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Ancient Maya City of Calakmul, Campeche*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Mexico
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii, iv
Reference	1061
Region†	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription History
Inscription	2002  (26th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Calakmul (also Kalakmul and other less frequent variants) is the name given to site of one of the largest ancient Maya cities ever uncovered. It is located in the 1,800,000 acre Calakmul Biosphere Reserve of Mexico, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region, 30 km from the Guatemalan border.

First discovered from the air by biologist Cyrus L. Lundell of the Mexican Exploitation Chicle Company on December 29, 1931, the find was reported to Sylvanus G. Morley of the Carnegie Institute at Chichen Itza in March 1932. According to Lundell, who named the site, "In Maya, 'ca' means 'two', 'lak' means 'adjacent', and 'mul' signifies any artificial mound or pyramid, so 'Calakmul' is the 'City of the Two Adjacent Pyramids'."

Calakmul was the major seat of power of the Kaan or "Kingdom of the Snake", which first arose further north but built Calakmul into a Late Classic Era superpower ally of Caracol and rival to Tikal. A series of 11 painted vessels, dubbed Dynastic Vases, describe the ascensions of the Kaan rulers, including ancestral and legendary figures.

Calakmul probably supported a population of over 50,000, and so far more than 6,250 structures have been discovered in an area of up to 70 square kilometers with a substantial northern wall and a series of water management features (Calakmul's reservoirs include the largest in the Maya world) delineating a dense core of 22 square kilometers. Calakmul's 45 meter pyramid "Structure 2" is the largest Classic Era Maya temple platform known. Many of the city's monuments and structures are constructed of chalky local limestone, which has made interpretation of the site difficult.

After a long period of inactivity following Morley's 1932 expedition, the city was explored by William Folan between 1984 and 1994, and is now the subject of a large-scale project of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) under Ramón Carrasco.

(Note that this list is not continuous, as the archaeological record is incomplete)

• Unknown: Yuknoom Ch'een I
• c.520–546: Tuun K'ab' Hix
• c.561–572: Sky Witness
• 572–579: First Axewielder
• 579–c.611: Scroll Serpent
• c.619: Yuknoon Chan
• 622–630: Tajoom Uk'ab' K'ak'
• 630–636: Yuknoom Head
• 636–686: Yuknoom the Great
• 686–c.695: Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ak'
• c695: Split Earth
• c.702–c.731: Yuknoom Took' K'awil
• c.736: Wamaw K'awil
• c.741: Ruler Y
• c.751: Ruler Z
• c.771–c.789: B'olon K'awil
• c.849: Chan Pet
• c.909: Aj Took'

• Calakmul - Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad INAH site on Calakmul
• Calakmul (from The State of Campeche Book)
• Friends of Calakmul
• Commercial Stock Photos of Calakmul
• The Nature Conservancy's Calakmul Biosphere Reserve page
• Virtual Walking Tour of Calakmul by David R. Hixson (click on "Calakmul" for photo gallery)
• Kaan Emblem Principal Glyphs: A, B

v • d • e World Heritage Sites in Mexico

Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila · Ancient Maya City of Calakmul, Campeche · Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco · Archaeological Zone of Paquimé, Casas Grandes · Central University City Campus of the UNAM · Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl · El Tajín, Pre-Hispanic City · Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro · Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco · Historic Centre of Morelia · Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán · Historic Centre of Puebla · Historic Centre of Zacatecas · Historic Fortified Town of Campeche · Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro · Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan · Historic Town of Guanajuato, and Adjacent Mines · Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara · Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California · Luis Barragán House and Studio · Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen Itza · Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacán · Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque · Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal · Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco · Sian Ka'an · Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino

Coordinates: 18°07′21″N, 89°47′00″W