General boundaries of the Puuc region.

Puuc building at Chunhuhub, Campeche, as drawn by Frederick Catherwood, 1841

Corner Chaac mask at Uxmal.

Puuc is the name of a region in the Mexican state of Yucatán as well as a maya architectural style prevalent in that region. The word "puuc" is derived from the Maya term for "hill". Since the Yucatán is relatively flat, this term was extended to encompass the large karstic range of hills in the southern portion of the state, hence, the terms Puuc region or Puuc hills. The Puuc hills extend into northern Campeche and western Quintana Roo. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Maya Puuc style building, Chunhuhub, Campeche State; 19th century engraving by Frederick Catherwood. ... Maya Puuc style building, Chunhuhub, Campeche State; 19th century engraving by Frederick Catherwood. ... Campeche is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Uxmal, Chac mask, pic by Infrogmation, 1977 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Uxmal, Chac mask, pic by Infrogmation, 1977 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Chaac (also rendered as Chaak or Chac) is the originally Yucatec name of the Maya rain deity. ... Panorama of Uxmal Uxmal (, ) is a large Pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. ... The United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico) comprises 31 states (estados) and one federal district (Distrito Federal), which contains the capital, Mexico City. ... Yucatán is the name of one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula. ... The panoramic view from Connors Hill, near Swifts Creek, Victoria A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain, in a limited area. ... Karst topography occurs when a landscape is marked by underground drainage patterns. ... Location within Mexico Country Capital Municipalities 11 Largest City San Francisco de Campeche Government  - Governor Jorge Carlos Hurtado Valdez (PRI)  - Federal Deputies PRI:2  - Federal Senators PRI:2 PAN:1 Area Ranked 18th  - State 50,812 km²  (19,618. ... Quintana Roo is a state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. ...

The term Puuc is also used to designate the architectural style of ancient Maya sites located within the Puuc hills, hence, the term Puuc Architecture. This architectural style began at the end of the Late Classic period but fluoresced during the Terminal Classic period. Mesoamerican architecture is the set of architectural traditions produced by pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of Mesoamerica, traditions which are best known in the form of public, ceremonial and urban monumental buildings and structures. ... Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ... Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ...

Puuc architecture

In the florescence of Puuc architecture (such as at the ancient Maya site of Uxmal) buildings were decorated with carefully cut veneer stones set into a concrete core. The lower portion of the façades are blank with a flat surface of rectangular blocks punctuated by doorways, while the upper façade is richly decorated with intricate stone mosaics, often alternating repeated geometric elements with more elaborate figurative sculpture. Long-nosed masks (commonly believed to be of the Maya rain god Chaac) are found on many Puuc buildings. This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... Panorama of Uxmal Uxmal (, ) is a large Pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. ... A veneer is a thin covering over something. ... This article is about the construction material. ... West façade of the Notre-Dame de Strasbourg Cathedral A facade (or façade) is the exterior of a building – especially the front, but also sometimes the sides and rear. ... Mosaic is the art of decoration with small pieces of colored glass, stone or other material. ... Chaac (also rendered as Chaak or Chac) is the originally Yucatec name of the Maya rain deity. ...

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-veneer masonry allowed for slightly larger and more stable interior rooms. Many corbelled vaults in the Puuc style remain standing, even when most of the veneer stones have fallen away. This article refers to the building structure component; for the fraternal organization, see Freemasonry. ... A corbel arch (or corbeled / corbelled arch) is an arch-like construction method which uses the architectural technique of corbeling to span a space or void in a structure, such as an entranceway in a wall or as the span of a bridge. ...

The most famous of the Maya sites exhibiting the Puuc architectural style is Uxmal; other major Puuc-style sites in the region include Labna, Kabah, and Sayil. The architectural style is also seen at Kiuic, 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 of Oxkintok. To the south, the style can be found in Edzná; and to the east at Chichen Itza (outside of the Puuc Hills region). This List of Maya sites is an alphabetical listing of a number of significant archaeological sites associated with the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. ... Panorama of Uxmal Uxmal (, ) is a large Pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. ... Gateway at Labna, as drawn by Catherwood. ... Kabah (also spelled Kabaah, Kabáh, Kahbah and Kaba) is a ruined city of the Maya civilization in the south-east of the state of Yucatán, Mexico. ... Palace of Sayil Sayil is a ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. ... Bolonchen or Bolonchen de Rej n is a town in Campeche State, Mexico, about 120 km west from the city of Campeche. ... Map of NW Yucatan, showing major ecological zones and the location of Oxkintok Oxkintok is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site on the Yucatán Peninsula, located at the northern tip of the Puuc hills - a few kilometers to the east of the modern town of Maxcanú, Yucatán, Mexico. ... Edzná is a ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Campeche, Mexico. ... Temple of the Warriors Chichen Itza is the largest of the Pre-Columbian archaeological sites in Yucat n, Mexico. ...

References

• 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. 2004 High 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. 1992 Lords 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. 1994 Lord 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 1998 Rio Bec, Chenes, and Puuc Styles in Maya Architecture. Labyrinthos. 239 p., Culver City

• Mills, Lawrence, (ed.) 1979 The Puuc: New Perspectives: Papers Presented at the Puuc Symposium, Central College, May, 1977. Central College Press, Pella, IA

• Pollock, Harry E. D. 1980 Puuc: 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.) 1994 Hidden 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. 1991 Ancient 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", in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America. Davíd Carrasco, ed. v. 3. pp. 42-43. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.

External Links

• (Spanish) From the online newspaper Diario de Yucatan
• Photo tours of Maya sites, including several from the Puuc region.
• Academic report on the recent archaeological survey between the Puuc sites of Labna and Kiuic.