Despite the name which means Mouth of the Well of the Itzá, this ancient city on the Yucatán Peninsula was originally occupied by the Maya. The city collapsed in the late 900s (part of the end of the Classic Maya Period). It and surrounding regions were overtaken by the Toltecs from northern Mexico. The Toltecs built upon existing structures and added several of their own. As centuries passed the city fell under control of its namesake Itzá, then the Mayapán. The city was abandoned altogether by the early 1200s. When the Spanish arrived in this part of the world they were for the most part completely unaware of the many city ruins which dotted the peninsula. They were largely ignored until American explorer Edward Thompson began excavating sites such as Chichen Itzá in the 1800s. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and receives over 1.4 million visitors every year. In 2007 it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
El Castillo, or the Temple of Kukulcan (pictured above), is 79 feet tall. Dating to about AD 850, it was built with astrological alignment in mind. Each of the four sides has 91 steps. These plus the top platform equals 365 days of the year. Fifty-two inset panels equal the number of years in each Mayan Calendar Round. Visitors were allowed to climb it until 2005 when an elderly tourist tumbled to their death. Archaeologists have determined that today's visible structure is actually built over a pre-existing one (a common practice in Mayan cities).
Across the main plaza is the Group of a Thousand Columns, which once supported some kind of roof which obviously collapsed long ago. On some of the pillars and fallen ones you can see remnants of carvings.
Behind the Group of a Thousand Columns is the remarkable Temple of Warriors. The monoliths at the front of the building feature intricately carved images of warriors in various types of dress. The sides of the building itself has impressive details worked into the masonry including human faces emerging out of serpents' mouths. We couldn't see it from our position on the ground but on the top of the temple is a well-preserved chac-mool. More about that later.
Temple of Warriors Front
Warrior carvings
Temple details
Temple of Tables in foreground, Temple of Warriors in background
Example of a chac-mool, carved to imitate a reclining person with a plate across its lap.
It is thought that the plate was used to hold sacrificial offerings of human hearts or heads.
Here is the Platform of Eagles and Jaguars, dedicated to the fiercest of warriors. The Eagle Knights (archers, pew-pew) would attack armies to weaken their forces before the elite Jaguar Knights (stabby-stabby) joined the battle.
Decorative jaguar and eagle carvings, all eating the hearts of enemies
El Castillo looms not too far away
Detail carving on the temple
More detail carving
Tzompantli (Wall of Skulls)
Heads were stacked here.
Far-away view of the Platform of Eagles and Jaguars, ball court on the left
The Lower Temple of the Jaguar, with depictions of the Maya creation story
Hans and I took so many pictures that I have to break this post into two parts. This is the end of Part I. I even skipped the journal entry text so that we could get straight to the photos! For the rest of Chichen-Itzá and other highlights of this day, proceed to Part II in the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment