Coba

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

Front view of the pyramid structure known as "La Iglesia" in the Group B, or Cobá Group, complex. Stela 11 is in the foreground at the base of the pyramid's steps, under the thatched roofing.

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 2010 Mexican federal census reported a population of 1,278 inhabitants.

Site layout and description

Map of the Cobá archeological site.

One of two ballgame courts at Cobá.

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, and the longest runs over 100 kilometres (62 mi) westwards to the site of Yaxuna. The site contains several large temple pyramids, the tallest, in what is known as the Nohoch Mul group of structures, being some 42 metres (138 ft) in height. Ixmoja is the tallest pyramid on the Yucatán peninsula.

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 hieroglyphic 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, Tankah, Muyil, and Tulum.

History

Archaeological evidence indicates that Cobá was first settled between 100 BC and 100 AD. At that time, there was a town with buildings of wood and palm fronts and flat platforms. The only archeological evidence of the time are fragments of pottery. After 100 AD, the area around Coba evidenced strong population growth, and with it an increase in its social and political status among Maya city states which would ultimately make Coba one of the biggest and most powerful city states in the northern Yucatán area. Between 200 and 600 AD, Coba must have dominated a vast area, including the north of the state of Quintana Roo and areas in the east of the state of Yucatán. This power resided in its control of large swaths of farmland, control over trading routes, and—critically for a Mayan city—control over ample water resources. Among the trading routes, Coba probably controlled ports like Xel Há.

Coba must have maintained close contacts with the large city states of Guatemala and the south of Campeche like Tikal, Dzibanche or Calakmul. To maintain its influence, Coba must have established military alliances and arranged marriages among their elites. It is quite noteworthy that Coba shows traces of Teotihuacan architecture, like a platform in the Paintings group that was explored in 1999, which would attest of the existence of contacts with the central Mexican cultures and its powerful city of the early Classic epoch. Stelae uncovered at Coba are believed to depict that Coba had many female rulers.

After 600 AD, the emergence of powerful city states of the Puuc culture and the emergence of Chichén Itzá altered the political spectrum in the Yucatán peninsula and began eroding the dominance of Coba. Beginning around 900 or 1000 AD, Coba must have begun a lengthy power struggle with Chichén Itzá, with the latter dominating at the end as it gained control of key cities such as Yaxuná. After 1000 AD, Coba lost much of its political weight among city states, although it maintained some symbolic and religious importance. This allowed it to maintain or recover some status, which is evidenced by the new buildings dating to the time 1200-1500 AD, now built in the typical Eastern coastal style. However, power centers and trading routes had moved to the coast, forcing cities like Coba into a secondary status, although somewhat more successful than its more ephemeral enemy Chichén Itzá. Coba was abandoned at the time the Spanish conquered the peninsula around 1550.

Modern explorations

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 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.

The Ixmoja pyramid.

Eric Thompson made a number of return visits to the site through 1932, in which year he published a detailed description. Much of the site, including its road system was mapped in the mid 1970s (Folan). Some residences were excavated in the early 1980s (Benevides and Manzanilla).

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 of buildings. At the start of the 1980s another road to Coba was opened up and paved, and a regular bus service begun.

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.

As of 2005 the resident population of Coba pueblo was 1,167. It grew to 1,278 by the 2010 census.

Tourism

The archaeological site of Coba has increasingly become more visited by both national and international tourism in Mexico. One of the main attraction to visitors of Coba is the Ancient Pyramid which unlike Chichen Itza's Kukulkan Pyramid, is still open for the public to climb its 120 steps up to the top of the site. Additional to this, Coba has several Tour operators with excursions available to this site from almost any point within the closest and top Touristic destinations of Cancun and its Riviera Maya.

For a more visual look at climbing the Ixmoja pyramid check out this video of someone doing the climb in 33 seconds. (Video here) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s56F56zg15g

Panoramic view from the top of the Ixmoja pyramid.

Climate

Considered a tropical savanna climate typically with a pronounced dry season. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Aw (Tropical Savanna Climate).

Climate data for Coba, Mexico
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	27 (80)	28 (82)	29 (84)	31 (87)	32 (89)	32 (90)	32 (90)	32 (90)	31 (88)	29 (85)	29 (84)	27 (81)	30 (86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	14 (58)	15 (59)	16 (61)	18 (65)	20 (68)	21 (70)	21 (70)	22 (71)	21 (70)	20 (68)	17 (63)	16 (60)	18 (65)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	53 (2.1)	38 (1.5)	41 (1.6)	46 (1.8)	100 (4.1)	140 (5.5)	100 (4.1)	150 (6)	200 (7.7)	140 (5.4)	66 (2.6)	38 (1.5)	1,112 (43.9)
Source: Weatherbase

See also

• List of Mesoamerican pyramids

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

Unidades Habitacionales Excavadas en Coba, Q.R. Antonio Benevides and Linda Manzanilla 1985.

• "Conteo de población y vivienda 2005". INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática. Retrieved 2010-01-28. Template:Es icon

External links

• Coba maya archaeological site, history and pictures
• Photo Gallery at the Science Museum of Minnesota
• New York Times: Lore Among The Ruins. April 27, 2003
• Frommers Destination Guide for Coba
• Photos of Coba site

Coba Temple