PXL_20250419_160824002

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 07:49:23 +0100

House of the turtles

Its construction corresponds to the late phase of the Flourishing Puuc style (900-1000 A.D.), it measures 30 m long and 10 m wide, it is made up by seven enclosures. Its decoration is simple, smooth walls, along the cornice there are sculptures of turtles, which acquire importance due to their association with rain (aquatic cult) and the earth represented by the turtle shell.

In Maya language the word turtle is related to the sound issued by the turtle shell, like a natural drum, like the sound of the storm and thunder, The turtle is the drum of the heaven, and it is also related to the moon.