Learn about the Yaxchilan Ruins and Monuments: known for its numerous fine engraved monuments, this Mayan archaeological site lies half hidden in the thick jungle next to the Usumacinta River in Chiapas State. Yaxchilan was inhabited between 200 A.D. and 800 A.D., rising to prominence in the 8th century.
 The native architects, following the natural lay of the land on the banks of the river, arranged the buildings in an east-west direction along the south side of a broad plaza. Today, the site is reachable only by river or by air.
Yaxchilan is known for the large quantity of excellent sculpture at the site, such as the monolithic carved stelas and the narrative stone reliefs carved on lintels spanning the temple doorways.
The Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) conducted archeological research at Yaxchilan in 1972 / 1973, again in 1983, and further INAH work was conducted in the early 1990s.
Yaxchilan has long been difficult to reach other than by river. Until recently, no roads existed within 100 miles. The only ways to get to the site were hundreds of miles by boat, or else by small plane. Since the construction of the Border Highway by the Mexican Government in the early 1990s, it is possible for tourists to visit. To reach the site, it is necessary now only to take an hour long boat ride down the Usumacinta River from Frontera Corozal. |
