Chichén Itzá (often spelled Chichen Itza in English and traditional Yucatec
Maya) was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal
Classic period. The archeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality,
Yucatán State, Mexico.
Chichén Itzá was a major focal point in the Northern Maya Lowlands from the
Late Classic (c. AD 600–900) through the Terminal Classic (c. AD 800–900) and
into the early portion of the Postclassic period (c. AD 900–1200). The site
exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles seen in
central Mexico and of the Puuc and Chenes styles of the Northern Maya
lowlands.
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Entering Chichen Itza.
Chichén Itzá is located in the eastern portion of Yucatán state in
Mexico.
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The northern Yucatán Peninsula is karst, and the rivers in the
interior all run underground.
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There are four visible, natural sink holes, called cenotes,
that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichen, making
it attractive for settlement.
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Of these cenotes, the Sacred Cenote (Cenote Sagrado, also
variously known as the Sacred Well or Well of Sacrifice), is the most
famous.
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In 2015, scientists determined that there is a hidden
cenote under the Temple of Kukulkan, which has never been seen
by archeologists.
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Map of Chichen Itza.
On this map of Chichen Itza north is at the top and south is at the
bottom. Entrance is from the west (left).
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The buildings of Chichen Itza are grouped in a series of architectonic
sets, and each set was at one time separated from the other by a
series of low walls. The three best known of these complexes are:
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the Great North Platform, which includes the monuments of the
Temple of Kukulcan (El Castillo), Temple of Warriors and the Great
Ball Court;
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the Ossuary Group, which includes the pyramid of the same name
as well as the Temple of Xtoloc;
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the Central Group, which includes the Caracol, Las Monjas, and
Akab Dzib.
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The Ossuary Group
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We start our visit with the Ossuary Group.
South of the North Group is a smaller platform that has many important
structures, several of which appear to be oriented toward the second
largest cenote at Chichen Itza, Xtoloc.
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The Ossuary Group is a secondary plaza, linked to the Great Leveling
by a sacbé (white road) to the south side of El Castillo.
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The plaza is made up of a pyramidal base similar to El Castillo, a
circular platform, a Platform of Venus and to the east it is connected
to the Cenote Xtoloc through another sacbé (white road).
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This presents the same plan as the Great Leveling but with a different
orientation.
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The Ossuary.
The Ossuary (Osario) itself, like the Temple of Kukulkan, is a
step-pyramid temple dominating its platform, only on a smaller scale.
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The Ossuary has four stairways with rafters, made up of intertwined
snakes that end at the top, in a space that was occupied by a temple
decorated with representations of snake-bird-men.
- It is made up of seven staggered bodies with inclined walls.
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In three of the bodies in the upper part, there are boards with
representations of God K, associated with cocoa beans, jewels and
fruits.
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Two columns in the form of feathered serpents indicate the access to
the temple, inside which there is a pilaster with the representation
of a captive individual.
- The date, AD 998, is associated with this character.
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The Venus Platform.
Very similar to the one found in the Plaza de El Castillo.
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It has reliefs that show representations of a man-bird-serpent,
Quetzalcóatl-Kukulcan as the morning star, and in the corners, tied
years together with the symbol of the planet Venus.
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In the upper panels Venus is seen among the undulations of cloud
serpents.
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The Platform of the Tombs.
It is a building that may have functioned as an ossuary.
- During his exploration several secondary burials were located.
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Its most notable feature are the columns that supported a roof made of
perishable material.
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The Red House.
South of the Osario Group is another small platform that has several
structures that are among the oldest in the Chichen Itza archeological
zone.
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The Red House (Spanish: Casa Colorada) is one of the best
preserved buildings at Chichen Itza.
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Significant red paint was still present in the days of the 19th
century explorers.
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Its Maya name is Chichanchob, which according to INAH may mean
"small holes".
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In one chamber there are extensive carved hieroglyphs that mention
rulers of Chichen Itza and possibly of the nearby city of Ek Balam,
and contain a Maya date inscribed which correlates to 869 AD, one of
the oldest such dates found in all of Chichen Itza.
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In 2009, INAH restored a small ball court that adjoined the back wall
of the Red House.
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The Central Group
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The Snail.
The Snail (El Caracol) is a round building on a large square
platform. It gets its name from the stone spiral staircase inside.
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The structure, with its unusual placement on the platform and its
round shape (the others are rectangular, in keeping with Maya
practice), is theorized to have been a proto-observatory with doors
and windows aligned to astronomical events, specifically around the
path of Venus as it traverses the heavens.
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It should be noted that its exterior façade is adorned with masks and
human figures surrounded by feathers.
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Its current appearance is the result of at least six renovations.
Several constructions were added to the south side, among them
cisterns, a steam bath and an arch, over the sacbé (white
road).
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See more at
El Caracol, Chichen Itza - Wikipedia.
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Walking towards the House of the Nuns Group.
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The House of the Nuns.
It is a complex of Terminal Classic buildings constructed in the Puuc
architectural style.
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The Spanish named this complex Las Monjas ("The Nuns" or "The
Nunnery"), probably because of the large number of rooms similar to
cells, but it was a governmental palace.
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The Nuns Group is distinguished by its concentration of hieroglyphic
texts dating to the Late to Terminal Classic. These texts frequently
mention a ruler by the name of Kʼakʼupakal.
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The building is a worthy representative of the Chenes Mayan
architectural style, since its reliefs and ornaments completely cover
the front of the building, which looks like a quadrangular mass with
two annexes and at the top of which you can see two temples.
- A wide staircase leads to the upper esplanade.
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The result of several overlaps, the building was originally a group of
several separate buildings: the House of the Nuns, the eastern annex
and the southeast annex, all with double rooms topped with crests.
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In the central part of the frontal frieze of the eastern annex,
considered the most beautiful in all of Chichén Itzá, stands out the
sculpture of a seated character, with arms crossed on his chest and a
plume of feathers, surrounded by a niche-shaped frame.
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The Church.
The building of The Church (La Iglesia) is one of the best
preserved, it is Puuc style, and it is located near the group called
House of the Nuns.
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It is a building without a basement, oriented on its main façade to
the east and located on the level of the square, with only one access
bay to the only interior bay.
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Its first body is smooth, without decoration, while in the second the
decoration presents masks with long noses and in the form of commas in
the four corners of the building, as well as on the façade and rear
face.
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Interspersed are niches with figures of the four bacabes or
"Heaven Holders", represented as an armadillo, a snail, a turtle and a
crab.
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The entrance faces the west and is located in the center of the façade
that has mosaics.
- It also highlights the cresting that rises on the roof.
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The Temple of the Sculpted Panels.
The name comes from the reliefs carved on the north and south walls of
the colonnade, depicting scenes of numerous people, plants, and animals,
both real and imaginary, which are dominated by two warriors.
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The offerings discovered during explorations are evidence of
celebration of fire-related rituals.
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The Steam Bath.
Also known as Temazcal, the Steam Bath has a 16 m (52 ft) length by 3 m
(9.8 ft) wide. Its angled ceiling was supported by 4 stone walls and 4
columns as part of the portal. With a “T” shaped interior, the back of
the structure connects to the front through a small and square-shaped
opening.
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The steam bath still conserves part of the flat roof, as well as the
remains of four columns in the portico and some stone slab seats
placed against the façade. A narrow opening gives access to the
inside, where there are stone slabs for the bathers to sit on. At the
back there is a stove where stones were heated, onto which cold water
was poured to produce steam.
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The Steam Bath had its own stone drainage under the surface. On the
interior walls, two small openings work as ventilation for the steam
to go out. The Steam Bath wasn’t used as a cleaning method but as a
spiritual purifying ritual. It was typically used to purify someone
who was later going to be sacrificed in the Sacred Cenote. Later on,
the people built one closer to the cenote.
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Great North Platform
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The Great Ball Court and the Temples of the Jaguar.
To the west of the Large Square (Gran Plaza) is the Great Ball
Court (left) and the Temples of the Jaguar (right).
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The Temples of the Jaguar.
Built into the east wall os the Great Ball Court are the Temples of the
Jaguar.
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The Upper Temple of the Jaguar overlooks the ball court and has an
entrance guarded by two, large columns carved in the familiar
feathered serpent motif. Inside there is a large mural, much
destroyed, which depicts a battle scene.
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In the entrance to the Lower Temple of the Jaguar, which opens behind
the ball court, is another Jaguar throne, similar to the one in the
inner Temple of Kukulcan (El Castillo), except that it is well
worn and missing paint or other decoration. The outer columns and the
walls inside the temple are covered with elaborate bas-relief
carvings.
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The Great Ball Court.
Archeologists have identified in Chichen Itza thirteen ballcourts for
playing the Mesoamerican ballgame, but the Great Ball Court about 150 m
(490 ft) to the north-west of the Temple of Kukulcan (El Castillo) is the most impressive. It is the largest and best preserved ball
court in ancient Mesoamerica. It measures 168 by 70 m (551 by 230 ft).
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The parallel platforms flanking the main playing area are each 95 m
(312 ft) long. The walls of these platforms stand 8 m (26 ft) high;
set high up in the center of each of these walls are rings carved with
intertwined feathered serpents.
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At the base of the high interior walls are slanted benches with
sculpted panels of teams of ball players. In one panel, one of the
players has been decapitated; the wound emits streams of blood in the
form of wriggling snakes.
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At one end of the Great Ball Court is the North Temple, also known as
the Temple of the Bearded Man (Templo del Hombre Barbado). This small masonry building has detailed bas relief carving on the
inner walls, including a center figure that has carving under his chin
that resembles facial hair. At the south end is another, much bigger
temple, but in ruins.
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The Platform of the Skulls.
The Tzompantli, or Platform of the Skulls (Plataforma de los Cráneos), shows the clear cultural influence of the central Mexican Plateau.
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Unlike the tzompantli of the highlands, however, the skulls
were impaled vertically rather than horizontally as at Tenochtitlan.
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The Platform of the Eagles and the Jaguars.
The Platform of the Eagles and the Jaguars (Plataforma de Águilas y Jaguares) is immediately to the east of the Great Ballcourt.
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It is built in a combination Maya and Toltec styles, with a staircase
ascending each of its four sides.
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The sides are decorated with panels depicting eagles and jaguars
consuming human hearts.
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The Platform of Venus.
This Platform of Venus is dedicated to the planet Venus. This platform
is located north of the Temple of Kukulcan (El Castillo), between
it and the Sacred Cenote.
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In its interior archeologists discovered a collection of large cones
carved out of stone, the purpose of which is unknown.
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The Sacred Cenote.
The Yucatán Peninsula is a limestone plain, with no rivers or streams.
The region is pockmarked with natural sinkholes, called cenotes, which
expose the water table to the surface. One of the most impressive of
these is the Sacred Cenote (Cenote Sagrado), which is 60 m (200
ft) in diameter and surrounded by sheer cliffs that drop to the water
table some 27 m (89 ft) below.
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The Sacred Cenote was a place of pilgrimage for ancient Maya people
who, according to ethnohistoric sources, would conduct sacrifices
during times of drought.
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Archeological investigations support this as thousands of objects have
been removed from the bottom of the cenote, including material such as
gold, carved jade, copal, pottery, flint, obsidian, shell, wood,
rubber, cloth, as well as skeletons of children and men.
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See more at
Sacred Cenote - Wikipedia.
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The Temple of the Warriors.
The Temple of the Warriors complex consists of a large stepped pyramid
fronted and flanked by rows of carved columns depicting warriors.
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This complex is analogous to Temple B at the Toltec capital of Tula,
and indicates some form of cultural contact between the two regions.
The one at Chichen Itza, however, was constructed on a larger scale.
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At the top of the stairway on the pyramid's summit (and leading toward
the entrance of the pyramid's temple) is a Chac Mool.
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Temple of Kukulcan (El Castillo).
Dominating the North Platform of Chichen Itza is the Temple of Kukulcán
(a Maya feathered serpent deity similar to the Aztec Quetzalcoatl). The
temple was identified by the first Spaniards to see it, as
El Castillo ("the castle"), and it regularly is referred to as
such. This step pyramid stands about 30 m (98 ft) high and consists of a
series of nine square terraces, each approximately 2.57 m (8.4 ft) high,
with a 6 m (20 ft) high temple upon the summit.
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The Jaguar Throne inside the Temple of Kukulcán ("El Castillo")
pyramid is red and inlaid with jade The sides of the pyramid are
approximately 55.3 m (181 ft) at the base and rise at an angle of 53°,
although that varies slightly for each side. The four faces of the
pyramid have protruding stairways that rise at an angle of 45°. The
talud walls of each terrace slant at an angle of between 72° and 74°.
At the base of the balustrades of the northeastern staircase are
carved heads of a serpent.
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Mesoamerican cultures periodically superimposed larger structures over
older ones, and the Temple of Kukulcán is one such example. In the
mid-1930s, the Mexican government sponsored an excavation of the
temple. After several false starts, they discovered a staircase under
the north side of the pyramid. By digging from the top, they found
another temple buried below the current one.
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Inside the temple chamber was a Chac Mool statue and a throne in the
shape of Jaguar, painted red and with spots made of inlaid jade. The
Mexican government excavated a tunnel from the base of the north
staircase, up the earlier pyramid's stairway to the hidden temple, and
opened it to tourists. In 2006, INAH closed the throne room to the
public.
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Around the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, in the late afternoon, the
northwest corner of the pyramid casts a series of triangular shadows
against the western balustrade on the north side that evokes the
appearance of a serpent wriggling down the staircase, which some
scholars have suggested is a representation of the feathered-serpent
deity, Kukulcán. It is a widespread belief that this light-and-shadow
effect was achieved on purpose to record the equinoxes, but the idea
is highly unlikely: it has been shown that the phenomenon can be
observed, without major changes, during several weeks around the
equinoxes, making it impossible to determine any date by observing
this effect alone.
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See more at
El Castillo, Chichen Itza - Wikipedia.
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Leaving Chichen Itza.
The first thing visitors to the Maya city of Chichen Itza will notice
are the numerous vendors in the complex.
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Once you enter the main site, what feels like hundreds of vendors will
try to sell their wares as you make your way to the main pyramid, the
Temple of Kukulcan (El Castillo).
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The vendors have had some trouble with the Mexican government in
recent years, with many tourists calling for their removal from the
site.
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See also
Sources
Location
