Comalcalco

The ruins of Comalcalco lie on the northern edge of the modern city of the same name, in the cacao country of the Chontalpa. It is the westernmost known city of the Classic Maya, and it flourished roughly between 300 and 900 AD, at the same time as and in close contact with Palenque. Inscriptions give its ancient name as Joy Chan, often translated as "surrounded sky"; the Nahuatl name Comalcalco, "house of the comals", came later. When the Spanish arrived the city had long been abandoned and the area was home to Chontal Maya communities.

What makes Comalcalco unusual is its building material. The alluvial plain of western Tabasco has almost no limestone, so its builders fired clay into flat bricks and laid them with a mortar of lime made by burning oyster shells, then covered the buildings in stucco. Many of the bricks were incised or modeled before firing with figures of people, animals, temples and glyphs, and some carry what look like makers' marks. Comalcalco's potters were also known for fine figurines and vessels traded far along the rivers and the Gulf coast, and the city sat in a region that produced cacao, a luxury drink and a form of money for the Maya.

The visit follows two main groups. The North Plaza is closed on the east by Temple I, a stepped brick pyramid that is the site's best-known image. To the south rises the Gran Acrópolis, a large artificial platform with palace buildings, tombs and temples, from which there are wide views over the plain and the cacao groves. The site museum at the entrance shows carved bricks, stucco heads and figurines found during excavations. Many signs are faded or in Spanish only, so a site guide can help, and the afternoon sun is strong.