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UXMAL Uxmal holds some of the most complex and beautiful examples of the regional Puuc-style architecture, and its magnificent pyramids and structures make it a popular tourist destination. The name Uxmal means 'thrice-built' in Mayan, referring to the construction of its highest structure, the Pyramid of the Magician. The Maya would often build a new temple over an existing one, and in this case five stages of construction have actually been found. For generations Uxmal was ruled over by the Xiu family, with a population of about 25,000,was the most powerful site in western Yucatán, and for a while in alliance with Chichen Itza dominated all of the northern Maya area. Like the other Puuc sites, it flourished in the Late Classic period (around 600-900 AD). Indications are that its rulers also presided over the nearby settlements in Kabah, Labná and Sayil, and there are several sacbe's (white roads of the Maya) connecting the sites. The area is known as the Ruta Puuc (Puuc route), in which, there are many small valleys that permitted substantial farming activities.With a population of about 25,000 Uxmal was one of the largest cities in the Maya world.
After about 1000 AD, Toltec invaders took over and most building ceased by 1100 AD. Sometime after about 1200 no new major construction seems to have been made at Uxmal, possibly related to the fall of Uxmal's ally Chichen Itza and the shift of power in Yucatán to Mayapan. The Xiu moved their capital to Mani, and the population of Uxmal declined. After the Spanish conquest of Yucatan (in which the Xiu allied themselves with the Spanish), early colonial documents suggest that Uxmal was still an inhabited place of some importance into the 1550s, but no Spanish town was built here and Uxmal was soon after largely abandoned. Puuc architecture has several predominant features, most notably constructions with a plain lower section and a richly decorated upper section. Carvings most commonly found include serpents, lattice work and masks of the god Chac. Chac was the god of rain, greatly revered by the Maya at Uxmal because of the lack of natural water supplies in the city. Although the Yucatán has few surface rivers, most Maya cities, including Chichén Itzá, used cenotes to access underground water, however there were no cenotes at Uxmal. Instead, it was necessary to collect water in chultunes or cisterns, built in the ground.
