Chichen Itza

What is Chichen Itza

  • the site of a group of ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico. The city of Chichen Itza was first settled before the Maya's classical period. It was invaded and conquered by King Tula of the Toltec civilization.

  • Chichen Itza is home to numerous famous ruins. One of the most famous structures is the Temple of Kukulkan, also known as El Castillo ("The Castle"). This massive pyramid was designed to create an optical illusion. Twice a year, during the equinoxes, shadows created by the temple form the image of a great serpent climbing or descending the pyramid.

  • Around the fifteenth century, Chichen Itza entered a rapid decline. Soon afterward, the once-thriving city was abandoned. Anthropologists are unsure why people fled the city. Research on the ruins did not begin until the nineteenth century.

Background, Science and Agriculture

  • The Mayan empire was centered in modern Guatemala. At its peak, it covered the entire Yucatán Peninsula as well as Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador.

  • The Maya were an advanced civilization for their time. They excelled at symbolic artwork, architecture, mathematics, calendar-making, hieroglyphic writing, pottery, and farming.

  • The earliest Mayan settlements date back to 1800 BCE.

  • The early Maya were a primarily agricultural people, growing corn, beans, and squash.

  • They inherited a numerical and calendar system from the Olmec and had a complex mythological and religious belief system.

  • The Maya made significant astronomical and mathematical advances. The early Maya also were able to construct stone pyramids and inscribe stone monuments.

Civilization

  • The golden age of Mayan civilization, also called the classical period, began around 250 CE. It saw Mayan civilization grow to roughly forty cities. These included Tikal, Calakmul, Dos Pilas, and Río Bec.

  • Sometime in the ninth century, Mayan civilization began to collapse. One by one, major Mayan cities were abandoned.

  • Several Mayan cities continued to flourish in the postclassical period, after the fall of much of Mayan civilization. These included urban centers such as Chichen Itza, Mayapan, and Uxmal.

  • Eventually, Spanish invaders came to conquer and colonize Mesoamerica. They defeated the remains of the Mayan empire, which was primarily composed of agricultural villages.

Overview

  • Chichen Itza means "mouth of the well of the Itza," which probably refers to the two large cenotes, or sinkholes, located near the city. They provided Chichen Itza with a steady supply of water.

  • The city was renowned for containing churches, temples, and other great monuments.

  • Architecture and ruins in Chichen Itza are commonly divided into four areas: the Great North Platform, the Ossario Group, Old Chichen, and the Central Group. Old Chichen is an area of ruins, pyramids, and temples to the south of the rest of Chichen Itza. It is still being excavated by anthropologists.

  • The Great North Platform contains numerous buildings, including the Great Ball Court, the Thousand Columns Market, the Sacred Cenote, the Temple of Kukulkan (El Castillo), the Temple of the Jaguars, and the Temple of the Warriors. The Temple of Kukulkan is a 79-foot (24-meter) high, nine-level pyramid. At equinoxes, the shadows cast by the temple and staircases create the illusion of a great snake climbing or descending the temple.