Ruta Puuc

Historia

Puuc, Mayan name of a series of low hills with a singular cultural zone and style. Uxmal, as already mentioned, is one of the best examples, but close by there are other delights in the same style which, in their time, were important Mayan communities.

Some of the characteristics of Puuc decoration include the pyramids topped with latticework, the small, false columns embedded in the facades and the stylized figurations of Mayan chozas (huts). They also made great use of diamond shapes and scrolls, to which they added figurative elements like snakes and masks of the god Chaac, the god of rain, characterized by large eyes, an open mouth displaying long fangs and, above all, a prominent, curved trunk-like nose. This type of decoration is made up of numerous pieces of stone, previously worked and polished and then assembled in a mosaic, producing a striking decorative effect.

A number of cisterns or chultunes can be found in the area which served to collect rainwater since no other source of storage existed for this vital liquid; this explains the abundance of representations of the god, Chaac, and his importance to the Maya who worshipped him to secure sufficient rainfall.