Trade and Navigation

The Maya took part in a commercial network that stretched from central Mexico to Honduras, traveling inland and navigating coastlines, bays, coves, inlets, rivers, lagoons, and estuaries in canoes that stayed close to shore or in shallow waters because they could not withstand the turbulence of the open sea. Within this trading circuit, Tulum was an important coastal port linking maritime and overland trade. Five or six hundred years ago, long canoes rowed by oarsmen moved along these coasts carrying cotton, honey, salt, obsidian blades, jade ornaments, feathered capes, grindstones, and other goods, while important settlements along the East Coast had docks where merchandise was loaded and unloaded.

Quintana Roo · Mexico