Portrait of K’awiil by Mera MacKendrick
1400 years ago, traveling through the Maya rainforest was terrifying and deadly (think snakes, jaguars, and crocodiles). Now, new LiDAR scans have revealed a network of elevated ancient roads so sophisticated, some folks give aliens the credit. But the truth is much more interesting! K’awiil, visionary ruler of Coba, one of the great cities of the Maya Golden Age, built the first roads in the Americas. But did she do it to conquer her neighbors, or to help them? Join Katie on location in Coba, Mexico, with our guest Ezequiel May.
Resources:
An informative article on K’awiil from the Yucatan Times.
An authoritative article on the stelae at Coba.
An article on how the people of Coba built the road.
All photos by Katie Nelson and Marc Nelson
Ezequiel May lives in the community of Coba Quintana Roo Mexico. He was born in 1989 and has spent his entire life here in this beautiful town. He has been working as a tourist guide for 9 years. He feels it has been an honor to share the different archaeological investigations and the important dates that they have raised during their discovery.
The post THE ROADBUILDER K’awiil appeared first on What'shername.
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