2006 AD: The Maya ruins of Chichén Itzá, México

"En la boca del pozo de los Itzáes"

Although detailed inscriptions of ancient city life in Chichén Itzá were dutifully left by its Maya and Toltec population the relationship between these two people remains an intriguing matter of dispute. Whether the Toltec were war-mongering invaders simply suppressing the defeated Maya or rather peacefully coexisted after the establishment of long-lasting allegiances and subsequent immigration, the result was a unique cultural blend.

 [click on an image for a larger view]

A feathered serpent "standing" guard over the Pyramid of Kukulkán
The 25m high Pyramid of Kukulkán, also called El Castillo
A total of 365 steps and 52 stone panels: The Maya calendar in stone Feathered serpent head at the bottom of the stairs of El Castillo
Its undulating body is revealed in a shadow at the spring and autumn equinox Detail of El Castillo or the Pyramid of Kukulkán at Chichén Itzá
Grupo de las Mil Columnas
A forest of pillars near the Temple of the Warriors Templo de los Guereros where offerings were placed on two Chac-Mool figurines
Richly decorated with jaguars, eagles, serpents and warriors Hieroglyphs made of individually carved stones at Chichén Itzá
The facade of the Nunnery or Monjas Annexe is decorated with Chaac masks
These masks combine into one giant mask, with the entrance as its mouth A mask of the rain god Chaac on the Monjas palace
This palace complex was named "the nunnery" by the spanish conquistadores El Caracol, the astronomy building of the ancient Maya in Chichén Itzá
A snail shaped structure for the observation of astronomical events

Chichén Itzá

The Yucatán, México

The foundations of the city state date back to the third or early fourth century and are typical in their regional Puuc and Chenes architecture. The remains of these buildings, including a large palace complex, are found in the southern half called Chichén Viejo, the 'old' town. It is here where the early Maya also build their astronomical observatory enabling them to precisely track the celestial bodies in all four cardinal directions. Painstakingly recording their movements over the centuries had by then already formed the basis of one of their greatest achievements; the Maya calendar. And it is this calendar that in turn dictated celebrations and rituals, and the start of maize planting and harvests.

Nowhere does the Maya obsession with the regularity of time become more evident than in the structural design of the Kukulcán Pyramid in northern Chichén Nuevo. The ornaments and decorations are typical Toltec, but the layout follows the exact master plan of the original inner-pyramid build around AD 800. The 365 days of a solar year are represented by the number of steps leading up to the summit: four staircases of each 91 steps plus one extra at the very top leading into the temple. Fifty-two panels on each side depict the 52 year cycle of the Maya calendar. Furthermore, each of the 18 terraces symbolises one 20-day month which with the 5 supplementary days makes up the so-called Haab year. But most amazingly of all, at the biannual equinox the undulating body of a serpent, its feathered head sitting at the bottom of the main stairs, is revealed as a shadow cast upon the pyramid.

Published on 07.12.2006 by Sjaak van der Sar   –   Leave critique or other comments