Komchen
Encyclopedia
Komchén is a community in the Municipality of Mérida
in the state of Yucatan
, located in southeastern Mexico
. Komchén is located 15 kilometers north of the city of Mérida, in the northwestern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula
and is approximately 20 km from the northern peninsular coast. Its name comes from the Yucatec Mayan and means: In the well of the hollow. Its infrastructure includes, educational services (a kindergarten , a primary school, a high school and a Bachelors School and a municipal library), a clinic of the Mexican Social Security Institute
as well as recreational parks and marinas. 90% of Its streets are paved.
Maya
archaeological site
of the same name and is situated close to the site of Dzibilchaltun
. Pre-Columbian Komchén was initially settled during the Mesoamerica
n Middle Preclassic
. Its earliest settlement consisted of a small residential community
with perishable structure. The site transitioned into a larger community during the Late Preclassic, reaching its peak in construction between the years 350-150 BC and employing permanent stone masonry
in architectural
construction. It appears that the site was entirely abandoned by the end of the Late Preclassic (ca. A.D. 250). Later, however, the site was partially reoccupied by residents of the expanding center of Dzibilchaltun.
Archaeological
investigation of the site commenced during the early 1980s when a research project, under the direction of E. Wyllys Andrews V of the Middle American Research Institute (MARI) of Tulane University
, began excavating at Komchén. This research documented nearly 1000 residential structures in an area approximately 2 km² in size, including a core of five large platforms (the tallest of which was 8 meters) and a sacbe
(one of the earliest identified in the Yucatán) (Andrews et al. 1984).
Mérida (municipality)
The Municipality of Mérida is one of the 106 subdivisions of the State of Yucatán and is located in the center west of the state. Its municipal seat is the city of Mérida...
in the state of Yucatan
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, located in southeastern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Komchén is located 15 kilometers north of the city of Mérida, in the northwestern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
and is approximately 20 km from the northern peninsular coast. Its name comes from the Yucatec Mayan and means: In the well of the hollow. Its infrastructure includes, educational services (a kindergarten , a primary school, a high school and a Bachelors School and a municipal library), a clinic of the Mexican Social Security Institute
Mexican Social Security Institute
The Mexican Social Security Institute is a governmental organization that attends to public health, pensions and social security in Mexico operating under Secretaría de Salud .-History:...
as well as recreational parks and marinas. 90% of Its streets are paved.
Pre-Columbian History
Komchén is also the location of a pre-ColumbianPre-Columbian
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, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
of the same name and is situated close to the site of Dzibilchaltun
Dzibilchaltun
left|thumb|Temple of the Seven Dolls.right|thumb|Sacbe at Dzibilchaltun.right|thumb|Interior of the Temple of the Seven Dolls.right|thumb|Ruins of the colonial [[Capilla Abierta|open chapel]].right|thumb|Cenote at Dzibilchaltun.Dzibilchaltún is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of...
. Pre-Columbian Komchén was initially settled during the Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n Middle Preclassic
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
. Its earliest settlement consisted of a small residential community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
with perishable structure. The site transitioned into a larger community during the Late Preclassic, reaching its peak in construction between the years 350-150 BC and employing permanent stone masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
in architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
construction. It appears that the site was entirely abandoned by the end of the Late Preclassic (ca. A.D. 250). Later, however, the site was partially reoccupied by residents of the expanding center of Dzibilchaltun.
Archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
investigation of the site commenced during the early 1980s when a research project, under the direction of E. Wyllys Andrews V of the Middle American Research Institute (MARI) of Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, began excavating at Komchén. This research documented nearly 1000 residential structures in an area approximately 2 km² in size, including a core of five large platforms (the tallest of which was 8 meters) and a sacbe
Sacbe
right|thumb|Sacbe at Dzibilchaltun in the Yucatánthumb|right|Arch at the end of the sacbé, Kabah, YucatánSacbe, plural Sacbeob, or "white ways" are raised paved roads built by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica...
(one of the earliest identified in the Yucatán) (Andrews et al. 1984).