Mayan cities name

Names of Mayan Cities

December 2, 2013 – 02:41 pm

Tikal Tik'al	This Mayan name means 'Place of Voices'. The ancient name of the city was Mutul, whose meaning is unknown.
Uaxactún Waxaktun (Washaktoon)	An American archeologist, Dr. Morley, named this location in 1916. Waxaktun means 'Eight-stone' in Mayan. Morley chose this name because he found a stone with an early date written on it (8th bak'tun), and, less seriously, because the name sounds like 'Washington'.
Caracol	A Spanish name (not Mayan!) which means 'Snail'. According to some sources, the road to the location turns like a snail's shell. The classical Mayan name is not known.
Kaminaljuyú (Kaminalhooyoo)	A government minister of Guatemala, Villacorta, named these ruins in 1935. In the Quiché language, the name means 'Hills of the Dead'. The ancient name is unknown.
Uxmal Uxmal (Ooshmal)	This name means 'Thrice Built', a reference to the famous pyramid with rounded edges. According to archeologists, the pyramid was in fact heightened five times. The original name of this city is not known.
Kabáh K'abah	A Mayan name which may mean 'Strong Hand'.
Sayil Sayil	A Mayan name meaning 'Place of Ants'.
Dzibilchaltún Tz'ibilchaltun	In the Yucatec language, this name means 'Place where there is Writing on Stones'. The ancient name is unknown.
Chichén Itzá Chich'en Itza	This Mayan name means 'Mouth of the Well of the Itzas'. The 'well' is the famous Sacred Cenote, where the Maya offered valuables, even people, to their rain god Chaak. The Itzas were a tribe of Maya who found the city and made it their capital during the Post-Classic period. The classical name of the city may have been Uukil Abnal, which means 'Seven Bushes'.
Palenque (Palenkay)	Named after a nearby town. Palenque is a Spanish word which means 'Palisade'. (A palisade is a wooden fence for defense.) According to many sources, the original name of the Mayan city was Lakam Ha, meaning 'Great Water'. Other sources say that the name may have been Na Chan Kan (City of Snakes).
Bonampac / Bonampak Bonampak'	Another ruin named by Dr. Morley. In 1946, Lacandon Maya revealed this location and its priceless wall paintings to an American photographer, Giles Healy. Dr. Morley chose a Mayan name which means 'Painted Walls'.

Source: www012.upp.so-net.ne.jp