Pok Ta Pok was a Maya ceremonial center from the late Postclassic period in the East Coast region of Quintana Roo, built on the Nichupté lagoon system. This is one of several Maya archaeological sites registered in the Cancun Hotel Zone during the 1970s, as part of an archaeological survey project after numerous reports of looting and destruction of Maya sites that remained unknown and unexplored and that began to resurface due to the urban development projects in Cancun. During this process of urban expansion, Pok Ta Pok ended up within a golf course. In the same area, other nearby Maya sites are Ni'ku', Yamil Lu'um and Ta'akul, all within private tourist complexes; Yox Xixim, located on the beach; and, further south, San Miguelito and El Rey. The original name of the site is unknown, as no monuments with hieroglyphic inscriptions have been found. The toponym “Pok Ta Pok” was adopted because it is located on the golf course of the same name. This term is often associated with the type of Mesoamerican ballgame that was played in Yucatán and northern Quintana Roo, although recent archaeological research indicates that the correct name for this ritual practice in the region was actually pokol pok. Structure 1 of Pok Ta Pok is a stone platform with the remains of a room wall, an entrance, and two columns inside. Structure 2 is a traditional shrine of the region, built on a platform with a staircase that provided access to the building. The roofs of both structures are destroyed, and originally the walls were covered in stucco, some remnants of which are still preserved.[2]
The modern golf course where the site is located was abandoned, for some time there was a plan to build a large residential center on the land that could have endangered the ruins of Pok Ta Pok, but it was cancelled after several protests about the environmental impact, currently the whole place is abandoned and covered under thick jungle vegetation.[3]
Mexico
