There’s nothing like a Mayan city surrounded by jungle, and Uxmal (oosh-mal) is a grand one. I drove up through the Yucatán hill country and visited Labná first, which is a smaller part of this UNESCO world heritage site, then I stayed nearby so I could explore Uxmal in the morning before the crowds arrived. I even spotted a large coati while walking behind the vantage point above. The tall building on the right is called the magician’s house, and if you clap in front of the steps, the echo makes a musical sound like a chirp.
I have decided that some archaeologists are not very good at their jobs. I’ve seen a decent number of ancient Native American cities now, and they typically describe the various building purposes as bureaucratic, religious, royal residences, and sometimes military uses. For example, the wide building in the center above is called the nun’s house, as it reminded the Spanish of a convent’s courtyard, I suppose. But rarely do any of the site maps indicate any commercial buildings, according to the experts. Maybe some archaeologists lack real world work experience, if they go straight from grad school to dig sites?
The Mayans had a thriving economy, receiving tribute, growing crops, gathering medical plants, mining minerals, weaving textiles, and producing various goods, tools and art. They traded turquoise with Arizona, obsidian with Tinochtitlan, cinnabar and alabaster with Teotihuacán, salt with Oaxaca, copper and gold, cotton, jade, feathers, fish and much more, and all of these goods—the wealth of the empire—required storage. Food had to be distributed widely and quickly to support large concentrations of people. And trading requires markets where goods can be examined and merchants can show the quality of work. But somehow archaeologists forget about all that when they try to figure out what all the empty buildings and rooms were for.
Why are there rows of rectangular windowless rooms with wide doors facing a courtyard? Why are there long colonnades? Well, in Europe and in most other countries the same structures would immediately be recognized as market stalls, as in the forum of Rome. Does anyone really believe that valuable salt was stored outside in the rain? The Catholic Spanish assumed most ancient buildings in New Spain must have been about religion, and many Americans—perhaps biased by years of war history—often assume that every wall had a military purpose. Some folks just assumed that Native American civilization was only savage sacrifice and war.
And I know it’s easy to get distracted by the art, ball games, calendars, math, and elaborate funereal figurines, but a little common sense would help us understand that many of these buildings must have been involved in commerce, which must have been part of the daily routine for most Mayans. In any case, it is a privilege to visit these ancient sites and get a new perspective.
