Xpuhil, Maya archaeological site in Campeche, Mexico.
Xpuhil is a Maya archaeological site in Campeche featuring three prominent towers decorated with detailed stone carvings. The structures spread across multiple building groups containing staircases and chambers that form an interconnected, tightly organized complex.
Archaeological evidence suggests Xpuhil was settled as early as the Early Classic period, though most architecture dates to the Late Classic. The INAH estimates occupation between 300 and 1200 CE. After centuries of abandonment, Karl Ruppert and John Denison rediscovered the site in 1938, and Tatiana Proskouriakoff drew a detailed reconstruction of Structure I in 1943.
The name Xpuhil comes from Maya and means "cat's tail", after a local plant. The site lies beside the modern town of Xpujil, and the nearby Xpuhil Cuartel group takes its name from the army camp it stands in, about 2 km south-southeast of Structure I.
The site lies along Federal Highway 186 inside the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, about 5 km² in extent, with Structure I and the other groups reached on foot. Xpuhil Cuartel stands within a Mexican army camp roughly 2 km south-southeast of Structure I, so access there is restricted. Sturdy footwear and water are needed; shade is scarce.
Structure I is the site's best-known building because it has three towers instead of the two typical of Río Bec buildings. It also carries roof combs, steep stairways and non-functional doors, and may have been built to imitate the pyramid-temples of Tikal.
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