El Palmar

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guzman grpup structure GZ6 termination deposit PAEP

main group Justo Group PAEP

guzman group burial 1 ceramic kenichiro tsukamoto

stela 25 octavio esparza

El Palmar, Campeche, Mexico

DESCRIPTION
El Palmar is a large archaeological zone, part of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, and well-known for the numerous stelae arranged around the site. An informative hieroglyphic staircase is located within the Guzman Group. It has a long occupation history that stretches back to the Late Preclassic (300 BCE-250 CE). The original name for the site/dynastic rulers has been deciphered as Wak Piit (Six Palanquins),

The site was centrally located between important regional capitals, and was immersed in the social/political dynamics that occurred in the Maya Lowlands in the 7th and 8th century. Calakmul, about 31 miles/50 km to the west had a strong relationship with the rulers of El Palmar. Tikal is situated 56 miles/90 km to the south, and Becan/Rio Bec 43.5 miles/70 km to the north. The site structural groups are aligned on an axis about 15 degrees east of North.

The archaeological zone is located in the ejido (communal land) of Kiché Las Pailas, within the municipality of Calakmul, and has a total area of about 36.3 sq miles/ 94 sq km.

El Palmar is not easily reached. It is located off Highway 186 that runs from Chetumal to Escarcega. At the turnoff south to Caobas it is about 31 miles/50 km down rural roads to the site.

HOURS: Not officially open to the public
ENTRANCE FEE: none, though there may be a guide/ejido fee
GUIDES: none on site
SERVICES: None
ON-SITE MUSEUM: no
ACCOMMODATIONS: None
GPS: 18d 4’39” N, 89d 20’16” W
MISC: Bring bug spray, water, food

HISTORY AND EXPLORATION
El Palmar had a long occupation history dating from around 250 BCE through to the Terminal Classic (800–1000 CE), with the first construction activity occurring at the Central Plaza and Plaza H.

At least sixty sculptured monuments including stelae and altars, 15 ball courts and a hieroglyphic stairway have been recorded at the site. This has helped to provide information on the site’s rulers and the extensive social/political connections to other sites in southern Campeche and beyond.

El Palmar reached its peak in the Late Classic Period (600-800 CE) having formed a strong alliance network with other polities both near and far.

Stela 46 may contain a date of 8.7.0.0.0, 8 Ajaw 13 Sotz/September 2, 179 CE. If so, it could be among the earliest Long Count dated monuments recorded in the entire Maya area.

A securely dated monument at the site is Altar 10. This richly carved monument has a dedication date of 9.6.0.0.0, 9 Ajaw 3 Wayeb/March 20, 554 CE to commemorate a Katun Period Ending by ruler K’ahk’ P’uhlaj Chan Yopaat. An El Palmar sculptor has been identified on Yaxchilan Lintel 26 dated to 724 CE.

A strong relationship with Calakmul is attested to in some of the monuments at El Palmar. However, after the major defeat of Calakmul by Tikal in c.735 CE, El Palmar’s geopolitical relationships with other sites still remained active. The commissioning of monuments in the Main Group continued during the ninth century, and members of the royal court such as “sakho’ok” are recorded at other sites including Río Azul on Stela 2 in 790 CE, and at the site of Cancuen on Panel 3, in 795 CE.

Upakal K’inich, who ruled at minimum from 711-721 CE, appears to have been a prominent ruler whose influence was felt throughout the southern lowlands. Several stelae were erected by him that contain historical information. Stela 10 commemorated a Katun Period Ending on 9.14.0.0.0, 6 Ajaw 13/December 3, 711 CE. A cache was recovered from the corner of the stela consisting of eccentric chert objects and obsidian cores.

Some of the texts associated with Upakal K’inich have provided invaluable information regarding non-royal members of the court. Drawing 29 at the pilgrimage center of Naj Tunich Cave (Mopan) in Guatemala records a visit in 719 CE by two “mayik k’an biyaan”, a religious specialists and/or emissary; Chak Balaw and his younger brother Tz’itz’il, officials of Upakal K'inich who himself is identified with the honorific title Sak Ook Wak Piit,

Another reference to non-royal members of the court is recorded on Hieroglyphic Stairway 1 located in the Guzman Group. This group was the residence of an ancestral family that served the rulers of El Palmar as emissaries /Lakam. The text describes a diplomatic mission to Copan.

A famous ceramic cylinder from the site of Icaiche, located about 9.6 miles/16 km east of El Palmar, is known as “El Senor de Peten”. It references a lord of El Palmar and identifies five court individuals that appear in the palace scene. Two individuals bear the title “ajk’uhu’n”/ priest, worshipper. Another individual appears to be a noble heir identified as “baahtz’am ch’ok/first young man of the throne. The other two characters bear the title “sakho’ok”. One of them appears to be a ruler of El Palmar, as he also bears the titles of “baahkab”/first of the land, and “wak piit ajaw”, a title linked to the El Palmar dynasty.

Stela 14 commemorates a Period Ending/scattering event performed by the ruler Palaw Chan Yopaat in Plaza E on 9.19.10.0.0, 8 Ajaw 8 Xul/May 4, 820 CE.

The last recorded date on a stela found so far at El Palmar is Stela 41 located in Plaza K’awiil. It contains a Calendar Round that has been dated to 884 CE.

El Palmar was first described by Eric Thompson, Jean Harrington and Conrad Kratz in association with the Carnegie Institution, Washington DC, in 1936 recording some of the stelae that were recovered there. Agustín Peña, Renée L. Zapata, and Edward Kurjack recorded and photographed 14 stelae and Altar 10 in 1982. In February 1984, Merle G. Robertson made a rubbing of the iconography and the hieroglyphic text of Altar 10. Carlos Brokmann directed the El Palmar, Campeche Archaeological Project from December 1996 to March 1997.

The Palmar Archaeological Project (PAEP) began in 2007, and is directed by Kenichiro Tsukamoto and Javier López Camacho. Their work has included, mapping, excavations, consolidations, analysis of materials, and the registration and study of sculpted monuments exhibiting hieroglyphic texts and other iconography. Airborne mapping (LiDAR) of the site was carried out in 2017.

STRUCTURES
LiDAR surveys have revealed the vast extent of El Palmar. Over 10,000 structures (mostly residential platforms), 550 plazas, patios and courtyards, 15 ball courts, and more than sixty sculpted monuments have been identified. Researchers estimate a peak population of around 39,000 and 59,000 inhabitants, one of the largest sites in southern Yucatan. The largest structures, and the greatest number of monuments, were found in the Main Group.

However, due to the discovery of the hieroglyphic stairway in 2009 located in the small Guzman Group, and its intriguing narrative, its information will be reported on first.

The Guzman Group is an outlying group reached by a sacbe about .78 mile/1.3 km northwest of the Great Plaza that passes by other small architectural groups. It is a residential group set around a small plaza ringed by six structures. On the west side of the plaza is a small temple set on a platform, Structure GZ1 with a height of around 9.8 feet/3 meters. A hieroglyphic stairway was uncovered during excavations. The text reveals a narrative relating to members of an ancestral lineage who performed as emissaries/flag bearers/“Lakam”, to successive rulers of El Palmar over an extended period of time. This type of non-royal, ancestral lineage group has also been recently recorded at Group J in Palenque, a lineage group there bearing the title “Yajaw K’ahk’” Lord of Fire.

There are around 164 sculptured blocks arranged on the six steps that lead up to the vaulted, single chamber temple. The text names an individual, Ajpach’ Waal, who was a descendant of emissaries/standard-bearers, and commemorates his journey to the important kingdom of Copán located 217 miles/350 km to the south of El Palmar. There he was accorded an audience with the celebrated Waxaklajuun Ubaah K'awiil, aka 18 Rabbit, on 9.14.14.14.0, 9 Ajaw 18 Yaxkin/June 27, 726 CE to negotiate a political alliance. This event most likely occurred under the direction of Calakmul king Yuknoom Took’ K'awiil (r.702-736 CE) who also appears within the text. This apparently was the highlight of Ajpach’ Waal’s career as he commissioned the stairway just 3 months later on 9.14.15.0.0, 11 Ajaw 18 Sek/Sept 15, 726 CE. The text also names his father and his great grandfather both of whom were also “Lakam”.

An excavation under the floor of Structure GZ1 revealed a modest burial, Burial 1, of an individual and two polychrome ceramics. One of them illustrates a palace scene depicting a fire ritual performed by a seated dignitary and attendant servants. It is thought that the person interred in the tomb was most likely Ajpach Waal himself or perhaps his father, Ajlu…Chih.

Termination rituals were discovered on the floors of buildings GZ1 and GZ6, and have been dated to c.850 CE. Structure GZ6 is located on the north side of the plaza. It is a rectangular structure exhibiting three vaulted chambers. The group was abandoned sometime after that date.

The Main Group was built around the Central Aguada (reservoir) reflecting a sacred cosmology. On the north and south sides of the reservoir are located two temples having the largest pyramidal bases at the site, Temple 1 and Temple 2. More than 100 structures have been recorded, mostly formed around eight plazas that includes a ball court. A small temple, Structure PM29, is located in the center of the aguada. A plain stela, Stela 23, and altar, Altar 3, are located on its western side. A cache was recovered beneath the stela that contained 25 flint flakes and fragments, three flint leaf shaped knives, and an obsidian core.

Three stelae are located on the eastern side of the aguada. It has been suggested that the aguada may have functioned as a ritual space representing the primordial sea and the waters of the underworld, with Temples I and II as the “Flowery Mountain”, the place where vital forces, abundance, and fertility emanate from. A sacbe leads south from the aguada about 1148 feet/150 meters to Temple II.

Situated on the north side of the Central Aguada is Temple I, with a height of 98.5 feet/30 meters, and is the largest structure at El Palmar. The temple -pyramid closes off the south side of the Great Plaza. This plaza is the largest at the site, and includes numerous structures ranging from pyramids, temples, a palace complex, range type platforms, and a ball court. Twelve stelae and three altars have been recovered within the plaza. Six of the stelae, (Stelae 6, 8, 10, 16,18, and 37) have recoverable information detailing ritual activities that took place between 731-800 CE. The activities were based around Period Ending events depicting a scattering ritual/”chok ch’aaj”. A cache recovered under Stela 10 revealed a stunning example of lithic art. An intricately carved eccentric flint depicts the silhouettes of four deity heads that frame each of the corners.

The west side of Temple 1 overlooks Plaza E. Five stelae and five altars are located within the plaza. A palace complex is situated on the west and north sides of the plaza. Plaza G is situated within the palace complex about 33 feet/10 meters above the Plaza E floor level. A pyramidal structure is found on the northeast corner of the plaza that has stairways on both its east and west sides.

A small platform structure, Structure PM42, is found in the southeast corner of the Plaza E. Stela 12 is located in front of this platform and depicts a dance ritual/”ak’taj”. The rulers name and date of the event are incomplete, but importantly describes him as a vassal of Yuknoom Ch’een II (r.636-686), a powerful ruler of the Kaanu’l dynasty located at Calakmul. This is the earliest reference to El Palmar’s relationship with Calakmul. Stela 14, located in the center of the plaza, has a date identified as 9.19.10.0.0, 8 Ajaw 8 Xul/May 7, 820 CE, and references a scattering event performed by ruler Palaw Chan Yopaat.

Located to the west of Plaza E is the Justo Group. This group incorporates several small building complexes arranged around small plazas.

The east side of Temple I exhibits a central stairway that leads down to the Central Plaza. The Central Plaza, along with Plaza H, are the two areas of earliest occupation of El Palmar dating back to c.300 BCE.

The north side of the plaza has a flat-topped platform, Structure PM15. A ballcourt is located immediately to the north of this structure and is set on a north/south axis. In the vicinity of the ballcourt are located Altar 6, and Stela 31. The stela is severely eroded but still displays the figure of a ruler holding a spear in his right hand, and standing before a kneeling captive.

In the center of the plaza is a small temple, Structure PM16, which is associated with a plain stela, Stela 33. An elongated platform on the east side of the plaza, Structure PM19, incorporates three temple structures, and displays various sculpted monuments. This type of an architectural complex is termed an “E Group”, and was prevalent during the Preclassic and used to determine solar events such as the solstices and equinoxes.

Structure PM19 is connected on the south by the Grand Platform. This large basal platform supports several structures, some of which are arranged on a raised platform in front of Plaza H which overlooks the Central Aguada. The south end of the platform features a sacbe that has a length of about 492 feet/150 meters, and connects to Temple II and the K’awiil Plaza.

The K’awiil Plaza houses four buildings that ring the plaza. Temple II is located in the northeast corner of the plaza. This structure has a west-facing central stairway with a base of around 174 feet/53 meters. It reaches a height of about 95 feet/ 29 meters, making it the second tallest structure at the site.

Located in front of Temple II are Stela 42 and the important Altar 10. This circular altar has a ring of 25 glyphs that commemorates the end of Katun 6 on 9.6.0.0.0, 9 Ajaw 3 Wayeb/March 22, 554 CE by the ruler named in the text as K’ahk’ P’uhlaj Chan Yopaat Jatam? … K’awiil Tok’?, Sakho’ok?, lord of Wak Piit. The iconography on the altar’s face displays a cuneiform cross with deities in the corners. An image in the center may represent K’ahk’ P’uhlaj Chan Yopaat, impersonating the solar deity K’inich Ajaw. A cache was recovered in front of the altar that contained 9 flint objects, 25 cores and 19 obsidian flakes. This cache discovery was similar to that excavated in front of the temple associated with the Central Aguada.

The east side of the plaza is taken up by a small pyramid, Structure T-20-2. Its base measures 79 feet/24 meters, and has a height of 46 feet/12 meters. Stela 41 was set in front of the structure recording the latest date for El Palmar corresponding to 10.2.15.0.0, 8 Ajaw 8 Mol/May 28, 884 CE.

The south side of the plaza has a range type structure, Structure T20-1 that houses three temples. Two stelae were set up in front of this structure. A rectangular platform, Structure T21-34, is found on the west side of the plaza.

Four sacbeob lead out from the plaza to the four cardinal directions associating this plaza with ritual connotations. A cave has been documented about 1312 feet/400 m southwest of Temple II. Mountains (pyramidal structures), water (aguadas) and caves (the watery underworld) are fundamental elements of Mesoamerican religious beliefs. They symbolize abundance, fertility, and the underworld.

A short sacbe leads out to the east from K’awiil Plaza to Plaza López. This small plaza includes several small structures and dates to the Late Classic (600-900 CE). Little information on this group has been reported on by archaeologists.

A sacbe leads out .6 mile/1 km to the south to the Grupo Sánchez. A pyramid with a height of 33 feet/10 meters has been documented. Many other groups, complexes, and individual structures await their turn to be excavated, studied, and reported on by archaeologists.
December 2025