is a poorly documented time and place but I am working on a theory about what was happening in the northwestern Yucatán around the 4th and 5th centuries based on my research and observations made during my travels. Please feel free to send me a message at pyramidreviewshow@gmail.com if you’d like to discuss it more.
We don’t know what the temple was like on top of the outer layer of the Temple of the Seven Dolls, so likely it would have been similar. But it is indeed similar to Uxmal and Kabah and Chichen Itza. So they could have modeled it after that.
As you trudge (in the humidity and heat) through the savanna jungle cover isn't it remarkable to think that this was once one of the most densely populated Maya cities in the Yucatan in its time. All of the land that you are traveling through would have been freckled with raised stone house platforms, with houses centered around family plazas in which the woman would be grinding corn for the meals, and the men would be smoking and sharing stories. If you look around you into the undergrowth you will see the stone raised platforms still visible everywhere along your pathway across the site.
Thanks for the good video. Dzibilchaltun was in the very first book about Maya I ever read back in the day. It was stated that city either has stella with date 2mil years ago or it covers the largest area compared to any other mayan city (don't remember whcih one is correct). But i remember trying to find it on the map and those maps sent me to different locations from Western coast of Yucatan to Belize. Well, now I know where is it. Also the photos I ever seen were really just a random glimpse of total ruins, and now, thanks to the video can see actual Dzibilchaltun. great job! Sorry to hear about your struggles there: heat, sweat, stink, camera shuted down and faild to get even bottle of water after all:( That sinot, people used it for water supply or it was just for sacrifices? Could they waste such a good water sorce in that dry area just for human sacrifices? Or they kept on using it for cooking/drinking too? Can it be the reason why Mayan civilization declined after all:) Also through your videos you mention several times that Mayan temples were some kind of observatory to show Sun and Moon and Venus. Was it solely like this in your opinion?
Unfortunately the limestone around Dzibulchaltun isn’t very strong, so there wasn’t a lot to see of old inscriptions while I was there. However I know some things were preserved and they are currently building a new museum there, and based on some recent satellite photos I saw, it seems like they cleared out a big part of that sacbe I was on and opened up a new part of the site. So once it opens I would like to go back. Just not in August….
No way that limestone would last a million years, that’s for sure. Also, you can see architectural similarities between the two largest pyramids and the main pyramids of Izamal and Edzna, indicating they were built in the same era, and there are many ways we can date those things, including writing and dates in some cases.
The cenote was used as a source of water. It is very similar to the main cenote of Chichen Itza. In both of them it seems that lots of stuff was thrown in for religious reasons, including pottery and blue paint, and sometimes even human remains. It’s not been proven that these were human sacrifices. Both the pre-classic and classic periods ended in times of great drought, and it has been theorized that in these desperate times the water level was very low, and people did dramatic rituals to try to create more rain. You have to imagine that this would have been the last thing that anyone would try to do. When the Maya civilization was at its height, there were complex systems in place to filter water. So if this is what they were doing, it’s very likely that they were already in a very desperate state, and this was not the cause.
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-uncover-2000-year-old-mayan-water-filtration-system-180976186/
There is also the phenomenon of hydrologic lensing. To make it simple, the Yucatán has no rivers, no springs, and it is made of very porous karstic stones. It only gets fresh water from rain. Rain comes from above and falls into the cenotes, and that keeps the peninsula filled with fresh water. This is called the fresh water lens, it is a body of fresh water which fills every hole on the peninsula. But in a time of drought, when all that fresh water disappears, there is nothing to stop the sea water from entering into the cenotes and caves from the sea. So when there was a great drought, and that 40 meter cenote was empty, the only water there was also likely to be undrinkable salty sea water. A terrible situation. People got desperate.
I mention many times that pyramids are observational points for the sun or the moon or Venus, and this is absolutely not my own idea, this is a topic which has been studied heavily by archeologists and historians for a very long time. In my video about the eclipse I show a book about this topic. Someone once commented on a video of mine that the pyramids are so short, they can’t possibly give you a better view of the heavens! But it did not work this way. The pyramids were a way to get above the trees, and when you are up there you can watch the movement of these planets. The sun and moon and venus all move around the sky in predictable patterns, and if you watch them, you can determine these patterns. This is what the Maya did. It gets extremely complicated once you dig into the details, but here is a recent article from the journal Science which explains how hundreds of ancient Maya sites have been aligned to these sorts of things since extremely ancient times:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq7675
I am happy to answer your questions! Let me know if you have more.
My closest archaeological site. Upper estimates were of a population of 30,000 inhabitants at its peak. As you say, one of the oldest exposed cities of the Yucatán peninsula. The beauty of the Mayan civilization is how extensive their cities and towns were, the trade and wars that took place as powerful alliances competed. The science and knowledge that was built up. And 30% of the peninsula still speak the indigenous language, maaya t'aan. Kanáantaba'ex tuláake'ex!
Love these videos. I’ve had heat stroke before, be careful. 👊🏻🥵
I appreciate the wet shirt at the end to match the trip...very authentic Sir Piraemdes
I loved your story about problems pollinating KaKaW(a) (Cacao=chocolate).
The long range structure is remarkably similar to the long range structure at Ake near TixKokob
You pronounced Dz'ibilChaltun correctly. Good for you! Although to be very accurate you should make a gutteral stop after the Maya letter Dz. Dz'ibil means "writing" and a chaltun is a pit dug into the rock and used to store water. Therefore Dz'ibilChaltun is actually two Maya words without a space between them that basically means "writing on a cistern"
@@alexanderalexander7404 I believe I filmed this video about two years ago, so I cringe to see some of my own mistakes now. I was also mispronouncing long vowels as having stops in some early videos too. I've been practicing my stops though!
@@pyramidreview8664 Not only practicing but accomplishing. So few professionals in the field take any time to learn to speak Maya correctly (or at all). Most don't even bother to use the Maya names for the cities that are known. They insist on referring to them using only their Euro/US names. Even something as simple and obvious as Chi Ch'en Itza gets written as Chichen Itza and gets pronounced as Chicken Ickzah. It ends up sounding like Chicken Pizza. (smile)
I have enormous respect for you willingness to learn, to self correct and to try to speak the dialects of Maya correctly.
You should not cringe. What you now know is proof of all the investment and growth that you have made. This is something to be very proud of.
That snaking line I think is left by the archaeologists to differentiate the part still standing when they arrived (original builiding) and the parts they restored.
Yes indeed, an archeologist told me this later on.
You are starting to show signs of heat stroke. It can creep up on you quickly. It can make you very sick afterwards. Never underestimate the threat of heat stroke or sun stroke.
Good for you. You pluralized Sak Be to become Sak Beob. The difference is "road" and "roads", literally "white roads"
Heard a lot of ephitets directed to the INAH workers, but goblins was a new one !! XD
@@chepep0nNo shade for INAH! I meant the aluxes. 😂
In 1536 the Tutul Xiu requested permission to cross Kokom territory to go to make offerings at the Chan Dz'onot at Chi Ch'en Itza. The Kokom feasted them and prepared a lodging for them. After dark the Kokom sealed them in the lodge and set it on fire. This was payback for the Tutul Xiu revolt in Mayapan much earlier, in which the Tutul Xiu of Mayapan had massacred all but one of the ruling Kokom house of Mayapan. The entire upper ruling caste of the Tutul Xiu were killed with the exception of two. The father of Gaspar Antonio Herrerra naK'ukil Chi was blinded and sent back alive to bear witness about what the Kokom had done to the Tutul Xiu. In the next Casitllian entrada the Xiu fought with the Castillians against the Maya (led by the Kokom).
Imagine what we could know if the various Maya stelae had not eroded.
@@alexanderalexander7404 If only they all had that nice Palenque limestone!
@@pyramidreview8664 Yes indeed. The type of stone used largely determines how much of their story survives to still be told.
Thx; appreciate all your reviews. Will visit Guachimontones next week. Near Teuchitlan, Jalisco about 50K west of Guadalajara. Round, about a dozen levels. Not a 'spectacular' site but, in their own way, they all are.
The round ones! Those are very unique!
@@pyramidreview8664 I live in Memphis, TN and am somewhat familiar with the 'Mississippian Culture'. (Think Cahokia). They had enormous round mounds. I'm always interested in the 'lesser known' places. I mean; They're all fascinating in their own right, but I always wonder...what is it we haven't seen yet? That's fun to figure out!
@@dutchreagan3676 Well you've got the Mississippians up there whp certainly built quite a lot of impressive stuff, but don't forget the bass pro shop pyramid!
@@pyramidreview8664 Dang! You really ARE well-informed. It's one of the largest in the world! And almost abandoned; just like those old Mayan cities....
@@pyramidreview8664 Some specs on the Bass Pro shop pyramid: It is 321 feet (98 m) (about 32 stories) tall and has base
sides of 591 feet (180 m); it is by some measures the tenth-tallest pyramid in the world.
The Sak Be between the ancient site of YaxuNah and Ko'ba Ha (Coba) is almost straight across the Yucatan and Quintana Roo and is approximately 100 kms long. There is another long Sak Be (approximately 40 kms) between Ux Te Tuun' Chiik Naab (Calakmul) and "El Mirador". It is still largely unmapped.
I have been to both Yaxunah and Coba, and seen that Sacbe, and that still blows my mind. I haven’t made it to Calakmul or El Mirador yet, but I hope to!
Most of the Franciscans were far from fluent in Maya and could barely communicate in Maya. There were a few, however, that did become quite bilingual.
the correct name is Dzibilchaltún or Ts´iibil Chaltuun
Thank you rain god, I apologize for my mistake.
The early Europeans trying to deal with Maya sounds using European letters created multiple interpretations that used a variety of letters, such that one will find a variety of spellings for the same Maya words. The older "Ts' " has been normalized as "dz' ". And Dz'ib is the word for "write" in Yukatek Maya. The "dz'ib" is the new norm, just as the old "u" has been replaced with "w", as in Waxaktun, rather than the older Uxactun. "Dz'ibil " "is writing".
Many European names of Maya places ram all the letters together as if they represent one word, when in fact they are a series of words that have meaning, as in Chi Ch'en Itza, which is almost seen as Chichen Itza, because to Europeans the words have no meaning and the ' (guttoral stop) does not exist in European languages. Chi Ch'en Itza actually means Chi= mouth, Ch'en= cave/well, Itza=Itza people. Therefore the name Chi Ch'en Itza means, "The mouth of the Itza well/cave".
Alej
Please read my return reply to you under "The Sak Be between the ancient site of YaxuNah", below, but be aware that the voyage that I am sending you on will take you to very very dark corners of the Maya world.
Alej
wow incredible work really injoin your scholarship on the mesoamericans. As an amatuer i appreciate your education. the spanish in the time of inquistion are interested in conversion to christianity in the guise of acquiring wealth. Corrrect me if this is not your interperation. Also there human sacrifices seem to indicate mesoamericans belief in an afterlife. correct me if you disagree. Their advanced civilization esp their astrological measurements and agriculture begs the question why were they so advanced compared to north america. take care friend.