Information about Coba

Map of Site

Nohoch Mul

Crossroads Temple

Iglesia

Ballcourt

"The Castle"

This article is about the city. For the vegetable, see Wild rice.

Coba (Cobá in the Spanish language) is a large ruined city of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is located about 90 km east of the Maya site of Chichen Itza, about 40 km west of the Caribbean Sea, and 44 km northwest of the site of Tulum, with which it is connected by a modern road.

The city

Coba is located around two lagoons. A series of elevated stone and plaster roads radiate from the central site to various smaller sites near and far. These are known by the Maya term "sacbe" (plural "sacbeob"). Some of these causeways go east to the Caribbean coast, and the longest runs over 100 km to the west to the site of Yaxuna. The site contains several large temple pyramids, the tallest, known as Nohoch Mul, being 42 meters in height.

A number of longer sacbeob, radiate out from Coba to other Maya sites in the area, the longest being over 100 km long, running west to the site of Yaxuna.

Coba is estimated to have had some 50,000 inhabitants (and possibly significantly more) at its peak of civilization, and the built up area extends over some 80 km². The site was occupied by a sizable agricultural population by the 1st century. The bulk of Coba's major construction seems to have been made in the middle and late Classic period, about 500 to 900, with most of the dated hieroglypic inscriptions from the 7th century. However Coba remained an important site in the Post-Classic era and new temples were built and old ones kept in repair until at least the 14th century, possibly as late as the arrival of the Spanish.

Economy

Coba traded extensively with other Mayan communities, particularly the ones further south along the Caribbean coast in what is now Belize and Honduras. It utilized the ports of Xcaret, Xel-Há, Tancah, and Tulum.

Modern explorations of Coba

Knowledge of this expansive site was never completely lost, but it was not examined by scholars until the 1920s. John Lloyd Stephens mentioned hearing reports of the site in 1841, but it was so distant from any known modern road or village that he decided the difficulty in trying to get there was too daunting. For much of the rest of the 19th century the area could not be visited by outsiders due to the Caste War of Yucatán. Teoberto Maler paid Coba a short visit in 1893 and took at least one photograph, but unfortunately did not publish at the time and the site remained unknown to the archeological community.

Amateur explorer Dr. Thomas Gann was brought to the site by some local Maya hunters in February of 1926. Gann published the first first-hand description of the ruins later the same year. Gann gave a short description to the archeologists of the Carnegie Institution project at Chichen Itza, which sent out an expedition under J. Eric S. Thompson. Thompson's initial report of a surprisingly large site with many inscriptions prompted Sylvanus Morley to mount a more thorough examination of the site.

Eric Thompson made a number of return visits to the site through 1932, in which year he published a detailed description.

The site remained little visited due to its remoteness until the first modern road was opened up to Coba in the early 1970s. As a major resort was planned for Cancún, it was realized that clearing and restoring some of the large site could make it an important tourist attraction.

The Mexican National Institute of Anthropology & History began some archeological excavations in 1972 directed by Carlos Navarrete, and consolidated a couple buildings. At the start of the 1980s another road to Coba was opened up and paved, regular bus service begun, and a small Villas Archeologicas Hotel was opened up by the Club Med (with its own electric generator, since the village at Coba was otherwise without electricity). Today there is a resident population of 1,167 (2005 census).

Coba became a tourist destination shortly thereafter, with many visitors visiting the site on day trips from Cancún and the Riviera Maya. Only a small portion of the site has been cleared from the jungle and restored by archaeologists. Local guides are available at the entrance to the site, as well as bicycle rentals to get to some of the farther ruins within the archaeological zone. Coba, like all archaeological sites in Mexico open to the public via INAH, is free to Mexican citizens on Sundays and national holidays.

There is a small pueblo near the ruins, with some restaurants and small shops selling local crafts.

References

COBA: A Classic Maya Metropolis. William J. Folan, Ellen R. Kintz, Laraine A. Fletcher. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
The Ancient Maya. (Third Edition) Stanford University Press, Stanford. 1963
A Preliminary Study of the Ruins of Coba, Quintana Roo, México. Washington, D.C. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication No. 424. 1932
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Photo Gallery at the Science Museum of Minnesota
New York Times: Lore Among The Ruins. April 27, 2003

Coordinates:

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Spanish, Castilian}}}
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: —
ISO 639-3: —

Spanish (
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The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents.
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Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems.
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Quintana Roo

Flag
Coat of arms
Location within Mexico
Country Mexico
Capital Chetumal
Municipalities
Largest City Cancún
Government
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Anthem
Himno Nacional Mexicano

Capital
(and largest city) Mexico City

Official languages Spanish (
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State Party Mexico
Type Cultural
Criteria i, ii, iii
Reference 483
Region Latin America and the Caribbean

Inscription History
Inscription 1988 (12th Session)
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Caribbean Sea (pronounced IPA: /kəˈrɪbiən/ or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/
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Tulum (also Tuluum or Tulúm) is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Cobá. ^[1]

The ruins are located on 39-ft (12-m) cliffs, along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of
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Sacbe, plural Sacbeob, or "white ways" are raised paved roads built by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Most connect temples, plazas, and groups of structures within ceremonial centers or cities, but some longer roads between cities are also known.
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The 1st century was that century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period
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5th century · 6th century
470s 480s 490s 500s 510s 520s 530s
497 498 499 500 501 502 503
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9th century - 10th century
870s 880s 890s - 900s - 910s 920s 930s
897 898 899 - 900 - 901 902 903
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The 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era.

Overview

During this century, the Eastern Roman Empire continued suffering setbacks, which increased after the 630s, when the Arab prophet Muhammad militantly
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14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400.

Events

The transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age
Beginning of the Ottoman Empire, early expansion into the Balkans

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The Spanish Conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish conquistadores against the Late Postclassic Maya states and polities, particularly in the northern and central Yucatán Peninsula but also involving the Maya polities of the Guatemalan highlands
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Caribbean (Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Spanish: Caribe
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Motto
Sub Umbra Floreo (Latin)
"You'd Better Belize It"
Anthem
"Land of the Free"
Royal anthem
"God Save the Queen"
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Motto
"Libre, Soberana e Independiente" (Spanish)
"Free, Sovereign and Independent"
Anthem
Himno Nacional de Honduras
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Xcaret is a Maya civilization archaeological site and an ecological park and resort located south of Playa del Carmen in the Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Maya ruins

Several small Maya ruins lie through the park's 200 acres.
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Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924
1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

- -
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John Lloyd Stephens (November 28, 1805–October 13, 1852) was an American explorer, writer, and diplomat. Stephens was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America and in the planning of the Panama railroad.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1810s 1820s 1830s - 1840s - 1850s 1860s 1870s
1838 1839 1840 - 1841 - 1842 1843 1844

:
Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
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For the periodical, see .

The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s.
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The Caste War of Yucatán (1847–1901) began with the revolt of native Maya people of Yucatán (Mexico) against the population of European descent (called Yucatecos) in political and economic control.
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Teoberto Maler or Teobert Maler (12 January 1842 – 22 November 1917) was an explorer who devoted his energies to documenting the ruins of the Maya civilization.

Teobert Maler was born in Rome to German parents. His father was a diplomat for the Duchy of Baden.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1860s 1870s 1880s - 1890s - 1900s 1910s 1920s
1890 1891 1892 - 1893 - 1894 1895 1896

:
Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
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Thomas William Francis Gann (13 May, 1867–24 February, 1938) was a medical doctor by profession, but is best remembered for his work as an amateur archaeologist exploring ruins of the Maya civilization.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1923 1924 1925 - 1926 - 1927 1928 1929

Year 1926 (MCMXXVI
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