Favorable geographic and climatic conditions characterize the northeastern Yucatán karst plain which environs Ek Balam. The site lies 27 km north of the present-day Valladolid and 51 km northeast of the archaeological site of Chichén Itzá. Notably, the archaeological site, the ethnohistorically attested Early Colonial pueblo and the modern-day village overlap and cluster within eyeshot at Ek Balam.

The following article is concerned with well known hieroglyphic inscriptions from Chichén Itzá. It is our task to offer new insights into the socio-political organization of this urban-like settlement which figures so prominently in the history of northern Yucatán during the end of the late classic period. Our analysis will focus on the political organization that has prevailed in urban-like Chichén Itzá during the 9th century. We will show that Chichén Itzá was controlled by a triumvirate of men who held specific offices within the political hierarchy.