Chikinchel

After the destruction of Mayapan (1441–1461), in the Yucatán Peninsula, it created rivalries among the Maya, and formed 16 separate jurisdictions, called Kuchkabals.

In each Kuchkabal there was a Halach Uinik (Yucatec Maya: Halach Uinik), who was the chief with the most political, judicial, and militaristic authority and lived in a principal city considered the capital of the jurisdiction.

It bordered the Tases and Cupul in the south, Ah Kin Chel in the west, and Ekab in the east, which separated an area of swamps and, to the north, a large portion of the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula.

The area provided an abundance of animals to hunt and salt and salt to mine (it was the leading producer on the peninsula), although unhealthy conditions caused dignitaries to live in remote villages along the coast.

[2] However, salt united the inhabitants of the jurisdiction because they prevented outsiders from Ah Kin Chel and the south from going where valuable chloride was produced.