As I crossed the ditch into the 114 hectare civic-ceremonial core of Becán, I could hear the rumbling of a not-too-distant thunderstorm. I climbed the nearest tall pyramid and watched it roll in, the sagging bellies of the low clouds seemingly touching the pyramid on the other side of this plaza. The round structure in the right foreground is a Postclassic addition to this earlier architecture. We also saw a similar addition at Ek’Balam.

Becán was established late in the Middle Preclassic, and was in decline before the Early Classic ended. It may have lost population as a result of the growth of new trading centers in the southern Yucatán like Calakmul and Tikal (in Guatemala).

We also saw a few detailed sculptural elements at Ek’Balam. This poor red-faced deity (probably), looks distracted, perhaps because he’s trapped behind a fogged plexiglass cover, his only companions staring tourists and spreading green mold.