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Xcaret is a Maya civilization 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...
 located on the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
 coastline of the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
, in the modern-day state of Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo

Quintana Roo is a Mexican state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucat?n Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucat?n and Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of Belize to the south....
 in Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism 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 Mexico....
. The site was occupied by the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all archaeology of the Americas in the history of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas continents....
 Maya and functioned as a port for navigation and an important Maya trading center. Some of the site's original structures are contained within a modern-day tourism development, the privately owned Xcaret Eco Park
Xcaret Eco Park

Xcaret Eco Park is a privately owned and operated ecological park, resort and tourist attraction located in the Riviera Maya, a portion of the Caribbean Sea coastline of Mexico's state of Quintana Roo that has been designated as a zone for tourism development....
.

This eco-archaeological park shows different aspects of the Mayan culture of Quintana Roo, and it also has ecological importance due to its labor for the conservation and reproduction of regional flora and fauna.






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Xcaret is a Maya civilization 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...
 located on the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
 coastline of the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
, in the modern-day state of Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo

Quintana Roo is a Mexican state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucat?n Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucat?n and Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of Belize to the south....
 in Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism 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 Mexico....
. The site was occupied by the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all archaeology of the Americas in the history of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas continents....
 Maya and functioned as a port for navigation and an important Maya trading center. Some of the site's original structures are contained within a modern-day tourism development, the privately owned Xcaret Eco Park
Xcaret Eco Park

Xcaret Eco Park is a privately owned and operated ecological park, resort and tourist attraction located in the Riviera Maya, a portion of the Caribbean Sea coastline of Mexico's state of Quintana Roo that has been designated as a zone for tourism development....
.

This eco-archaeological park shows different aspects of the Mayan culture of Quintana Roo, and it also has ecological importance due to its labor for the conservation and reproduction of regional flora and fauna. Within its limits there is the archaeological site Polé, a large variety of tropical animals and plants, and a series of attractions to practice water activities, as well as a beach.

Toponomy

Xcaret means "small inlet" in Mayan. Its name comes from its situation next to a small inlet that in the past served as a strategic location for navigation and commerce for the Maya. The original name of the site was p'ole, from the root p'ol that means "merchandise" or "deal of merchants", which gives an idea of the economical relevance of the site.

Maya Ruins

Several small Maya ruins lie within the park's 200 acres. According to the research by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) the first buildings of the site are from the years 200 to 600 A.D., but the majority of them are from the period from 1200 to 1550 A.D. The constructions of the Late Post-Classical period are situated along the coast; some of them in strategic positions for its surveillance. The site had a wall, but unlike the one in Tulum
Tulum

Tulum is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya civilization Defensive wall serving as a major port for Cob?.The ruins are located on 39-foot cliffs, along the east coast of the Yucat?n Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico....
 that was open towards the ocean, the wall at Xcaret defended the site from assaults coming from the sea. Xcaret was inhabited at the time of the first stage of the Spanish incursion of Alonso Dávila and Francisco de Montejo into the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
 (1527 to 1529).