Tulum
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Tulum Tulu'um Zama |
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| Maya Site | ||
| Tulum | ||
Temple of the God of Wind (left) and Castillo (right)
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 Tulum
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| Coordinates: 20°12′53″N 87°25′44″W / 20.21472°N 87.42889°W | ||
| Country | Mexico | |
| State | Quintana Roo | |
| Municipality | Tulum | |
| Earliest inscription | AD 564 | |
| Constructed | 1200 and 1450 | |
| Elevation | 39 ft (12 m) | |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5) | |
| Major Airport | Cancún International Airport | |
| IATA Code | CUN | |
| ICAO Code | MMUN | |
Tulum (Spanish pronunciation: [tu'lum], Yucatec: Tulu'um) is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city serving as a major port for Cobá. The ruins are situated on 12-meter (39 ft) tall cliffs, along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya; it was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico. Old World diseases brought by the Spanish settlers appear to have resulted in very high fatalities, disrupting the society and eventually causing the city to be abandoned. One of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites, Tulum is today a popular site for tourists.
This Maya site may formerly have been known by the name Zama, meaning City of Dawn, because it faces the sunrise. Tulum stands on a bluff facing east toward the Caribbean Sea. Tulúm is also the Yucatan Mayan word for fence, wall or trench. The walls surrounding the site allowed the Tulum fort to be defended against invasions. Tulum had access to both land and sea trade routes, making it an important trade hub, especially for obsidian. From numerous depictions in murals and other works around the site, Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending god. Tulum had an estimated population of 1,000 to 1,600 inhabitants.
Tulum was first mentioned by Juan Díaz, a member of Juan de Grijalva's Spanish expedition of 1518, the first Europeans to spot Tulum. The first detailed description of the ruins was published by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in 1843 in the book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. As they arrived from the sea, Stephens and Catherwood first saw a tall building that impressed them greatly, most likely the great Castillo of the site. They made accurate maps of the site’s walls, and Catherwood made sketches of the Castillo and several other buildings. Stephens and Catherwood also reported an early classic stele at the site, with an inscribed date of AD 564 (now in the British Museum's collection). This has been interpreted as meaning that the stele was likely built elsewhere and brought to Tulum to be reused.
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Wikipedia