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Chichen Itza |
| Home >> Mexico Destinations >> Merida >> Merida Attractions >> Chichen Itza |
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Chichen Itza (from Yukatek Maya chich'en itza', "At the mouth of the well of the Itza (people)") is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization, located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, present-day Mexico. From roughly 600 CE in the middle of the Maya Classic period, it was a major city, achieving its greatest growth and power after the Maya sites of the central lowlands to the south had already collapsed. The Postclassic occupation at the site saw extensive additions of structures and motifs in a style more reminiscent of Central Mexican / "Toltec" cultures. This was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these "non-Maya" styles more as the result of cultural diffusion. Revolt and civil war among the Maya in 1221 CE, evidenced by archeological findings of burned buildings, led to Chichen Itza's decline and rulership over Yucatán shifted to Mayapan. It was briefly conquered and occupied by Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Montejo in 1531 CE.
Chichen Itza is today a World Heritage Site and is a very popular tourist destination; it is the most visited of the major Maya archaelogical sites. Many visitors to the popular tourist resort of Cancún make a day trip to Chichen Itza, usually with time to view only a portion of the site. "Chichen" contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation; the buildings were formerly used as temples, palaces, stages, markets, baths, and ballcourts.
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Dominating the center of Chichén is the Temple of Kukulcan (the Maya name for Quetzalcoatl), often referred to as "El Castillo" (the castle). This step pyramid with a ground plan of square terraces with stairways up each of the 4 sides to the temple on top. On the Spring and Fall equinox, at the rising and setting of the sun, the corner of the structure casts a shadow in the shape of a plumed serpent - Kukulcan, or Quetzalcoatl - along the side of the North staircase. On these two days, the shadows from the corner tiers slither down the northern side of the pyramid with the sun's movement. It was practice in Mesoamerican cities to periodically build larger and grander temple pyramids atop older ones, and this is one such example. |
Thanks to archeologists, a doorway at the base of the north stairway leads to a tunnel, from which one can climb the steps of the earlier version of El Castillo inside the current one, up to the room on the top where you can see King Kukulcan's Jaguar Throne, carved of stone and painted red with jade spots. The design of the older pyramid inside is said to be a lunar calender, with the newer pyramid being a solar calendar. Following a fatal fall from the top, tourists are no longer allowed to climb to the top of the pyramid. |
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Chichen's "Temple of the Warriors" was clearly built as a copy of Temple B at the Toltec capital of Tula, although thanks to the Maya architects is grander than the original. This is a stone building (originally with a wood and plaster roof) atop a step-pyramid, with the columns in the interior carved with the likenesses of warriors. At the top of the stairway leading to the entrance of the temple is a type of altar-statue known as a Chac Mool. |
Seven courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame have been found in Chichén, but the one about 150 meters to the north-west of the Castillo is by far the most impressive. It is the largest ballcourt in ancient Mesoamerica. It measures 166 by 68 meters (545 by 232 feet). The sides of the interior of the ballcourt are lined with sculpted panels depicting teams of ball players, with the captain of the losing team being decapitated. Built into one of the exterior walls of the ballcourt is the Temple of the Jaguar, which features another jaguar throne -- since this one was not buried for a thousand years, its red paint and jade spots are long since gone. |
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One of the most notable classic era structures at Chichen is a fine complex of buildings in the "Puuc" architectural style. The Spanish nicknamed this complex "Las Monjas" ("The Nuns," or "The Nunnery") but was actually the city's classic era government palace. Just to the east is a small temple (nicknamed "La Iglesia", "The Church") decorated with elaborate masks of the rain god. A number of other structures are near the "Monjas" complex. These include "Akab' Dzib" (Maya for dark or obscure writing), a palace with hieroglyphic inscriptions, "The Red House" and "The House of the Deer". |
To the north of "las Monjas" is a round building on a large square platform nicknamed "El Caracol" or "the snail" for the stone spiral staircase inside; this was an observatory (the doors were aligned to view the vernal equinox, the Moon's greatest northern and southern declinations, and other astronomical events) sacred to Kukulcan, the feathered-serpent god of the wind and learning. The Maya used the shadows inside the room cast from the angle of the sun hitting the doorway to tell when the solstices would occur. Placed around the edge of "El Caracol" are large rock cups that they filled with water and would watch the reflection of the stars in the water to help determine their complex, but extremely accurate calendar system |
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