Kanki

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structure XI inah

structure VI inverted vaul gustavo enriquez

chukum residential platform mediateca/inah

overview google earth/mellard

southeast quadrangle inah

structure XV gustavo enriquez

structure I gustavo enriquez

chukum platform ceramic mediateca/inah

structure IV gustavo enriquez

str II & structure I c.2009 inah

structure I crest mask inah

site map inah

lintel 1 pollock/inah

passageway between strs I & II gustavo enriquez

mosaic block antonio benavidas c./ims

KANKI

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decorative element structure I gustavo enriquez

structure VI inah

drum columns gustavo enriquez

structure I gustavo enriquez

mosaic block dwarf & numerals antonio benavidas c./ims

route from pueblo to site google earth/mellard

structure IV vault inah

KANKI-Campeche, Yucatan

DESCRIPTION
Kanki/Kanchi is an archeological zone located outside of a small farming pueblo of the same name. The excavated structures show distinctive Puuc styles of architecture, and date to 650-850 CE.

The core area of the archaeological zone is spread across several hilltops surrounded by fertile savannah, and encompasses an area of about 20 acres/8 ha. The larger buildings are situated around small plazas and courtyards, along with several isolated free-standing structures. Chultúnes and aguadas provided water collection areas for the site.

Kankí is a Yucatec Maya place-name and refers to the yellow flowers of a variety of the agave species that grows in the region. The name could also refer to a type of honey, kan kib/kancib, an agricultural product dating back to the colonial era. The 1549 registry of the Tenabo encomienda notes that the inhabitants had to deliver annually “an arrova and a half of honey and fifteen arrovas of wax,” among other products. The encomendero at that time was Juan García de Llanos, a resident of the town of San Francisco de Campeche, now the capital of the state of the same name. The arrobas were weight units equivalent to about 25 pounds/11.5 kilos. The 15 arrobas of wax from the mid-16th century would have weighed just over 379 pounds/172 kilos, a huge amount.

From the city of Campeche, take Federal Highway 180 towards Tenabo. Make sure to take the Tinun/Tenabo exit off the 180. Stay on the service road past the Pemex gas station, and look for signage to Kanki Pueblo. Follow this winding road for about 8.5 miles/13.6 km. Just before the pueblo, a small sign will indicate to take a left onto a dirt road. Once on this road take the first dirt road to the right for about .18 miles/.28 km. At the intersection take a left onto a smaller dirt road that runs between agricultural fields for .6 miles/.96 km to the site entrance. The dirt roads may be difficult to navigate during the rainy season due to the mud. (see map image)

HOURS:8 A.M.-5 P.M. everyday
ENTRANCE FEE: Free
GUIDES: none on site, check at Kanki Pueblo
SERVICES: Bathrooms, Service kiosk
ON-SITE MUSEUM: no
ACCOMMODATIONS: Campeche City offers numerous options
GPS: 19d 59’ 55”N, 90d 06” 41”W
MISC: Best visited during the dry season November through April

hISTORY AND EXPLORATION
Ceramic evidence shows an early occupation dating to around 50 CE. All the current, exposed masonry architecture dates between 650-850 CE with the peak activity of the site occurring between 750-850 CE. The site was apparently abandoned around 1000 CE.

There have been no glyphic texts recovered to identify Kanki’s rulers or its social/political associations with other sites. However, Kanki was a contemporary of several other Puuc sites located nearby such as Acanmul, Xcalumkín, and the regional capital of Edzna, and probably had trade and political relationships with them. Earlier sub-structures have an architectural style similar to that found in the Peten, and may indicate a relationship with that important area as well.

Lintel 1 was recovered at the Cacabbeec Group which is located southwest from the site core. The lintel shows a warrior holding a spear with his left hand, and a shield on his right hand that depicts the head of the Central Mexican rain/war god, Tlaloc, surrounded by feathers that is identified with the War Serpent headdress. This iconographic representation of the Tlaloc-Venus cult has been found at other sites such as Yaxchilan, Palenque, Xcalumkin, Copan and Tikal, and would appear to indicate some form of a connection with Teotihuacan.

In 1861 the Hacienda Kanki was built by dismantling some of the Kanki site structures, and using the well-cut stones for the new constructions. This would probably account for the current, degraded state of Kanki, an unfortunate circumstance that has severely affected numerous sites.

Kanki was first reported on by Harry Pollock in the 1930’s, during investigations carried out by the Carnegie Institution. The next investigations were carried out by George Andrews in the 1980’s recording new information on several structures. In 1990 Antonio Benavides C. and Renée Zapata of INAH began the first architectural restorations and consolidations. Additional monumental buildings were recorded over a surface area of approximately 54 acres/22 ha. In 2009 conservation and restoration work was carried out by INAH archaeologists Sara Novelo O. and Antonio Benavides C.

In 2013 the House of the 20 Rooms, the Building with the Inverted Staircase Vault, the southern building of the Southeast Quadrangle, and the House of the East were part of a maintenance program to repair damage caused by a hurricane the previous year. The archaeological rescue of a large, circular residential platform at the entrance to the site was carried out in 2015.

STRUCTURES
The site core of Kanki is comprised of monumental architecture surrounding four main plazas and several courtyards, some interconnected. The main structures are situated on top of a 42 foot/15 meter high natural hill. Entryways to the structures are often between columns that are either plain or of a drum style and are topped by capitals. Other structures consisting of minor platforms and house foundations are located on the savannah that surrounds the site core which consists of fertile red soil known as kankab. The site is set on an axis about 18.5 degrees east of North.

The first group of structures seen when entering the site is located in the West Plaza. These are in a mostly ruined state with a few of the building’s vaulted chambers observed. The central axis of this group is different from all the other groups, and is orientated to the cardinal directions. A vaulted passageway leads into the main plaza at the site, the Principal Plaza.

The Principal Plaza is ringed by three structures. The most important building here, and at the site, is Structure I/the Crestería.

Structure I is situated on the west side of the plaza. This multi-chamber building of two stories has been partially restored. On the east side the upper section of the building displays a long frieze decorated with the remains of several stucco masks. The upper level features a crest that exhibits a central mask flanked by rectangular openings. The mask displays a prominent nose with hollow eyes and could be a dual representation of both Kinich Ahau, a solar deity, and the rain god Chaac. Astronomical observations of the Sun at sunset have been observed piercing the mask’s eyes on specific dates revealing calendrical and agricultural associations. The lower portions of the building are somewhat buried in rubble.

Structure I is an Early Puuc (715-770 CE) building constructed between 700-750 CE, and was originally painted a deep red color. A narrow passageway between Structures I and II was excavated in 2017. A partial stone mosaic block panel was discovered there that depicts an elite individual, and one block depicting a dwarf with glyphs and numerals that might name an individual as Aj Cha K'uk'. Structure II is in a ruined state with one vaulted chamber visible.

Structure III is set on southside of the plaza, and Structure IV on the east side of the plaza. Both are multi-chambered buildings in a mostly ruined state. Remains of vaulted chambers are still to be seen.

One of the intact chambers of Structure IV is known as the House of the East. Investigations have determined that this structure dates to the Early Puuc style. To the east of Structure IV is the East Plaza.

The East Plaza is a large plaza incorporating several structures, the most notable being Structure VI. Structure VI is a 4-chamber structure that originally had four separate entrances on each side of the building. It measures 40 feet/12.2 m by 22.4 feet/6.8m, and features an interesting “inverted staircase vault”. This architectural design was made with long slabs placed in a cantilevered position, but showing their edges in such a way that they resemble an inverted staircase as seen from the top. This technique corresponds to an architectural transition phase between that of the Petén, and the beginning of Puuc style architecture, and is dated between the years 600-650 CE termed Proto-Puuc (600-715 CE).

While Structure VI is located on the southside of the East Plaza, its main stairway is on found on the south side of the structure facing away from the plaza. A broad terrace separates the stairway from the building’s main entryway.

About 272 feet/83 m southeast of Structure VI is the Southeast Quadrangle. This area has received only minor interventions, especially to some sections of the building on the south side of the plaza, Structure XV, which was the main construction of the complex. The building exhibits two levels containing numerous chambers that are separated by a lateral support wall with an east-west axis. The access staircase is in the center of the building and is termed a “Flying Stairway” a feature typical of Puuc architecture, and like StructureVI, faces to the south away from the plaza. This structure dates from the late period of Puuc architecture, the Puuc Junquillo phase, dating to 750-850 CE.

Another complex that is set a distance from the Principal Plaza is located this time to the southwest, and was constructed atop an artificially leveled hill. Its main structure, Structure XI, is called the House of Twenty Rooms. The design and orientation of the building is similar to that of Structure XV, but without the lateral dividing wall or second story. Half of the rooms face to the south and the other half to the north.

The last structure to be reported on was uncovered in 2017, and is called the Chukum Platform, and is located a few feet/meters east of the service kiosk.

Analysis of the recovered ceramics indicate that the circular platform had a very long occupational history spanning from the Late Preclassic, c.250 CE, to the Late/Terminal Classic (600-950 CE). The excavations reveal that the platform was used as a residential complex, and included at least two burials. The lithic materials recovered consisted of flint and flint flakes used as tools for scraping and cutting, along with flint axes and obsidian knives.

October 2024