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Xpuhil, Quintana Roo Mexico Mayan ruins  

Photography by Bill Bell

Locate on Highway 186 on the border between Quintana Roo and Campeche

Xpuhil (also Xpujil) is a Maya archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Campeche, in the vicinity of the modern-day town of Xpujil. The area surrounding Xpuhil, along Federal Highway 186, is rich with other Maya sites, including Becan and Calakmul.


Reconstructive drawing of Structure I by Tatiana Proskouriakoff
Xpujil as it appeared in 2000.
A detailed look at the face on the rear of the middle tower of Structure I. Some sources say this is a jaguar face.The name xpuhil means "cat's tail" in reference to a type of vegetation found locally.

Evidence at the site indicates settlement as early as 400 BC. The pre-Columbian inhabitants of Xpuhil reached their zenith between AD 500 and 750, and went into decline around 1100.

Xpuhil was rediscovered in the late 1930s. To date, 17 groups of constructions have been uncovered, which mostly follow Río Bec architectural canons. Structure I is of particular interest because it is not in the Río Bec style, with its three towers and atypical distribution of interior spaces.

 

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