Tulum

File:MX -Tulum.png|Map of central Tulum File:Tulum_Maya-13.jpg|Tulum Ruins File:TulumCatherwood1844.jpg|Main temple at Tulum, lithograph in 1844 by Frederick Catherwood. File:CastilloTulum.jpg|View to the top of El Castillo The site might have been called Zama, meaning City of Dawn, because it faces the sunrise. Tulum stands on a bluff facing east toward the Caribbean Sea. Tulúm is also the Yucatán Mayan word for fence, wall Work conducted at Tulum continued with that of Sylvanus Morley and George P. Howe, beginning in 1913. They worked to restore and open the public beaches. The work was continued by the Carnegie Institution from 1916 to 1922, Samuel Lothrop in 1924 who also mapped the site, Miguel Ángel Fernández in the late 1930s and early 1940s, William Sanders in 1956, and then later in the 1970s by Arthur G. Miller. Through these later investigations done by Sanders and Miller, it has been determined that Tulum was occupied during the late Postclassic period around AD 1200. The site continued to be occupied until contact with the Spanish was made in the early 16th century. The site was abandoned by the end of the 16th century. In 2016, an underwater archaeological expedition led by Jerónimo Avilés exploring the cenote cave system discovered the skeleton of a female about 30 years of age that may be at least 9,900 years old. According to craniometric measurements, the skull is believed to conform to the mesocephalic pattern, like the other three skulls found in Tulum caves. Three different scars on the skull of the woman showed that she was hit with something hard and her skull bones were broken. Her skull also had crater-like deformations and tissue deformities that appeared to be caused by a bacterial relative of syphilis. The newly discovered skeleton was 140 meters away from the Chan Hol 2 site. Although archeologists assumed the divers found the remains of the missing Chan Hol 2, the analysis proved that these assumptions were erroneous in a short time. Stinnesbeck compared the new bones to old photographs of Chan Hol 2 and showed that the two skeletons represent different individuals. Due to their distinctive features, study co-researcher Samuel Rennie suggest the existence of at least two morphologically diverse groups of people living separately in Mexico during the transition from Pleistocene to Holocene. ==Architecture==

Tulum has architecture typical of Maya sites on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. This architecture is recognized by a step running around the base of the building, which sits on a low substructure. Doorways of this type are usually narrow, with columns used as support if the building is big enough. As the walls flare out there are usually two sets of molding near the top. The room usually contains one or two small windows with an altar at the back wall, roofed by either a beam-and-rubble ceiling or being vaulted. This type of architecture resembles what can be found in the nearby Chichen Itza, just on a much smaller scale. Most famous buildings There are three major structures of interest at the Tulum archeological site. El Castillo, the Temple of the Frescoes, and the Temple of the Descending God. Temple of the Frescoes Among the more spectacular buildings here is the Temple of the Frescoes that included a lower gallery and a smaller second story gallery. The Temple of the Frescoes was used as an observatory for tracking the movements of the sun. Niched figurines of the Maya "diving god" or Venus deity decorate the facade of the temple. This "diving god" is also depicted in the Temple of the Diving God in the central precinct of the site. Above the entrance in the western wall a stucco figure of the "diving god" is still preserved, giving the temple its name. A mural can still be seen on the eastern wall that resembles that of a style that originated in highland Mexico, called the Mixteca-Puebla style, though visitors are no longer permitted to enter. Temple of the Descending God The Temple of the Descending God consists of a single room with a door to the west and a narrow staircase that was built on top of another temple that served as its base. In the niche located at the top of the door stands a sculpture that's found throughout Tulum. He has wings, a headdress, and holds an object in his hands. El Castillo Also in the central precinct is the pyramid, which is tall. The Castillo was built on a previous building that was colonnaded and had a beam and mortar roof. The lintels in the upper rooms have serpent motifs carved into them. The construction of the Castillo appears to have taken place in stages. A small shrine appears to have been used as a beacon for incoming canoes. This shrine marks a break in the barrier reef that is opposite the site. Here there is a cove and landing beach in a break in the sea cliffs that would have been perfect for trading canoes coming in. This characteristic of the site may be one of the reasons the Maya founded the city of Tulum exactly here, as Tulum later became a prominent trading port during the late Postclassic. ==Trading==

Both coastal and land routes converged at Tulum. A number of artifacts found in or near the site show contacts with areas all over Central Mexico and Central America. Copper artifacts from the Mexican highlands have been found near the site, as have flint artifacts, ceramics, incense burners, and gold objects from all over the Yucatán. Salt and textiles were among some of the goods brought by traders to Tulum by sea that would be dispersed inland. Typical exported goods included feathers and copper objects that came from inland sources. These goods could be transported by sea to rivers such as the Río Motagua and the Río Usumacincta/Pasión system, which could be traveled inland, giving seafaring canoes access to both the highlands and the lowlands. The Río Motagua starts from the highlands of Guatemala and empties into the Caribbean. The Río Pasión/Ucamacincta river system also originates in the Guatemalan highlands and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. It may have been one of these seafaring canoes that Christopher Columbus first encountered off the shores of the Bay Islands of Honduras. Jade and obsidian appear to be some of the more valuable found here. The obsidian would have been brought from Ixtepeque in northern Guatemala, which was nearly away from Tulum. This huge distance, coupled with the density of obsidian found at the site, show that Tulum was a major center for the trading of obsidian. ==Tourism==

ing sea turtles. Tulum archaeological site is relatively compact compared with many other Maya sites in the vicinity, and is one of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites. Its proximity to the modern tourism developments along the Mexican Caribbean coastline and its short distance from Cancún and the surrounding "Riviera Maya" has made it a popular Maya tourist site in the Yucatán Península. Daily tour buses bring a constant stream of visitors to the site. The Tulum ruins are the third most-visited archeological site in Mexico, after Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza, receiving over 2.2 million visitors in 2017. A large number of cenotes are located in the Tulum area such as Maya Blue, Naharon, Temple of Doom, Tortuga, Vacaha, Grand Cenote, Abejas, Nohoch Kiin, Calavera, and Zacil-Ha. Tulum has some of the best beaches in Mexico. Most popular beaches in Tulum are Playa Paraiso, Playa Ruinas, Playa Akumal, Papaya Playa and more. CV Villas researchers named Tulum beaches with the whitest sand, 1.4 points off the whitest shade from over 200 beaches worldwide. The tourist destination is now divided into six main areas: the archeological site, the Pueblo (or town), the Zona Hotelera (or hotel zone along the seafront), Aldea Zama (south of Pueblo), La Veleta (south-west of Pueblo), and the biosphere reserve of Sian Ka'an. The impact of tourism on Tulum is a subject of growing controversy. Director Rachel Appel filmed a documentary entitled "The Dark Side of Tulum" in 2018 as an exposé of the environmental impacts of the local tourist industry. == Safety ==

According to the crime statistics provided by Numbeo, Tulum is considered a safe destination for most tourists. The primary safety concerns in the area typically revolve around natural occurrences such as hurricanes during the months of June to October. ==Climate==

Considered a tropical savanna climate typically with a pronounced dry season. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Aw (Tropical Savanna Climate). {{Weather box ==See also==