- Xelha
Xelha (or Xelhá in Spanish orthography, (Xel-Há in Modern Maya) ) is an
archaeological site of theMaya civilization frompre-Columbian Mesoamerica , located on the eastern coastline of theYucatán Peninsula , in the present-day state ofQuintana Roo ,Mexico . Theetymology of the site's name comes from Yukatek Maya, combining the roots "xel" ("spring") and "ha' " ("water").History
The site of Xelha is located south of the modern township of
Playa del Carmen , in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.The evidence is inconclusive concerning a founding date for Xel-Ha, but it was occupied by the 1st Century and active during Classic and Postclassic times, with most of the buildings being rebuilt in the Late Postclassic. It was probably not fully abandoned until the 19th Century. A stela with an Early Classic date of 9.6.10.0.0 (AD 564) from Xel-Ha was discovered in 1841 by Stephens and Catherwood.
Xelha was one of several key ports of the Maya city of
Coba ; others included Tancah andTulum . It was likely used as a point of intercultural exchange between the Maya and other sea-navigating peoples between the 7th and 12th centuries, and eventually was a beacon to which European colonial navigators were drawn.The location of Xelha was used as a base by Spanish forces, during the ultimately unsuccessful first expedition (1527–28) led by the
conquistador Francisco de Montejo (the Elder). [Clendinnen (1987, p.21); Wright (2005, p.162)] Montejo, who had obtained a charter from the Spanish Crown in 1526 to pacify theYucatán Peninsula , [Clendinnen (1987, p.20)] crossed over from the island ofCozumel to make landfall at Xelha's lagoons, a short distance from a local Maya village. He set about establishing what was intended to be the first Spanish settlement on the peninsula, which he named "Salamanca de Xelha" after his birthplace in western Spain,Salamanca . However, the supplies he had brought soon proved inadequate to the task of sustaining the venture. Despite attempts to commandeer and raid neighboring Maya settlements for food, his fledgling settlement lost some fifty men within the first two months to disease and privation. [Clendinnen (1987, p.21)] In an action reminiscent ofHernán Cortés , Montejo ordered the scuttling of his ships in the face of growing discontent, forcing them to remain. [See Clendinnen (1987, p.21); Restall (2003, p.19); Wright (2005, p.162). Restall ("loc cit.") maintains that while " [a] rguably this was in imitation of Cortés", it could also be attributed to general tactical procedures relied upon at the time.]Eventually Montejo's forces stabilised sufficiently for him to mount explorations from his temporary encampment, heading out with some 125 men north towards
Ecab nearCape Catoche . The sortie returned several months later after losing half of his men in a battle against the Maya nearAke , and to disease. The 65 "conquistadores" who had been left behind at Salamanca de Xelha fared no better with many being massacred in Maya raids, leaving Montejo with only about a third of his original complement. ["Athena Review" (1999); Clendinnen (1987, p.21)]The fortuitous arrival at that point of another of his ships from Santo Domingo with provisions and reinforcements prevented further disaster, and an expedition was sent out to the south towards the Maya township of
Chetumal . This also failed to gain any foothold, and within eighteen months of Montejo's first landfall in Yucatán, the encampment at Salamanca de Xelha and the eastern coast were abandoned. ["Athena Review" (1999); Clendinnen (1987, pp.21–23)]Notes
References
: cite journal |author=aut|Athena Publications|year=1999 |title=The Spanish Conquest of Yucatán (1526–46) |url=http://www.athenapub.com/yuconq1.htm |journal=Athena Review |volume=2|issue=1|accessdate=2007-08-02: cite book |author=aut|Chamberlain, Robert S. |year=1948 |title=The Conquest and Colonization of Yucatán, 1517-1550 |series=Monograph Series #582 |publisher=
Carnegie Institution of Washington |location=Washington, D.C. |oclc=11701658: cite book |author=aut|Clendinnen, Inga |authorlink=Inga Clendinnen|year=1987 |title=Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517-1570 |series=Cambridge Latin American studies, nowrap|no. 61|location=Cambridge and New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-33397-0 |oclc=4356013 : cite journal |author=aut|Farriss, Nancy M. |coauthors=aut|Arthur G. Miller, and aut|Arlen F. Chase |year=1975 |title=Late Maya Mural Paintings from Quintana Roo, Mexico |journal=Journal of Field Archaeology |volume=2 |issue=1/2 |pages=pp.5–10 |issn=0093-4690 |doi=10.2307/529617: cite book |author=aut|Fettweis, Martine |year=1988 |title=Coba et Xelha: peintures murales mayas: une lecture de l'image dans le Quintana Roo postclasique |series=Mémoires de l'Institut d'Ethnologie #27 |publisher=Institut d'Ethnologie |location=Paris |isbn=2-85265-119-X fr icon : cite conference |author=aut|Inurreta Díaz, Armando |coauthors=and aut|Rafael Cobos |year=2003 |title=El intercambio marítimo durante el Clásico Terminal: Uaymil en la costa occidental de Yucatán |url=http://www.asociaciontikal.com/sim2002/pdf/89.02%20-%20Inurreta%20y%20Cobos%20-%20en%20PDF.pdf |format=PDF |booktitle=XVI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2002 |editor=J.P. Laporte, B. Arroyo, H. Escobedo y H. Mejía (Eds.) |location=Guatemala City |publisher=Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología |pages=pp.1009–1015 es icon: cite book |author=aut|Miller, Arthur G. (Ed.) |year=1982 |title=On the Edge of the Sea: Mural Painting at Tancah-Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks , Trustees for Harvard University,Harvard University Press |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=0-884-02105-X |oclc=7877106: cite book |author=aut|Restall, Matthew |authorlink=Matthew Restall |year=2003 |title=Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest |location=Oxford and New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-516077-0 |oclc=51022823 : cite book |author=aut|Stephens, John Lloyd |authorlink=John Lloyd Stephens |year=1843 |title=Incidents of Travel in Yucatán |others=Frederick Catherwood (illus.) |edition=in 2 vols.|publisher=John Murray |location=London |oclc=70276071: cite journal |author=aut|Webster, David |year=1976 |month=Oct. |title=Lowland Maya Fortifications |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |volume=120 |issue=5 |pages=pp.361–371: cite book| author=aut|Wright, Ronald |year=2005 |title=Stolen Continents: Five Hundred Years of Conquest and Resistance in the Americas |location=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=0-618-49240-2 |oclc=57511483External links
* [http://www.xel-ha.com/ Xel Ha Water Park ]
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