Cobá is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Mayan culture , located in the southeast of Mexico , in the territory that today is the state of Quintana Roo , about ninety kilometers east of Chichén Itzá and about forty northwest of Tulum .
The possible meaning of Cobá could be cob , 'that which has moisture', or moss and á , or ha , 'water', that is to say 'water with moss', or 'moisture of water'. Another possibility that is not ruled out is that it means 'cloudy water', due to the proximity to some small lakes with a very cloudy color.
Other authors, researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History , however, offer slightly different translations of the term Cobá, among which we can mention 'agua de las chachalacas', since cob is the name of that bird in the region; 'tuza tooth', also from the Mayan coh , 'tooth' and bah , 'tuza'; or 'abundant water', from cob , 'abundance' and 'ha', water.
At its peak, it had a population of about 50,000 and an area of ??80 square kilometers. Most of the city was built in the middle of the Classic period of the Mayan civilization, between the years 500 and 900 of our era and had several temples, among which the pyramid of Nohoch Mul survives, 42 meters high.
Most of the inscriptions date from the 7th century and numerous evidences indicate that the construction and repair of the buildings continued, until the 14th century .
The investigations carried out to date allow us to know that Cobá has a long history of pre-Hispanic occupation, which would have started around 200 or 100 BC. C., when here there was a settlement of low platforms and constructions of wood and palm, of which there is no more evidence than some ceramic fragments. It is from 100 AD. C., when the area of ??Cobá experienced a remarkable demographic, social and political growth, which would lead it to become one of the largest and most powerful cities in northern Yucatán .
Between 200 and 600 AD. C., the city of Cobá seems to have exercised extensive territorial control, which would have led it to dominate the entire north of the current state of Quintana Roo and even certain portions of eastern Yucatán. Obviously, this power is based on the control of large agricultural and hydraulic spaces, as well as the inter and intra-regional exchange routes, which possibly would have included the control of some important ports, such as Xel-Há . Although there is still much to know about this period, it is undoubted that at this time, Cobá would have maintained close contacts with the large cities of Guatemala and the south of Campeche and Quintana Roo , such as Tikal., Calakmul , or Dzibanché , to name a few and who, to maintain his power, would have established military and matrimonial alliances, at the highest level. In this sense, it is particularly interesting to mention the existence of Teotihuacano-type architecture (a platform of the paintings group explored in early 1999), which would document the existence of links with central Mexico and its powerful early Classic metropolis: Teotihuacán .
Astronomical Observatory in Cobá.
After 600 AD. C., the strengthening of the cities of the Yucatec Puuc , as well as the subsequent appearance of Chichen Itzá in the sociopolitical panorama of the peninsula, meant changes in the power structure of Cobá and its relations with other important cities, which would have forced it to reshape their territorial domains. The information available to date has allowed us to hypothesize that, from 900 or 1000 AD. C., Cobá would have entered into a long dispute with Chichén Itzá, of which the latter would have finally been the winner, by defeating important Cobaeños enclaves such as Yaxuná.
After 1000 d. C., the city lost political importance, although it seems to have conserved its symbolic and ritual importance, which allowed it to recover a certain hierarchy between 1200 and 1500, when various buildings were built, already within the eastern coast style. However, the economic dynamics of those times seem to have been fundamentally centered on coastal sites, which is why Cobá would have survived as a second-order city, although, in that sense, more successful than its short-lived winner, Chichén Itzá . At the time of the consolidation of Spanish control of the peninsula (ca. 1550), Cobá was completely uninhabited, and it was not until the arrival of the famous travelers John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick CatherwoodIt was around the middle of the 19th century that the city was mentioned again in the history books.
Stela with Mayan inscriptions at Cobá.
Although it is true that the city was never forgotten, most of the archaeological studies in the area were not carried out until the beginning of the 20th century , due to the difficulty imposed by the jungle to reach the place. In 1972 the National Institute of Anthropology and History began to develop the area and build accesses for researchers and visitors. Currently, its ruins are one of the main tourist attractions in the region.
The Quintana Roo population of Cobá had 1,167 inhabitants, according to the 2005 census . Its altitude is 15 meters above sea level.
Cobá represents an extremely important tourist spot, due to its world archaeological importance. So much so, that various travel companies create personalized tours of the place. However, this must be controlled correctly, since the main thing is the preservation of the remains of the Mayan culture.
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