Cobá is a Mayan centre located in the Yucatán region of Mexico. Cobá's layout is unusual, with several major ceremonial centres separated by residential precincts, all clustered around five small lakes. By the Terminal Classic Period, Cobá's population had reached 50,000 and its roughly 20,000 structures sprawled over an area of more than 70 km².

Cobá's neighbourhoods were linked by many internal sacbes, or causeways, and larger external causeways joined the city with other regional centres. In this region of high rainfall and high daytime temperatures, these raised roadways made travel between centres much easier. They allowed access to and from the central core even during periods of flooding, and the white stones of the causeways reflected moonlight, so people could travel during the cooler evenings. The causeways also served a political purpose, as they allowed the rulers of Cobá to maintain control over a large territory.

© SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology    |    All rights reserved    |    Credits