Qʼumarkaj (Kʼicheʼ: ) (sometimes rendered as Gumarkaaj, Gumarcaj, Cumarcaj or Kumarcaaj) is an archaeological site in the southwest of the El Quiché department of Guatemala.Kelly 1996, p.200. Qʼumarkaj is also known as Utatlán, the Nahuatl translation of the city's name. The name comes from Kʼicheʼ Qʼumarkah "Place of old reeds".
Qʼumarkaj was one of the most powerful Maya cities when the Spanish arrived in the region in the early 16th century.Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.4. It was the capital of the Kʼicheʼ Maya in the Late Postclassic Period.Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp.621-622. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Qʼumarkaj was a relatively new capital, with the capital of the Kʼicheʼ kingdom having originally been situated at Jakawitz (identified with the archaeological site Chitinamit) and then at Pismachiʼ.Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp.622-623. Carmack 2001a, p.155. Qʼumarkaj was founded during the reign of king Qʼuqʼumatz ("Feathered Serpent" in Kʼicheʼ) in the early 15th century, immediately to the north of Pismachiʼ.Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.623. In 1470 the city was seriously weakened by a rebellion among the nobility that resulted in the loss of key allies of the Kʼicheʼ.
Archaeologically and ethnohistorically, Qʼumarkaj is the best known of the Late Postclassic highland Maya capitals. The earliest reference to the site in Spanish occurs in Hernán Cortés' letters from Mexico. Although the site has been investigated, little reconstruction work has taken place. The surviving architecture, which includes a Mesoamerican ballcourt, temples and palaces, has been badly damaged by the looting of stone to build the nearby town of Santa Cruz del Quiché.
The major structures of Qʼumarkaj were laid out around a plaza. They included the temple of Tohil, a jaguar god who was patron of the city, the temple of Awilix, the patron goddess of one of the noble houses, the temple of Jakawitz, a mountain deity who was also a noble patron and the temple of Qʼuqʼumatz, the Feathered Serpent, the patron of the royal house. The main ballcourt was placed between the palaces of two of the principal noble houses. Palaces, or , were spread throughout the city. There was also a platform that was used for gladiatorial sacrifice.
The area of Greater Qʼumarkaj was divided into four major political division, one for each of the most important ruling lineages, and also encompassed a number of smaller satellites sites, including Chisalin, Pismachiʼ, Atalaya and Pakaman. The site core is open to the public and includes basic infrastructure, including a small site museum.Vásquez et al. 2009, p.3.
Etymology Qʼumarkaj comes from the Kʼicheʼ Qʼumqaraqʼaj. While often translated as "place of old reeds" or "place of rotted cane",Sharer 2000, p.490. the name Qʼumaʼrkaʼaaj translates more precisely as "rotted reed houses" (qʼumaʼr = "rotten";Christenson. kaʼaaj = "house or shack built of cane and reeds"). It was translated as Tecpan Utatlan by the Nahuatl-speaking Tlaxcalan allies of the Spanish conquistadors,Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp.764-765. with Tecpan being added to distinguish the city as being a seat of rule, equivalent to the Tollan used in Mesoamerica in earlier times.Fox 1989, p.667.
Location The ruins of the city are to the west of the modern city of Santa Cruz del Quiché.Carmack 2001a, p.218. Qʼumarkaj completely occupies of an easily defended plateau surrounded by ravines over deep. The ravines are part of a drainage system feeding the Negro River, which flows into the Chixoy River and eventually into the Usumacinta River and the Gulf of Mexico. A natural causeway to the southeast of the site links the plateau with a wide plain to the east.
Qʼumarkaj is the largest in a group of five major sites tightly clustered in an area of , with the area between the sites showing signs of also having been heavily occupied.Carmack & Weeks 1981, p.326. Atalaya and Pakaman lie to the east, Pismachiʼ lies to the south and Chisalin is to the north.
Plateau Geomorphology and Hydrogeology The defensive layout of Qʼumarkaj was dictated by the structural geomorphology of the El Quiché plateau, where Late Cenozoic volcanic ash deposits overlie heavily weathered Cretaceous limestone strata. The 100-meter deep ravines encircling the plateau were carved by extreme fluvial incision into soft pumice tuff, creating isolated mesa topography within the upper Chixoy River catchment basin.
Karst Ravine Drainage Network: The steep cliffs forming the boundary of the plateau direct all surface runoff into ephemeral gullies that feed the Río Negro, preventing standing water accumulation on the urban core while providing high natural escarpments for defensive fortifications. Subterranean Speleothems and Caves: The artificial and modified natural cave systems in the northern ravine walls cut through soft marl and volcanic ash layers, tapping into localized perched water tables that supplied ceremonial water during seasonal droughts in the Late Postclassic. Postclassic Soil Erosion Layers: Geoarchaeological core samples across the surrounding valley show heavy siltation beds corresponding to the 15th-century population peak, recording intensive hillside terracing, deforestation for lime plaster production, and altered local microclimates prior to the Spanish Conquest.
Inhabitants
In the Late Postclassic, the greater Qʼumarkaj area is estimated to have had a population of around 15,000.Fox 1989, p.673.n2. The inhabitants of Qʼumarkaj were divided socially between the nobility and their vassals. The nobles were known as the ajaw, while the vassals were known as the al kʼajol. The nobility were the patrilineal descendants of the founding warlords who appear to have entered as conquerors from the Gulf coast around AD 1200 and who eventually lost their original language and adopted that of their subjects. The nobles were regarded as sacred and bore royal imagery.Coe 1999, p.189. Their vassals served as foot-soldiers and were subject to the laws laid out by the nobility, although they could receive military titles as a result of their battlefield prowess. The social divisions were deep-seated and were equivalent to strictly observed castes. The merchants were a privileged class, although they had to make tributary payments to the nobility. In addition to these classes, the population included rural labourers and artisans. Slaves were also held and included both sentenced criminals and prisoners of war.
There were twenty-four important lineages, or , in Qʼumarkaj, closely linked to the palaces in which the nobility attended to their duties; means "big house" in Kʼicheʼ, after the palace complexes that the lineages occupied.Carmack & Weeks 1981, p.329. Their duties included marriage negotiations and associated feasting and ceremonial lecturing. These lineages were strongly patrilineal and were grouped into four larger, more powerful that chose the rulers of the city. At the time of the Conquest, the four ruling were the Kaweq, the Nijaib, the Saqik and the Ajaw Kʼicheʼ. The Kaweq and the Nijaib included nine principal lineages each, the Ajaw Kʼicheʼ included four and the Saqik had two. As well as choosing the king and king elect, the ruling Kaweq dynasty also had a lineage that produced the powerful priests of Qʼuqʼumatz, who may have served as stewards of the city.
The Kʼicheʼ kingdom was ruled by a king, a king-elect and two captains,Coe 1999, p.190. a four-way joint rule embodied in four leaders, one from each of the four most important lineages in the city of Qʼumarkaj. This form of rule was also known among the Maya of Yucatan. The ruling lineage was the Kaweq ("Rain") dynasty, that chose both the king and the king-elect.Coe 1999, p.190. Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.717. The king was known as the ajpop, "He of the Mat". The king-elect bore the title of ajpop kʼamha and assisted the king until he became king himself.Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.717. The Nijaib and the Saqik noble houses chose the qʼalel (supreme judge) and the Ajaw Kʼicheʼ chose the atzij winaq (speaker).
History
Ceramic remains from the site include pieces that date as far back as the Preclassic Period but the majority of finds date to the Late Postclassic and the height of the Kʼicheʼ kingdom.Kelly 1996, p.201.
Founding and expansion Ruler's Name RuledQʼuqʼumatzSharer & Traxler 2006, p.626.1400–1425Kʼiqʼab1425–1475Vahxakʼ i-Kaam1475–1500Oxib-Keh1500–1524All dates are approximate. The site was founded by king Qʼuqʼumatz around 1400 for its defensive position, however there is some disagreement as to whether he is a historical or a mythological figure.Carmack 2001b, p.178. Qʼuqʼumatz is Kʼiche for feathered serpent, and feathered serpent is used as a title in other parts of Mesoamerica. It is probable that Qʼuqʼumatz was really the title of another ajpop mentioned in the sources, Kotujaʼ, and was actually the same individual.Carmack 2001b, pp.180-1. In the Título de los Señores de Totonicapán, an early Colonial era Kʼicheʼ document, he is listed as Qʼuqʼumatz Kotujaʼ.Carmack 2001b, p.181. In the same title, his father is listed as Kotujaʼ Qʼuqʼumatz, and there is confusion in the Kʼicheʼ documents as to whether they were one and the same, or father and son with very similar names.
Kʼotuja Qʼuqʼumatz married Xlem, daughter of the king of the Tzʼutujils of Malaj, a precolumbian settlement near modern-day San Lucas Tolimán, on the shores of Lake Atitlán.Carmack 2001a, p.159. Great magical powers were attributed to Qʼuqʼumatz and he was said to be able to transform himself into a snake, an eagle, a jaguar and blood.Carmack 2001a, p.161. Qʼuqʼumatz had several children, one of whom (Kʼiqʼab) became king after him. Qʼuqʼumatz was killed in battle against the Kʼoja Maya.
Qʼuqʼumatz greatly expanded the Kʼicheʼ kingdom, first from Pismachiʼ and later from Qʼumarkaj.Carmack 2001a, p.158. At this time, the Kʼicheʼs were closely allied with the Kaqchikels.Carmack 2001a, pp.158-159. Qʼuqʼumatz sent his daughter to marry the lord of the Kʼoja, a Maya people based in the Cuchumatan mountains, somewhere between Sacapulas and Huehuetenango.Carmack 2001a, pp.160-161. Instead of marrying her and submitting to the Kʼicheʼ-Kaqchikel alliance, Tekum Sikʼom, the Kʼoja king, killed the offered bride. This act initiated a war between the Kʼicheʼ-Kaqchikel of Qʼumarkaj and the Kʼoja. Qʼuqʼumatz died in the resulting battle against the Kʼoja.
With the death of his father in battle against the Kʼoja, his son and heir Kʼiqʼab swore vengeance, and two years later he led the Kʼicheʼ-Kaqchikel alliance against his enemies, together with the Ajpop Kʼamha (king-elect).Carmack 2001a, p.162. The Kʼicheʼ-led army entered Kʼoja at first light, killed Tekum Sikʼom and captured his son. Kʼiqʼab recovered the bones of his father and returned to Qʼumarkaj with many prisoners and all the jade and metal that the Kʼoja possessed, after conquering various settlements in the Sacapulas area, and the Mam people near Zaculeu.
Kʼiqʼab was said to have had magical powers like his father. Kʼiqʼab was a particularly warlike king and during his reign he greatly expanded the kingdom to include Rabinal, Cobán and Quetzaltenango, and extended as far west as the Okos River, near the modern border between the Chiapas coast of Mexico and Guatemalan Pacific coast. With Kaqchikel help, the eastern frontier of the kingdom was pushed as far as the Motagua River and south as far as Escuintla.Carmack 2001a, p.163. However, he also suffered a humiliating rebellion that eventually resulted in the loss of his key Kaqchikel allies.Carmack 2001a, pp.163-165. Kʼiqʼab died around 1475.
Internal strife