Region and Maya architectural style of Yucatán, Mexico
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Major sites of the Puuc style (black), Chenes style (green) and transitional styles (blue)Puuc building atXculoc,Campeche, as drawn byFrederick Catherwood, 1841Ruins of the Palace ofSayil.Decoration of Codz Poop atKabáh.Detail of building in the Nunnery Quadrangle inUxmal.
Puuc is the name of a region in theMexican state ofYucatán and aMaya architectural style prevalent in that region. The wordpuuc is derived from the Maya term for "hill". Since the Yucatán is relatively flat, this term was extended to encompass the largekarstic range of hills in the southern portion of the state, hence the termsPuuc region orPuuc hills. The Puuc hills extend into northernCampeche and westernQuintana Roo.
The term Puuc is also used to designate thearchitectural style of ancient Maya sites located within the Puuc hills, hence the termPuuc architecture. This architectural style began at the end of theLate Classic period but experienced its greatest extent during theTerminal Classic period.
In the florescence of Puuc architecture (such as at the ancientMaya site ofUxmal) buildings were decorated with carefully cutveneer stones set into aconcrete core. The lower portion of thefaçades are blank with a flat surface of rectangular blocks punctuated by doorways, while the upper façade is richly decorated with intricate stonemosaics, often alternating repeated geometric elements with more elaborate figurative sculpture. Long-nosed masks (commonly believed to be of the Maya rain godChaac) are found on many Puuc buildings.
Beyond the impressive decorative elements of Puuc architecture, the use of a concrete core is also considered an architectural advance beyond the earlier Maya technique of using larger stones (set on top of one another in lime and mud mortar) for structural support. The concrete core-veneermasonry allowed for slightly larger and more stable interior rooms. Manycorbelled vaults in the Puuc style remain standing, even when most of the veneer stones have fallen away.
The most famous of theMaya sites exhibiting the Puuc architectural style isUxmal; other major Puuc-style sites in the region includeLabna,Kabah,Sayil andXlapak. The architectural style is also seen atKiuic,Bolonchen,Chunhuhub,Xculoc, and many smaller ruins. The transition from earlier Classic Period architecture to Puuc style core-veneer masonry is well documented at the site ofOxkintok. To the south, the style can be found inEdzná; and to the east atChichen Itza (outside of the Puuc Hills region).
As stated by the Maya explorer Teobert Maler, who explored this zone intensively, the area around the site of Dolores is full of ruins. The recently completed Chunhuaymil project compiled data of the remaining Puuc architecture of 19 archaeological sites located in a 100 square kilometers area.[1]
Puuc Biocultural State Reserve, also known as Kaxil Kiuic reserve (SpanishReserva Estatal Biocultural del Puuc) was designated in 2011. It covers an area of 1358.93 km2.[2] The reserve was created to protect the region's archeological sites as well as its biodiverse flora and fauna. The reserve is home to 247 bird, 63 mammal, 52 reptile, and 14 amphibian species. Five species of large felines, includingjaguars, live in the reserve.[3]
^Merk, Stephan (2011): The Long Silence. Sabana Piletas and Its Neighbours. Markt Schwaben: Saurwein.
^UNEP-WCMC (2020). Protected Area Profile for Reserva Estatal Biocultural del Puuc from the World Database of Protected Areas, November 2020. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net
^"Chichen Itzá, Jumping in a Cenote, and a Biocultural Reserve!" Science Abroad, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Accessed 15 November 2020.[1]
Andrews, George F. (1999)Pyramids, Palaces, Monsters and Masks: The Golden Age of Maya Architecture. Labyrinthos Press, Culvert City.
Carmean, Kelli, Nicholas Dunning and Jeff K. Kowalski. 2004High times in the hill country: a perspective from the Terminal Classic Puuc region. In, The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition, and Transformation. Arthur A. Demarest, Prudence M. Rice, and Don S. Rice, eds. pp. 424–449. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Dunning, Nicholas P. 1992Lords of the Hills: Ancient Maya Settlement in the Puuc Region, Yucatán, Mexico. Centre d'Etudes Mexicaines et Centraméricaines, Mexico.
Dunning, Nicholas P. and Jeff K. Kowalski. 1994Lord of the Hills: Classic Maya settlement patterns and political iconography in the Puuc Region, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 5(1):63–95. Cambridge, England.
Gendrop, Paul 1998Rio Bec, Chenes, and Puuc Styles in Maya Architecture. Labyrinthos. 239 p., Culver City.
Merk, Stephan 2011The Long Silence. Sabana Piletas and Its Neighbours: An Architectural Survey of Maya Ruins in Northeastern Campeche, México. Markt Schwaben, Germany: Verlag Anton Saurwein.
Mills, Lawrence, (ed.) 1979The Puuc: New Perspectives: Papers Presented at the Puuc Symposium, Central College, May, 1977. Central College Press, Pella, IA.
Pollock, Harry E. D. 1980Puuc: An Architectural Survey of the Hill Country of Yucatan and Northern Campeche, Mexico. Harvard University, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Cambridge, MA.
Prem, Hanns J. (ed.) 1994Hidden Among the Hills: Maya Archaeology of the Northwest Yucatan Península. Hanns J. Prem, ed. pp. 247–288 Acta Mesoamericana, 7. Verlag von Flemming, Möckmühl.
Sabloff, Jeremy A. and Gair Tourtellot. 1991Ancient Maya City of Sayil: The Mapping of a Puuc Region Center. Publication, 60, Tulane University, Middle American Research Institute, New Orleans.
Tourtellot, Gair. 2001 "Puuc", inThe Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America. David Carrasco, ed. v. 3. pp. 42–43. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.
