The Pile in the Usumacinta river thought to have possibly supported a suspension bridge at Yaxchilan
The Maya Bridge at Yaxchilan was a suspension bridge believed to have been built by the Maya across the Usumacinta River, Chiapas, Mexico. If so, it would have been the longest bridge discovered in the ancient world,[1] dating from its construction by the Maya civilization in the late 7th century at Yaxchilan. It was a suspension bridge with a more or less level deck.[1]
Now an archaeological site, Yaxchilan had long been known to include an unusual raised terrace beside the river and pier in the river; these structures were long theorized to be the remains of a bridge.[2]
The Maya City-State of Yaxchilan, founded in the 4th century, became one of the most powerful Mayan kingdoms during the Maya Classic Period. During the height of its power the kings of Yaxchilan built temples, pyramids, and palaces clustered along the grand plaza extending along the shores of the Usumacinta River. This broad river, now separating Mexico from Guatemala, formed a large U-shaped bend (or "oxbow") that encompassed the city of Yaxchilan. This natural barrier protected the city from outside invasion but flooded heavily during the six-month rainy season, during which Yaxchilan became an island. An all-weather passage across the dangerous river was needed to gain access to the farmlands north of the city.
To survive and operate efficiently as the seat of power, Yaxchilan required a dependable passageway to provide an uninterrupted flow of traffic across the river on a year-round basis.
It was speculated that the Maya solved this problem by constructing a 100 m (330 ft)-long suspension bridge across the river in the late 7th century. The three-span bridge extended from a platform on the grand plaza of Yaxchilan crossing the river to the northern shore. The 63 m (207 ft) center span would have been the longest in the world until the construction of the Italian Trezzo sull'Adda Bridge in 1377. This would have required two piers in the river; a computer model is available illustrating this theory.
The ruins of the structure were investigated and reconstruction was created using computer simulation, remote sensing, and archaeoengineering techniques by Engineer James A O'Kon PE. The results were presented to the archaeological and engineering world in the pages of National Geographic magazine in 1995.
^ abJames A. O’Kon (2005). "Computer Modeling of the Seventh Century Maya Suspension Bridge at Yaxchilan". Computing in Civil Engineering (2005). Vol. 179. pp. 1–14. doi:10.1061/40794(179)124. ISBN 9780784407943. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
^Carolyn Elaine Tate (1992). Yaxchilan: the design of a Maya ceremonial city. University of Texas Press. p. 306. ISBN 0-292-77041-3. page 134
and 27 Related for: Maya Bridge at Yaxchilan information
The MayaBridgeatYaxchilan was a suspension bridge believed to have been built by the Maya across the Usumacinta River, Chiapas, Mexico. If so, it would...
Yaxchilan (pronounced [ʝaʃtʃiˈlan]) is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic...
America (see MayaBridgeatYaxchilan). Simple suspension bridges using iron chains are also documented in Tibet and China. One bridge on the upper Yangtze...
longest suspension bridges are listed according to the length of their main span (i.e., the length of suspended roadway between the bridge's towers). The length...
James A. (2005). "Computer Modeling of the Seventh Century Maya Suspension BridgeatYaxchilan". Computing in Civil Engineering (2005). Vol. 179. p. 124...
Childeric I, Tournai, Belgium. Late 7th century – First suspension bridge, MayaBridgeatYaxchilan 800 – The streets of Baghdad are paved with tar.[citation needed]...
Presumed MayaBridgeatYaxchilan. If it was actually a bridge, it would be the longest one discovered in the ancient world. Baluarte Bridge Chiapas Bridge El...
cities of Yaxchilan, Piedras Negras, and Palenque, following a path from south to north. Toward the end of the late Classic period, the Maya stopped recording...
ISBN 978-0-8021-3797-5. "Mexico's Yaxchilan Ruin". Mayan Ruins. Retrieved 24 November 2020. Martin, Simon; Grube, Nikolai (2000). Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens...
the world, all categories, that at least have the strength to carry some persons. It can be the span of any type of bridge, aerial tramway, power line, structural...
Weasel' pleased the lords of death immensely. Dance in Maya culture has also acted as a bridge between the ancient and post-Columbian eras. Spanish missionaries...
the work at Chichen Itza, Morley also took on responsibilities which extended Carnegie-sponsored fieldwork to other Maya sites, such as Yaxchilan, Coba,...
[pa'leŋke]; Yucatec Maya: Bàakʼ [ɓaːkʼ]), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamhaʼ ("Big Water or Big Waters"), was a Maya city state in southern...
890-acre) Lacantun Reserve, which includes the Classic Maya archaeological sites of Yaxchilan and Bonampak, was added to the biosphere reserve. Agua Azul...
Aubin and Codex Kingsborough, a spectacular series of Mayan lintels from Yaxchilan excavated by the British Mayanist Alfred Maudslay, a very high quality...
roads, bridges and a modern airport have been constructed with oil money, along with a Centro de Investigaciones de la Cultura Olmeca y Maya, the Teatro...
art (in this case Maya) – Yaxchilan Lintel 24 (702 AD), limestone, British Museum, London Pre-Columbian influences (in this case Maya) – Interior detail...
civilisations, eg Mayas and Aztecs. The Maya Region of Mesoamerica is one such. It, in turn, is further subdivided physiographically into at least three regions...
directly appropriates motifs found in several Maya sites: Quiriguá and Piedras Negras in Guatemala, and Yaxchilán in Mexico. Tossin exposes this mimicry with...
of information regarding Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Few pictorial manuscripts (or codices) of the Maya, Mixtec, and Mexica cultures of...
Aj Chak Maax presenting captives before ruler Itzamnaaj B'alam III of Yaxchilan; 22 August 783 The Atlantes — columns in the form of Toltec warriors in...
The Preclassic or Formative Period of Belizean, Maya, and Mesoamerican history began with the Maya development of ceramics during 2000 BC – 900 BC, and...
80 kilometres (50 mi) upriver from the important Classic period Maya city of Yaxchilán and 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Seibal. The site is located on...
ceramic; 21.59 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) Yaxchilán Lintel 24 (Maya); 702; limestone; 109 x 74 cm; British Museum (London) Warrior...
launched on October 11, 2001, by WMF President Bonnie Burnham at a press conference at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Watch List was expanded...
steles are placed together. The best relief work is from the Mayas, especially from Yaxchilan. Writing and art were not distinct as they have been for European...
Global Information