Komchén is also the location of a
pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site of the same name and is situated close to the site of
Dzibilchaltun. Pre-Columbian Komchén was initially settled during the
Mesoamerican
Middle Preclassic. Its earliest settlement consisted of a small residential
community with perishable structure. The site transitioned into a larger community during the Late Preclassic, reaching its peak in construction between the years 350-150 BC and employing permanent stone
masonry in
architectural construction. It appears that the site was entirely abandoned by the end of the Late Preclassic (ca. A.D. 250). Later, however, the site was partially reoccupied by residents of the expanding center of Dzibilchaltun.
Archaeological investigation of the site commenced during the early 1980s when a research project, under the direction of E. Wyllys Andrews V of the
Middle American Research Institute (MARI) of
Tulane University, began
excavating at Komchén. This research documented nearly 1000 residential structures in an area approximately 2 km2 in size, including a core of five large platforms (the tallest of which was 8 meters) and a
sacbe (one of the earliest identified in the Yucatán). ==References==