Editing Mayapan (section)

==Historical overview==
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[[File:Mayapan Panorama.JPG|alt=A panorama of the Mayapan excavations from the top of the Castle of King Kukulcan.|center|thumb|800x800px|A panorama of the Mayapan excavations from the top of the Castle of King Kukulcan.]]
The ethnohistorical sources&nbsp;– such as Diego de Landa's ''Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan'', compiled from native sources in the 16th century&nbsp;– recount that the site was founded by Kukulcan (the Mayan name of [[Quetzalcoatl]], the [[Toltec]] king, culture hero, and demigod) after the fall of Chichen Itza. He convened the lords of the region, who agreed to found a new capital at Mayapan. The lords divided the towns of Yucatán among them, and chose the chief of the [[Cocom]] family as their leader.

The ethnohistorical sources recount multiple different histories of the rise and fall of Mayapan (Roys 1962). These histories are often confusing, chronologically implausible, and difficult to reconcile. For example, some sources say that the Maya revolted in 1221 against the Maya-Toltec lords of Chichen Itza. After a short civil war, the lords of various powerful cities and families met to restore a central government to Yucatán. They decided to build a new capital city near the town of Telchaquillo, hometown of [[Hunac Ceel]], the general who defeated the rulers of Chichen Itza. The new city was built within a [[defensive wall]] and named ''Mayapan'', meaning "Standard of the Maya people".

Mayapan became the primary city in a group of allies that included much of the northern Yucatán, and trade partners that extended directly to [[Honduras]], [[Belize]], and the Caribbean island of [[Cozumel]], and indirectly to Mexico.  Though Mayapan was ruled by a council, the ''Jalach winik'' and the ''aj k’in'' (the highest ruler, and the high priest) dominated the political sphere. Below the two primary officials were many other officials with varying responsibilities. The range of classes went from the nobility, down to slaves, with intermediary classes in between. The social climate of Mayapan was made complicated by the antagonistic relationship between the factions of nobles, which were often arranged by kinship (Pugh 2009; Milbrath 2003). In 1441, [[Ah Xiu Xupan]] of the powerful noble family of Xiu became resentful of the political machinations of the Cocom rulers and organized a revolt. As a result, all of the Cocom family, except one who was away in Honduras conducting trade, were killed, Mayapan was sacked, burned, and abandoned, all the larger cities went into decline, and Yucatán devolved into warring city-states.

Archaeological evidence indicates that at least the ceremonial center was burned at the end of the occupation. Excavation has revealed burnt roof beams in several of the major buildings in the site center.