Ceramic fragments tell us that Muyil was settled by about 300 BC, the end of the Middle Formative, but no architectural elements this old have been found. The site grew slowly through the next 900 years. Farming grew in importance, but hunting, gathering and fishing were the major source of food. Like today, the forests and marshlands near the site were an abundant source of fish, game, and edible plants. In the latter part of this period (Early Classic - AD 300 - 600) masonry architecture appeared. Both civic-ceremonial architecture and different size house mounds indicate a developing class structure. During the Middle and Late Classic, architecture and ceramics show ties with sites to the south in the Peten and Belize, gradually shifting to have a greater focus on Maya sites to the west, such as Chichen Itza and Uxmal. Muyil is well-situated to have served as a route for both land and sea trade between Coba and areas to the south. In the Postclassic (after AD 1000) Muyil participates in both the architectural style of the East Coast, and in its ceramic styles. Many pieces of large Chen Mul censers that date to this era were recovered in excavations at Muyil. Following the arrival of the Spanish, nothing is heard from Muyil until the area is resettled in the mid 1800s. The population was likely diminished by disease, as well as fleeing into the interior of the peninsula.

• published: 05 Jul 2011
• views: 41
• author: soplaymx