Sayil by Gordon Nicolson
Sayil
Gordon Nicolson
Title
Sayil
Artist
Gordon Nicolson
1891 - 1975 (biography)Year
c. 1950
Technique
photography
Image Size
16 x 19 15/16" image and paper
Signature
artist's stamp verso
Edition Size
not stated
Annotations
ink titled, lower left
Reference
Paper
State
Publisher
artist
Inventory ID
19694
Price
$275.00
Description
From a series of photographs of pre-Columbian ruins by Gordon Nicolson.
Sayil is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatan, in the southwest of the state, south of Uxmal. Sayil flourished during the Terminal Classic period and a number of badly damaged monuments suggest that Sayil was governed by a local royal dynasty.
Sayil was most populated circa 900 AD, and the population reached the limits of the agricultural carrying capacity of the land. Their crops were grown in gardens and fields among the residential complexes, and irrigated from artificial cisterns built to store water from the seasonal rains. The city began to decline around 950 AD and became completely abandoned circa 1000 AD.