Small Acropolis

South of the Gran Plaza [1] is the Small Acropolis, which includes some of Edzná [2]’s oldest structures, but also some of its newest. Archaeologists believe the Small Acropolis served as the ceremonial center until the Classic era, when it was overshadowed by the building of the Gran Acropolis [3] and the Temple of Five Stories.

Centuries later, after Edzná’s sudden collapse and slow recovery, its new residents once again began construction projects in this area of the city. The Temple of the Relief Stairways, built in the Late-Classic or Early Postclassic era, is the largest such structure.

It’s name comes from the curious use of stelae (carved monoliths) left over from Edzná’s glory days to build the new temple’s staircase; this may have been a deliberate insult to the fallen kings, but a simpler explanation is that the newcomers were illiterate…and evidently short on stones.

At the south edge of the Small Acropolis, the Temple of the Masks contains Edzná’s best-preserved stucco decorations. The carved stone masks at the temple’s east and west ends represent the sun god’s face in its dawn (young) and dusk (old) incarnations, respectively. The faces have scarifications on the cheeks, large ear ornaments, and teeth filed to a point—all characteristics of the Maya nobility. Traces of the original red paint remain.