
Balamku is a small
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
archaeological site located in the Mexican state of
Campeche
Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
.
[Rodríguez Campero 2008, p. 437.] It features elaborate plaster facades dating to the Early Classic period. It has one of the largest surviving stucco friezes in the Maya world. Balamku was first occupied from around 300 BC. Its most important buildings date from AD 300–600.
Location
Balamku is located north of the ruins of the great
Maya city
Maya cities were the centres of population of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. They served the specialised roles of administration, commerce, manufacturing and religion that characterised ancient cities worldwide.Sharer & Tra ...
of
Calakmul
Calakmul (; also Kalakmul and other less frequent variants) is a Maya civilization, Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul w ...
, approximately the same distance west of
Becan, west of
Xpujil and southeast of the ruins of
Nadzca'an. The ruins lie upon a poorly drained
karst
Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
ic plateau.
[Rodríguez Campero 2008, p. 438.]
The architectural style of Balamku has more in common with the Petén tradition to the south, although Río Bec influences are also evident.
History

Balamku was occupied from about 300 BC, in the Late Preclassic, through to the Terminal Classic period, between 800 and 1000 AD.
The earliest architecture in the site is found in the Central and South Groups, dating to the Late Preclassic to Early Classic transition.
[Rodríguez Campero 2008, p. 445.]
The ruins were discovered in 1990 by Mexican archaeologist Florentino García Cruz in the company of
INAH custodians, when they investigated a report of archaeological looting; they found a looters' trench that had partly uncovered a painted stucco frieze that had originally formed part of the upper facade of an Early Classic building. After initial rescue work, the site was formally excavated in 1994 to 1995 by a team headed by Mexican archaeologist Ramón Carrasco and including two French archaeologists, Claude Baudez and Jean Pierre Courau.
[Arnauld et al 1998, p. 144.] Carrasco and his Mexican team concentrated on the Central Group while the French archaeologists investigated the South Group.
[Benavides C. 2005, p. 16.]
Site description
The ruins of Balamku cover an area of approximately .
The site features a very low density of peripheral architecture around the principal groups; by away there are practically no further buildings.
Architectural Groups
The ruins are distributed in four major architectural groups. The Central and North Groups are situated close to water sources.
[Rodríguez Campero 2008, p. 443.]
Central Group
The Central Group comprises three plazas, labelled as Plaza A, B and C.
Plaza A is situated at the southern extreme of the Central Group. It supports a
Mesoamerican ballcourt
A Mesoamerican ballcourt () is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for more than 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. More than 1,300 ballcourts have been identifi ...
and a number of mounds that have not yet been investigated archaeologically.
Plaza B is located in the northwestern sector of the Central Group. It is enclosed by Structure I on the north side, Structure IV on the south side, and structures V and VI on the east and west sides respectively.
Test pits have uncovered architectural remains dating back to the Late Preclassic, the earliest phase of operation at the site.
Plaza C is separated from Plaza B by Structure V. It is bordered by Structure II on its north side and Structure III on its west side. It is enclosed on its south side by a number of unexcavated structures.
South Group

The South Group comprises four plazas, labelled A through to D.
Plaza A is enclosed by Structure D5-5 on its north side. Structure D5-10 limits its western side and Structure D5-11 encloses it on the south side.
Plaza B has Structure D5-5 on its eastern side. Structure D5-10 is on the south side of the plaza and Structure D5-7 encloses the northern side of the plaza.
Plaza C is bordered by Structure D5-4 and Structure D5-6 on its east and south sides respectively.
[Rodríguez Campero 2008, p. 440.]
Plaza D is enclosed by Structure D5-1 on its eastern side. Structure D5-2 limits the south side of the plaza and Structure D5-3 closes the plaza on the west side.
Southwest Group
The Southwest Group consists of two structures that together form an
E-Group
E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements. They are central components to the settlement organization of Maya sites and, like many other civic and ceremonial buildings, could have served for astr ...
astronomical complex.
North Group
The North Group has not been excavated by archaeologists although it has been mapped. It consists of six plazas bordered by structures, some of which over tall.
Structures
Structure I is located in the Central Group. Excavations of an earlier substructure (Sub I-A) have uncovered a stucco frieze stylistically dated to between the 4th century BC and the middle of the 6th century AD,
although
radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
of the lintel of the structure returned a date of 631 AD ± 30 years. The frieze was first uncovered by looters and was fully excavated under the direction of INAH. The complete frieze measured long when excavated and stood high.
The frieze combines imagery of rulers with that of a sacred mountain. The frieze preserved almost intact;
it is protected by roofing and is accessible to visitors.
[Carrasco Vargas and Colón González 2006, p. 393.]
Structure D5-5 is located in the South Group between plazas B and C.
[Rodríguez Campero 2008, pp. 438, 440.] Two burials were excavated in the structure, one of them was an elite status individual.
Structure D5-10, in the South Group, is built over two earlier structures dating to the Late Preclassic.
Structure D5-11 is located in the South Group, on the south side of Plaza A. It dates as far back as the Late Preclassic and is one of the earliest known buildings at Balamku.
Notes
References
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Further reading
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{{Coord, 18, 33, 37, N, 89, 56, 40, W, region:MX_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title
1990 archaeological discoveries
3rd-century BC establishments in the Maya civilization
Maya sites in Campeche