Final Report of the 2000 Yo’okop Field Season: Initial Mapping and Surface Collections
Justine M. Shaw, Dave Johnstone, and Ruth Krochock

General Site Layout

According to our present knowledge, the site of Yo’okop consists of four major architectural groups (Groups A, B, C, and D) linked by sacbeob (Figure 1). These four groups have significantly larger architecture (up to 28 meters in height) at substantially higher densities than the remainder of the site. Between the major groups, moderate-sized mounds (five to six meters in height), platforms, rejolladas, and small residential structures are scattered. These lower-density, inter-group zones are believed to be where the majority of Yo’okop’s population resided.

Group A is the southernmost monumental component of the site. It is linked by the 718-meter Sacbe 1, which runs from the north-central edge of Group A north to south-central Group B.  Group B is further connected to Group C by Sacbe 2, which extends 1,161 meters to the northeast. This season an additional group and associated sacbe were discovered: Group D and Sacbe 3.  Group D is connected by Sacbe 3 to the northwestern part of Group A.  Several informants reported a further connection between Groups D and B, although time did not permit a search for such a roadway. The monumental structures in Groups A and B, as well as some intervening constructions, share an alignment of 25 degrees east of magnetic north. Sacbe 1, however, aims 20 degrees east of magnetic north.

The majority of the site is situated on essentially flat terrain, although Group A sits atop a sharp natural rise. The only water source on or near the site known to archaeologists and local inhabitants is an aguada immediately to the east of Group A.  A modern dirt road between Sabán and Dzoyola cuts through Sacbeob 1 and 3, running E-W, 100 meters north of Group A.  Only footpaths connect the modern road to other portions of the site.

Other ruins are reported in the region, including one cluster of significant mounds near the modern pueblo of X-Cabil (which surround a cenote) and a second site a few kilometers southwest of Group A.  The latter site was visited in 1998 by Shaw and Johnstone and was observed to have substantial quantities of Late Formative sherds present on the surface. No water source is reported for the site. An ejido resident making milpa at this (?)Formative site collected a bark-beater in excellent condition, which was photographed by Johnstone. While these loci are considered to be separate sites for reasons of distance alone, the relationship between these adjacent communities and Yo’okop is not known.

To the best of our knowledge, Yo’okop was by far the largest site in the region, perhaps second only to Cobá within the modern state of Quintana Roo. We plan to continue to document and explore both the major architectural groups and intervening settlement zones in future seasons. Additionally, a more systematic regional inventory is envisioned.

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