Location within Mesoamerica | |
Location | Yucatán, Mexico |
---|---|
Region | Yucatán |
Coordinates | 20°10′41″N 89°39′08″W / 20.17806°N 89.65222°W |
History | |
Founded | 800 AD |
Abandoned | 1000 AD |
Periods | Late Classic to Terminal Classic. |
Cultures | Maya civilization |
Site notes | |
Official name | Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal |
Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iii |
Reference | 791 |
Inscription | 1996 (20th Session) |
Sayil was a pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. It is located in the Mexican state of Yucatán, in the southwest of the state, south of Uxmal. Sayil, Kabah and Labna were incorporated together with Uxmal as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
Sayil flourished principally, albeit briefly, in the Terminal Classic period. The city reached its greatest extent c. 900 and had a population of 10,000 with an additional 5,000–7,000 living in the surrounding area. A number of badly damaged monuments suggest that Sayil was governed by a local royal dynasty,[1] with wealth among lineages based, at least in part, upon control of the best agricultural lands.[2] The ruins of Sayil include a prominent example of monumental Puuc style architecture, the partially ruined Grand Palace of Sayil.