The outpost of Xkanha, 1.75 kilometers north from the center of Yaxuna, is situated on a natural bedrock outcropping adjacent to a freshwater cenote (Figure 20.11 [Ardren 1997]). It has a commanding view of the northern frontier of Yaxuna territory that was the most likely avenue of approach from Chichen Itza. During earlier periods, the Xkanha Acropolis was an elite palace. However, during the Terminal Classic period the structures were renovated to serve as a garrison or staging area for military action on the outskirts of Yaxuna.
Key defensive elements were the modification of a small entrance area into a platform 2.5 meters above the earlier acropolis floor. This tower was located on the northeastern comer of the acropolis, the only position in which both the main entrance and interior plaza could be seen. All the doorways into structures on the Xkanha Acropolis were narrowed with crade reused stone and a massive twenty-meter-long wall was erected over the only stairway leading into the acropolis. This wall was three to five meters high and built of large boulders set between well-shaped wall stones. Like some other defensive walls in the northern lowlands (Webster 1979), the Xkanha wall was built quickly, without the usual consideration for permanence and quality constmction that characterizes most formal Maya architecture.
Both strongholds were unable to withstand attack from Chichen Itza for an extended time and each was overrun and destroyed as actual and symbolic seats of power. The invading forces did not intend to occupy the fortified strongholds themselves. The real battle was over the surrounding territorial holdings. The fortified acropolis groups were conquered, terminated, and left in a state of min, insuring that neither they nor their vanquished patrons could be used in further action against the new mle imposed by Chichen Itza.
World History
