Xcalumkin

The ruins were discovered by Teobert Maler in March 1887. He later published a short narrative description of them, illustrated by two photographs (Maler 1902, pp. 202-204). About ten other photographs of his hav.e survived, the most important being those of the Initial Series Building, from which Maler and his men had spent several days clearing rubble.

In 1903, E. H. Thompson visited the site to mould inscriptions for the Peabody Museum. (How many of the resulting plaster casts are still in existence is uncertain since the casts are not all accessible; photographs, however, exist of three casts). The next archaeologists known to have been to the site were Sylvanus G. Morley in 1918 and Thomas Gann in 1924. Morley published his reading of the date in the Initial Series Building (Morley 1918), but otherwise neither of them recorded data of significance. The name "Holactun," which Morley used for the site, was considered by Harry Pollock (1980, p. 418) to be perhaps valid for the Main Group (see Notes on the Ruins, below); but probably it would be better discarded altogether.

In April and May 1935, Pollock and H. B. Roberts of the Carnegie Institution of Washington spent three weeks at Xcalumkin, the former to gather data for the Architectural Survey project, the latter to undertake a ceramics survey. Although meeting with disappointment in his intended work, Roberts was far luckier in carrying out a task delegated to him by Pollock, namely clearing rubble from the Hieroglyphic Group, for in that precinct rich epigraphic discoveries awaited him. Eleven of the sculptures found by Pollock and Roberts were reproduced by Tatiana Proskouriakoff (1950, pls. 94, 95), but it was not until 45 years after their fieldwork was done that Pollock presented a full account of their discoveries (1980, pp. 418-456).

At some time prior to 1942, Raul Pavon Abreu removed from Xcalumkin a number of pieces of sculpture for exhibition in the Museo Arqueologico in Campeche, including Jambs 1, 6, and 7; Columns 2 and 5; and Panels 5 to 8 (Pavon 1942, catalogue numbers 9 and 57-61). It was fortunate that he did so, for the site was plundered in the 1960s, but in retrospect one can only regret that, since he lacked the means to consolidate it, he did not dismantle the remaining section of vaulted roof and remove Column 1 as well as Column 2, for collapse was clearly imminent; in fact it occurred within three years, as Alberto Ruz reported (1945, p. 48).

In 1968 Ray Matheny and his students spent three weeks reconnoitering the site and making test excavations on behalf of the New World Archaeological Foundation, while Eduardo Martinez E. of the same foundation mapped the Main Group. A report on the ceramic collections obtained there (Forsythe 1982) contains a version of Martinez' map.

Eric von Euw's work for the Corpus was carried out in 1976 and 1978, in the course of which he removed some of the remaining sculpture to the Museo Arqueologico, Campeche. Ian Graham's visits were made in 1986 and 1988.

The heart of the site, or Main Group, is made up of about 30 buildings erected on level ground, most of them on raised platforms; they are clustered in a close but irregular grouping round the Initial Series Court and its conjoined structures. While the Initial Series Group as a whole appears to be the result of a haphazard sequence of building operations, it has a generally northward aspect, facing onto a large court. The orientation of buildings in the group is varied with a tendency to run a little east of north.

In several structures, partially preserved vaulted roofs remain, but for a site in the Puuc area, Xcalumkin has remarkably little geometric decoration, and mask panels are unknown. Unfortunately one of the most interesting architectural features recorded by Pollock (1980, pp. 428-432), the triple doorway of the Northwest Building, notable for its piers or double jambs decorated with quarter-columns, has collapsed since his visit.

Two cenotes lie at the edge of the Main Group. The larger of them consists of an opening about 7 m in diameter, which reveals a flat rock surface about 1.5 m below; this in turn is perforated by a smaller hole which discloses a large natural chamber 10 m deep. It was reported to Pollock (1980, p. 419) that this cenote contains water during the rainy season, and indeed it must receive a large quantity of surface drainage through the orifice.

Most of the surrounding low hills are surmounted by one or more courts, many of them containing chultuns. A particularly fine chultun is found in the court built on a small hill that the road skirts at a point where an elevation of 39.0 m is marked on the 1:8,000 plan. For the sake of orientation, it may be worth identifying another small hilltop court lying about 150 m south-southeast of that hill as the location of test pit T17 shown on a plan (Brainerd 1958, Map 18) of trenches and pits sunk by Roberts.

Inscribed monuments are found exclusively in two locales: in the Initial Series Building and in two buildings in the Hieroglyphic Group. The South Building in the latter group has an abundance of hieroglyphic texts; indeed, it may have no rival in the Yucatan Peninsula for richness of inscriptional embellishment.

Morley (1946, p. 420) mentions a painted capstone at Xcalumkin, or coming from there, but we have failed to locate it.

Both plans presented here are of composite origin. The 1:8,000 map showing the environs of the site and the road that passes through its central zone is based on Graham's mapping with transit and stadia rod; to this have been added contours enlarged from the 1:50,000 sheet (F15D89) of the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, GeogrMica e Informatica. Contours have been added to show three low hills not visible on that map: one is the first hillock skirted by the road just south of the turnoff from the Hecelchakan to Cumpich road; the others are the second and third hillocks seen to the east of the road by a traveler heading south along it from the central zone (the second is the site of test pit 17, as mentioned above), Note that the term central zone has been coined for the nonce; it merely defines the area chosen for presentation at the scale of 1:2,000 and distinguishes that area within the plan at the scale of 1:8,000.

The 1:2,000 plan of the central zone is based principally on mapping done in 1968 for the New World Archaeological Foundation by the late Eduardo Martinez E. As was his usual practice, Martinez produced a 1:1,000 contour map with intervals of 1 m. At some later stage, for publication purposes, the structures, all of which had originally been delineated only by contour lines, were redrawn in the conventional rectified, geometrical manner. It should be noted that in this version (Forsythe 1982, fig. 2) the actual scale is only 65 percent of the scale indicated.

In the course of brief visits to the site in 1986 and 1988, both of them in the month of February, Graham did some surveying with transit and stadia rod, but unfortunately the heavy mantle of tall grass and shrubs which invariably covers the ruins at that season made detailed mapping out of the question. Some 20 II shots" on structures confirm the general reliability of Martinez' map, though in the drafting stage Graham found that it was necessary to make some adjustments to bring it into conformity with his own. The process of rectifying the contour map is undoubtedly responsible for some serious misinterpretations: for example, the large structure shown about 30 m southwest of the larger cenote is in reality a natural hillock supporting a ruined building (in which a heavy stone lintel remains in place); just to the north of it is a similar structure.

Into the plan of the central zone there have also been incorporated Harry Pollock's more detailed plans of the Initial Series Group, the North Hill Group, and the Hieroglyphic Group (Pollock 1980, figs. 703, 730, 735). The spot elevations given are based on an assumed datum of 35.0 m above sea level for a point near the road junction shown at the top of the 1:8,000 map, an estimate from the trends discernible on the 1:50,000 map. Since the Hecelchakan-Cumpich road does not appear on the published 1:50,000 map, the delineation of it on the accompanying 1:125,000 access map had to be based on Graham's rough survey by compass and odometer.

In the present work, each inscribed monument has been placed in one of the common categories of sculptured stones and assigned a number within it. Given below is a concordance of these new designations with the excessively cumbersome, if more descriptive, ones formerly in use. One category of inscribed stone that was absent from the original list (p.l:25) and is now introduced is the capital (abbreviated Cap.); within it will be included architectural elements that might more properly be termed corbels, but the similarity of the Spanish term capitel is an argument in its favor.

Initial Series Building Lintel-Lintell west jamb-Jamb 1

Corbel, west jamb-Capital 1 East jamb-Jamb 2

Corbel, east jamb-Capital 3 West column-Column 1

Capital of west column-Capital 2 East column-Column 2

Tablet above Initial Series panel-Panel 1 Initial Series panel-Panel 2

Hieroglyphic Group, Northwest Building

Sculptured stone in east wall, south wing-Fragment 1

Hieroglyphic Group, Middle Building

North doorway, west jamb-Jamb 3

South doorway, west jamb-Jamb 4

South doorway, corbel of west jamb-Capital 4 South doorway, east jamb-Jamb 5

South doorway, corbel of east jamb-Capital 5 South doorway, west column-Column 3 South doorway, east column-Column 4

East inner doorway, inscription-Miscellaneous 5

Hieroglyphic Group, South Building

North facade, medial moulding-Cornice 1 North doorway, lintel-Lintel 2

North doorway, east panel-Panel 3

North doorway, west panel-Panel 4

North doorway, east column-Column 5 North doorway, west column-Column 6

North side, inner doonvay, east human panel-Panel 5 North side, inner doorway, east glyphic panel-Panel 6 North side, inner doorway, west human panel-Panel 7 North side, inner doorway, west glyphic panel-Panel 8 North side, inner doorway, lintel-Lintel 3

North side, inner doorway, east jamb-Jamb 6

North side, inner doorway, west jamb-Jamb 7

South side, lintel-Lintel 4

South side, west jamb-Jamb 8

South side, east jamb-Jamb 9

Jamb fragment, undocumented-Fragment 2

SITE	VOL/Part	Monument	Side	Page	Pub.year	Notes	Peabody Number
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Map		149	1992
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Map of Ruins		154	1992
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Initial Series bldg	map	156	1992	2 pieces
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Lintel 1	front	157	1992		2004.15.6.10.8
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Lintel 1	stone 1	157	1992		2004.15.6.10.9
XCALUMKIN	4.6	Lintel 1	stone 2	158	1992		2004.15.6.10.10
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Lintel 2	underside	159	1992		2004.15.6.10.11
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Lintel 3	front edge	160	1992		2004.15.6.10.12
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Lintel 3	underside	160	1992		2004.15.6.10.13
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Lintel 4	front edge	161	1992		2004.15.6.10.14
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Lintel 4	underside	161	1992		2004.15.6.10.15
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 1	face	163	1992		2004.15.6.10.16
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 1	outer edge	163	1992		2004.15.6.10.17
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 2	face	164	1992		2004.15.6.10.18
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 2	outer edge	164	1992		2004.15.6.10.19
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 3	broad face	165	1992		2004.15.6.10.20
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 4	broad face	166	1992		2004.15.6.10.21
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 5	broad face	167	1992	1 small piece missing	2004.15.6.10.22
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 6	inner face	168	1992		2004.15.6.10.23
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 6	outer edge	168	1992		2004.15.6.10.24
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 7	broad face	169	1992		2004.15.6.10.25
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 7	outer edge	169	1992		2004.15.6.10.26
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 8	left edge	170	1992		2004.15.6.10.27
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Jamb 9	right edge	171	1992		2004.15.6.10.28
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Column 1	Panel	173	1992		2004.15.6.10.29
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Column 2	Panel	174	1992	2 copies	2004.15.6.10.30
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Column 3	Panel	175	1992		2004.15.6.10.31
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Column 4	Panel	176	1992		2004.15.6.10.32
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Column 5	Panel	177	1992		2004.15.6.10.33
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Column 6	Panel	178	1992		2004.15.6.10.34
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Panel 1	front	179	1992		2004.15.6.10.35
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Panel 2 w/Panel 1	front	180	1992		2004.15.6.10.36
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Panel 3	front	181	1992		2004.15.6.10.37
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Panel 4	front	182	1992		2004.15.6.10.38
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Panel 5	5 upper, Panel 6	183	1992		2004.15.6.10.39
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Panel 7	7 upper, pannel 8	185	1992		2004.15.6.10.40
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Capital 1	block	187	1992		2004.15.6.10.41
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Capital 2	block	188	1992
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Capital 3	block	189	1992		2004.15.6.10.42
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Capital 4	slab	190	1992		2004.15.6.10.43
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Capital 5	slab	191	1992		2004.15.6.10.44
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Cornice 1	blocks	194	1992		2004.15.6.10.45
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Misc. 5	doorway	197	1992		2004.15.6.10.46

SITE (by Vol)	VOL/Part	Author(s)
XCALUMKIN	4.3	Ian Graham and Eric von Euw, Vol 4.3, 1992

Inscriptions at Xcalumkin

Drawing of Xcalumkin, Lintel 1, 2004.15.15.1.346

Drawing of Xcalumkin, Lintel 1, A-P, 2004.15.15.1.347

Photo of Xcalumkin, Lintel 1, plaster casts, 2004.15.5.10.10

Location

The term lintel as used here embraces the three lintel slabs that once spanned the triple entrance on the south side of the east chamber of the Initial Series Building. Because of damage to the ends of the two surviving slabs it cannot be determined whether these slabs were placed end-to-end in contiguity or were separated by small blocks, each carved with a single glyph, one placed centrally on the capital of the east column, and one on the west. Assuming that the former arrangement was employed, the long slabs may be designated as Stones I to 1lI (numbering from west to east), and it is safe to assume that a single inscription ran from one end to the other. When found by Maler, Stone I, spanning the western entrance, and the capitals supporting it were still in place, while the lintel-slab of the central aperture, Stone II, lay on the ground, probably near where it fell. Stone III from the eastern entrance has not been found.

In order to include them in his photograph (Peabody Museum print P18l5), Maler placed six other carved stones on top of the fallen Stone II. One is a fragment of Jamb 2, another is provisionally identified as the capital of the same jamb (Cap. 3); the others are presumed to be fragments of Stones II and III-or else of the two hypothetical intermediate stones. The glyphs on these fragments and on another that is visible in a photograph by Pollock (1970, fig. 707) have been given p (provisional) numbers, with these not implying any particular arrangement. It should be noted that in Pollock's photograph this last-named fragment is seen placed next to Stone I, where it was dearly out of place: the glyph it bears does not match up with Glyph H, and Maler's photograph reveals it was not found in that position. Stones I and II and one fragment are in the Museo Ba!uartes Ia Soledad, Campeche; the rest have disappeared. The elevation drawing of the doorway has been prepared to scale from measurements taken by Pollock (Peabody Museum Archives).

Condition

The surviving stones were reasonably well preserved at discovery and remain in much the same condition. Stone II, perhaps in falling, suffered damage at the edges.

Material

Limestone.

Shape

The exposed surfaces are well dressed.

Carved Areas

Front only.

Photographs

Stones I and II: von Euw; the plasler cast reproduced from a Peabody Museum photo; the fragments from an original Maler photo (Peabody Museum print P1815).

Drawings

von Euw and Graham, based on photographs, and in the case of Stones I and II, on field drawings corrected by artificial light.

Dimensions

Stone I:	HI	0.28 m
	MW	1.69m
	MTh	0.61 m
	Rel	O.5cm
Stone II:	HI	0.26 m
	MW	1.39 m
	MTh	0.50 m
	Rel	1.1 cm

Length	1.35 m
MW	0.57 m
HSc	0.28 m
WSc	0.87m
MTh	0.25 m
Rel	unknown

Length	1.48 m
MW	0.60 m
HSc (underside)	0.48 m
WSc (underside)	0.96 m
MTh	0.32 m
HSc (front)	0.20 m
Rel	unknown

MW	0.61 m
HSc (underside)	0.52m
WSc (underside)	0.85 m
MTh	0.34m
Rel	unknown

Face:	HLC	1.45 m
	MW	0.57 m
	MTh	0.23 m
		approx.
	Rel	1.5 em
Edge:	Hsc	1.49 m
	MW	0.18 m
	Rel	0.9 cm

HLC	0.55 m plus
PB	0.10 m
MW	0.49 m
MTh	0.24 m
Rel	1.5 cm

HLC	1.50 m
PB	0.20 m
MW	0.49 m
MTh	0.10 m (thinned)
Rel	1.5 cm

HLC	1.58 m
PB	0.16 m
MW	0.50 m
MTh	0.10 m (thinned)
Rel	1.5 cm

HLC (face)	1.66 m
PB	0.21 m plus
HLC (edge)	1.50 m
MW	0.60 m
WSc (edge)	0.23 m
MTh	0.31 m
Rel	2.4 cm

HLC (face)	1.64 m
PB	0.24 m plus
HLC (edge)	1.58 m
MW	0.60 m
WSc (edge)	0.22 m
MTh	0.33 m
rel	3.0 cm

Ht	0.84 m
MTh	0.34 m
WSc	0.20 m
Rel	unknown

HLC	0.85 m
PB	0.16 m
MTh	0.29 m
WSc	0.21 m
Rel	unknown

HLC	1.57 m
PB	0.08 m
Dia	0.62 m
HSc	1.51 m
WSc	0.64 m
Rel	1.2 cm

HLC	1.66 m
WSc	0.60 m
Circumference	1.68 m
Rel	1.5 cm

Ht	1.67 m
WSc	0.64 m
Circumference	1.88 m
Rel	1.5 cm

HLC	1.48 m
PB	0.11 m plus
Max dia	0.53 m
WSc	0.42 m
Rel	2.0 cm

HLC	1.45 m
HSc	1.39 m
WSc	0.39 m
Max. Dia.	0.54 m
Rel	1.8 cm

Ht	3.62 m
MW	0.44 m
MTh	0.22 m
Rel	1.7cm

HSc	0.85 m
WSc	0.63 m
Rel	1.3 cm

Ht	0.77m
HSc	0.63 m
MW	0.73 m
WSc	0.59 m
MTh	0.34 m
Rel	5.0 cm

Ht	0.51 m
MW	0.46 m
MTh 0.27m
Rel	1.6 cm

HI	0.74 m
MW	O.69m
MTh	0.30m
Rel	5.5 cm

Ht	0.20 m
MW	0.39 m
MTh	0.56 m
Rel	0.3 cm

Ht	0.20 m
MW	0.56 m
MTh 0.60 m
Rel	0.4 cm

Ht	0.20 m
MW	0.39 m
MTh	no record
Rel	no record

Ht	0.23 m
MW	0.49 m
MTh	0.38 m
Rel	1.5 cm

Ht	0.24 m
MW	0.39-0.70m
MTh	0.27-0.65 m
Rel	0.7-1.6 cm

Drawing of Xcalumkin, Miscellaneous 5, 2004.15.15.1.383

Photo of Xcalumkin, Miscellaneous 5, 2004.15.5.10.51

Location

This is the south face of the east doorway in the medial wall of the Middle Building of the Hieroglyphic Group. At some time in the 1960s the doorway was dismantled in order to remove the carved stones for safekeeping. They were stored first at the Templo de San Juan de Dios, Merida, and later transferred to the Museo Arqueologico, Merida. One stone, which carried glyphblock A and the numerical coefficient of B, was lost.

Condition

Except for a few losses at the edges, all the stones are in excellent state. When found, however, they were not in original order, plainly having been reset in antiquity: the block carrying glyph block I was missing, glyph-block J was inverted, and five glyphs in the column flanking the right-hand side of the doorway were jumbled.

Material

Limestone.

Shape

The blocks were finely hewn to rectangular shape.

Dimensions

Carved Areas

Front surface only.

Photographs

View: Pollock; mosaic photo of sculpture: von Euw.

Drawing

Graham, based on field drawings by von Euw.

Terminal panels:

Left:	Ht	0.37m
	MW	0.39m
	MTh 0.20 m
	Rel	1.2 cm

Right:	Ht	0.37m
	MW	0.40 m
	MTh 0.18 m
	Rel	1.5 cm

Inscribed blocks:

Mean width of band	0.245 m
Mean thickness	0.18 m
Depth of relief	between 0.8
	and 1.6 cm

Xcalumkin

Other Names for the Site expand_more

Location and Access expand_more

Previous Investigations at the Site expand_more

Notes on the Ruins expand_more

Notes on the Plans of the Ruins expand_more

Note on Nomenclature of Sculptures expand_more

Register of Inscriptions at the Site expand_more

Notes expand_more

References Cited expand_more

Site Volume Reference expand_more

Author Reference expand_more

Inscriptions at Xcalumkin

Lintel 1 expand_more

Location

Condition

Material

Shape

Carved Areas

Photographs

Drawings

Dimensions

Lintel 2 expand_more

Location

Condition

Material

Shape

Carved Areas

Photograph

Drawing

Dimensions

Lintel 3 expand_more

Location

Condition

Material

Shape

Carved Areas

Photographs

Drawings

Dimensions

Lintel 4 expand_more

Location

Condition

Material

Shape

Photographs

Carved Areas

Drawings

Remarks

Dimensions

Jamb 1 expand_more

Location

Condition

Material

Shape

Carved Areas

Photographs

Drawings

Dimensions

Jamb 2 expand_more

Location

Condition

Material

Shape

Dimensions

Carved Areas

Photographs

Drawings

Jamb 3 expand_more

Location

Condition

Material

Shape

Carved Areas

Photograph

Drawing

Dimensions

Jamb 4 expand_more

Location

Condition