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Civilizacija Maja
100 Pad Olmeka. 400 Majsko gorje potpada pod dominaciju Teotihuacana, a raspadanje kulture i jezika May počinje u nekim dijelovima gorja. 500 Grad Maja Tikal postaje prvi veliki grad Maja, dok građani iz Teotihuacana odlaze na put u Tikal, unoseći nove ideje koje uključuju oružje, zarobljenike, obredne običaje i ljudska žrtvovanja. 600 Nepoznati događaj uništava civilizaciju u Teotihuacanu, zajedno s carstvom koje je podržavao. Tikal postaje najveći grad-država u Mezoamerici, s čak 500.000 stanovnika unutar grada i njegovog zaleđa. 683 Car Pacal umire u 80. godini i pokopan je u Hramu natpisa u Palenqueu. 751 Dugogodišnji savezi Maja počinju se raspadati. Trgovina između gradova-država Maya opada, a međudržavni sukobi se povećavaju. 869 U Tikalu prestaje gradnja, označavajući početak propadanja grada. 899 Tikal je napušten. 900 Klasično razdoblje povijesti Maya završava kolapsom južnih nizinskih gradova. Gradovi Maja u sjevernom Yucat & aacutenu i dalje napreduju. 1200 gradova Sjeverne Maye počinje napuštati. 1224 Tolteci napuštaju grad Chich & eacute Itz & aacute. Narod poznat kao Uicil-abnal, koji je kasnije dobio ime Itz & aacute, nastanio se u pustom gradu. 1244 Itz & aacute napuštaju Chich & aacute Itz & aacute iz nepoznatih razloga. 1263 Itz & aacute počinju graditi grad Mayap & aacuten. 1283 Mayap & aacuten postaje glavni grad Yucat & aacutena. 1441 Došlo je do pobune unutar Mayap & aacutena i grad je napušten 1461. Ubrzo nakon toga, Yucat & aacuten degenerira se iz jedinstvenog ujedinjenog kraljevstva u šesnaest suparničkih državnika, od kojih svaki želi postati najmoćniji. 1511 Španjolac po imenu Gonzalo Guerrero doživio je brodolom i poplavljen na istočnoj obali Yucat & aacutena. On prelazi u Maje, tetovira mu lice, probada uši i oženi se plemenitom obitelji Maya. Guerrero kasnije postaje nepomirljivi neprijatelj Španjolaca i čini mnogo da pomogne Majama da se odupru španjolskoj vladavini u Yucat & aacutenu. 1517 Španjolci prvi stižu na obalu Yucat & aacutena pod Hernandezom de Cordobom, koji kasnije umire od rana zadobijenih u borbi protiv Maja. Dolazak španjolskih službenika u bolesti Starog svijeta nepoznate među Majama, uključujući boginje, gripu i ospice. U roku od jednog stoljeća 90 posto domorodačkog stanovništva Mezoamerice bit će ubijeno. 1519 Hern & aacuten Cort & eacutes počinje istraživati Yucat & aacuten. 1524 Cort & eacutes upoznaje ljude Itz & aacute, posljednje od naroda Maja koje Španjolci nisu osvojili. Španjolci ostavljaju Itz & aacute na miru do sedamnaestog stoljeća. 1528. Španjolci pod vodstvom Francisca de Monteja započeli su osvajanje sjevernih Maja. Maje uzvraćaju iznenađujućom snagom, zadržavajući Španjolce u zastoju nekoliko godina. 1541 Španjolci su konačno uspjeli pokoriti Maje i okončati njihov otpor. Pobuna se, međutim, nastavlja napadati Španjolce do kraja stoljeća. 1542 Španjolci osnivaju glavni grad u M & eacuteridi u Yucat & aacutenu. 1695 Ruševine Tikala slučajno otkrivaju španjolski svećenik otac Aveda & ntildeo i njegovi drugovi, koji su se izgubili u džungli. 1712. Maje s gorja Chiapas dižu se protiv meksičke vlade. Nastavit će to činiti sve do 1990 -ih. 1724. Španjolska kruna ukida sustav encomienda, koji je španjolskim zemaljskim barunima dao pravo na prisilni rad Maja, sve dok su pristali preobratiti Maje na kršćanstvo. 1821 Meksiko postaje neovisan od Španjolske. Općenito, život Maja postaje podnošljiviji nego što je bio pod španjolskom vlašću. 1822. U Londonu je objavljen izvještaj o istraživanjima Palenquea Antona & iacuteoa del R & iacuteoa u kasnom osamnaestom stoljeću. Knjiga izaziva veliki interes za daljnje istraživanje "izgubljene" civilizacije Maja i naselja. 1839. Američki diplomat i odvjetnik John Lloyd Stephens i engleski topografski umjetnik Frederick Catherwood započinju seriju istraživanja regija Maya, po prvi put otkrivajući svijetu puni sjaj klasične civilizacije Maja. 1847 Yucat i oštre Maje ustale su protiv meksičke vlade, pobunivši se protiv bijednih uvjeta i okrutnosti koju su pretrpjeli od bijelaca. Pobuna je toliko uspješna da su Maje gotovo uspjele zauzeti cijeli poluotok u onome što je postalo poznato kao Rat kasta. 1850 Čudesni "križ koji govori" u selu u središtu Quintana Roo predviđa sveti rat protiv bijelaca. Osnaženi oružjem primljenim od Britanaca u Belizeu, Maye se pretvaraju u kvazi-vojne tvrtke inspirirane mesijanskim žarom. Borbe se nastavljaju do 1901. 1860 Yucat & aacuten Maya se opet pobunila. 1864. Radnici koji kopaju kanal na karipskoj obali Gvatemale otkrivaju ploču od žada na kojoj je ispisan datum 320. godine naše ere. Ploča postaje jedan od najstarijih poznatih objekata datiranih na način Maja. 1880. Nova plima vladine intervencije u životu Maja počinje dok vlade pokušavaju prisiliti Maje da postanu radnici na plantažama gotovine. Time se uništavaju mnogi aspekti kulturnih tradicija Maja i poljoprivrednih metoda sačuvanih preko 4000 godina. Gradovi koji su bili zaštićeni za Maje uskoro su postali utočište za ladinove mješovite rase koji su ekonomski lovili autohtone Maje i uzurpirali sve pozicije društvene i ekonomske moći. 1910. Rastuća korupcija vlade dovodi do Meksičke revolucije. 1946. Američkog fotografa Gilesa Healeya domaći Lacand & oacuten koji živi u blizini odvodi u grad Maya Bonampak. Healey postaje prva ne-Maja koja je ikada vidjela Bonampakove zapanjujuće zidne slike koje otkrivaju nove detalje o civilizaciji Maja. 1952. Meksički arheolog Alberto Ruz otkrio je i iskopao grobnicu svećeničkog kralja Pacala u Palenqueu, što je prvi put da je grobnica pronađena unutar piramide Maja. Prije toga se vjerovalo da su piramide Maja hramovi sa isključivo vjerskom ili ceremonijalnom namjenom. 1962. Prvi katalogizirani hijeroglifski znakovi Maja. Nekontrolirano pljačkanje grobnica Maja i drugih mjesta počinje otprilike u to vrijeme u južnim nizinama, nastavljajući se sve do 1970 -ih. 1992. Quich & eacute Maya iz Gvatemale po imenu Rigoberta Menchu, koja je izgubila većinu svoje obitelji zbog odreda smrti, a poznata je po tome što se izjasnila protiv istrebljenja Maja, dobitnica je Nobelove nagrade za mir.
TVOJA ZEMLJA. TVOJA POVIJEST.
TVOJ MUZEJ.
Sadržaj
Ime Maja "Chichen Itza" znači "Na ušću bunara Itze." Ovo proizlazi iz chi ', što znači "usta" ili "rub", i chʼen ili chʼeʼen, što znači "dobro". Itzá ime je etničke loze koja je stekla političku i gospodarsku dominaciju na sjevernom poluotoku. Jedan od mogućih prijevoda za Itzu je "čarolija (ili očaravanje) vode", [5] iz svoje (itz), "čarobnjak" i Ha, "voda". [6]
Ime je napisano Chichén Itzá na španjolskom, a akcenti se ponekad održavaju i u drugim jezicima kako bi se pokazalo da su oba dijela imena naglašena na svom posljednjem slogu. Druge reference preferiraju pravopis Maja, Chichʼen Itzaʼ (izgovara se [tʃitʃʼen itsáʔ]). Ovaj oblik čuva fonemsku razliku između CH i CH, od osnovne riječi chʼeʼen (koji, međutim, nije naglašen kod Maja) počinje poštanskim poštanskim ejektivnim afrikativnim suglasnikom. Riječ "Itzaʼ" ima visoki ton na "a" nakon čega slijedi glotalno zaustavljanje (označeno apostrofom). [ potreban je citat ]
Dokazi u knjigama Chilam Balama ukazuju na drugi, raniji naziv za ovaj grad prije dolaska hegemonije Itza u sjeverni Yucatán. Iako se većina izvora slaže da prva riječ znači sedam, postoji znatna rasprava o ispravnom prijevodu ostalih. Ovaj raniji naziv teško je definirati zbog nepostojanja jedinstvenog standarda pravopisa, ali je različito predstavljen kao Uuc Yabnal ("Sedam velikih kuća"), [7] Uuc Hab Nal ("Sedam žbunastih mjesta"), [8] Uucyabnal ("Sedam velikih vladara") [2] ili Uc Abnal ("Sedam redaka abnala"). [nb 3] Ovo ime, koje datira iz kasnog klasičnog razdoblja, zabilježeno je i u knjizi Chilam Balam de Chumayel i u hijeroglifskim tekstovima u ruševinama. [9]
Chichen Itza nalazi se u istočnom dijelu države Yucatán u Meksiku. [10] Sjeverni poluotok Yucatán krški je, a sve rijeke u unutrašnjosti teku pod zemljom. Postoje četiri vidljive, prirodne rupe za umivaonike, nazvane cenotes, koje su mogle osigurati obilje vode tijekom cijele godine u Chichenu, čineći ga privlačnim za naseljavanje. Od ovih cenota najpoznatiji je "Cenote Sagrado" ili Sacred Cenote (također različito poznat i kao Sveti bunar ili Zdenac žrtve). [11] Godine 2015. znanstvenici su utvrdili da se ispod Kukulkana nalazi skriveni cenote, koji arheolozi nikada nisu vidjeli. [12]
Prema izvorima nakon osvajanja (Maya i španjolski), predkolumbijske Maye žrtvovale su predmete i ljudska bića u cenote kao oblik štovanja bogu kiše Maya Chaac. Edward Herbert Thompson iskopao je Cenote Sagrado od 1904. do 1910. i pronašao artefakte od zlata, žada, keramike i tamjana, kao i ljudske ostatke. [11] Studija ljudskih ostataka uzeta iz Cenote Sagrada otkrila je da su imali rane u skladu s ljudskim žrtvovanjem. [13]
Nekoliko arheologa kasnih 1980 -ih sugeriralo je da za razliku od ranijih klasika Maja iz ranog klasika, Chichen Itzom možda nije upravljao pojedinačni vladar ili jedna dinastička loza. Umjesto toga, gradsku političku organizaciju moglo je strukturirati "multepal"sustav, koji je okarakteriziran kao vladavina kroz vijeće sastavljeno od pripadnika elitnih vladajućih loza. [14]
Ova je teorija bila popularna devedesetih godina prošlog stoljeća, ali posljednjih godina istraživanje koje je podržalo koncept "višečlanog" sustava dovedeno je u pitanje, ako ne i diskreditirano. Trenutni trend vjerovanja u stipendiju Maja usmjeren je prema tradicionalnijem modelu kraljevstava Maja u južnoj nizini Klasičnog razdoblja u Meksiku. [15]
Chichen Itza je bila velika gospodarska sila u sjevernoj nizini Maya tijekom svog apogeja. [16] Sudjelujući u vodenoj trgovačkoj ruti oko poluotoka kroz svoje lučko mjesto Isla Cerritos na sjevernoj obali, [17] Chichen Itza je uspio nabaviti lokalno nedostupne resurse iz udaljenih područja, poput opsidijana iz središnjeg Meksika i zlata iz južnoj Srednjoj Americi.
Između 900. i 1050. godine Chichen Itza se proširila i postala moćna regionalna prijestolnica koja kontrolira sjeverni i središnji Yucatán. Osnovala je Isla Cerritos kao trgovačku luku. [18]
Raspored jezgre mjesta Chichen Itza razvio se u ranijoj fazi okupacije, između 750. i 900. godine. [19] Njegov konačni raspored razvijen je nakon 900. godine nove ere, a u 10. stoljeću došlo je do uspona grada kao regionalne prijestolnice koja kontrolira područje od središnjeg Yucatána do sjeverne obale, a njegova moć se proteže niz istočnu i zapadnu obalu poluotoka. . [20] Najraniji hijeroglifski datum otkriven u Chichen Itzi ekvivalentan je 832. godini naše ere, dok je zadnji poznati datum zabilježen u hramu Osario 998. godine. [21]
Osnivanje
Kasnoklasični grad bio je usredotočen na područje jugozapadno od Xtoloc cenote, a glavnu arhitekturu predstavljaju potkonstrukcije koje se sada nalaze ispod Las Monjas i Observatorio te bazalna platforma na kojoj su izgrađene. [22]
Nadmoć
Chichen Itza je postala regionalno istaknuta pred kraj ranog klasičnog razdoblja (otprilike 600. godine poslije Krista). Međutim, pred kraj kasne klasike i u rani dio Terminalne klasike mjesto je postalo glavni regionalni kapital koji je centralizirao i dominirao političkim, sociokulturnim, gospodarskim i ideološkim životom u sjevernim nizinama Maja. Uzašašće Chichen Itze otprilike je u korelaciji s opadanjem i fragmentacijom glavnih središta južnih nizinskih nizina Maja.
Kako se Chichen Itza izdizala, gradovi Yaxuna (na jugu) i Coba (na istoku) trpeli su pad. Ova dva grada bila su međusobni saveznici, a Yaxuna je ovisila o Cobi. U jednom trenutku u 10. stoljeću Coba je izgubila značajan dio svog teritorija, izolirajući Yaxunu, a Chichen Itza je možda izravno pridonijela kolapsu oba grada. [23]
Odbiti
Prema nekim kolonijalnim izvorima Maja (npr. Knjiga Chilam Balama iz Chumayela), Hunac Ceel, vladar Majapana, osvojio je Chichen Itzu u 13. stoljeću. Hunac Ceel je navodno prorekao vlastiti dolazak na vlast. Prema tadašnjim običajima, vjerovalo se da pojedinci bačeni u Cenote Sagrado imaju moć proročanstva ako prežive. Tijekom jedne takve ceremonije, kako kronike navode, nije bilo preživjelih, pa je Hunac Ceel skočio u Cenote Sagrado, a kad je uklonjen, prorekao je svoje uzašašće.
Iako postoje neki arheološki dokazi koji ukazuju na to da je Chichén Itzá jedno vrijeme bila opljačkana i opljačkana, [24] čini se da ima većih dokaza da to nije mogao biti do Mayapana, barem ne kada je Chichén Itzá bila aktivno gradsko središte. Arheološki podaci sada ukazuju da je Chichen Itza opala kao regionalno središte do 1100. godine, prije uspona Mayapana. Tekuća istraživanja na mjestu Mayapan mogu pomoći u rješavanju ove kronološke zagonetke.
Nakon što su elitne aktivnosti Chichén Itzá prestale, grad možda nije napušten. Kad su Španjolci stigli, zatekli su uspješno lokalno stanovništvo, iako iz španjolskih izvora nije jasno žive li ove Maje u samom Chichen Itzi ili u obližnjem naselju. Relativno velika gustoća naseljenosti u regiji bila je čimbenik u odluci konkvistadora da tamo smjeste glavni grad. [25] Prema izvorima nakon osvajanja, i španjolskim i Majama, Cenote Sagrado ostao je mjesto hodočašća. [26]
Španjolsko osvajanje
Godine 1526. španjolski konkvistador Francisco de Montejo (veteran ekspedicija Grijalva i Cortés) uspješno je zatražio od španjolskog kralja povelju za osvajanje Yucatána. Njegov prvi pohod 1527., koji je obuhvatio veći dio poluotoka Yucatán, desetkovao je njegove snage, ali je završio osnivanjem male utvrde u Xaman Haʼu, južno od današnjeg Cancúna. Montejo se 1531. vratio s Yucatánom s pojačanjem i osnovao svoju glavnu bazu u Campecheu na zapadnoj obali. [27] Poslao je svog sina, Francisca Monteja Mlađeg, krajem 1532. godine da sa sjevera osvoji unutrašnjost poluotoka Yucatán. Cilj je od početka bio otići u Chichén Itzá i osnovati glavni grad. [28]
Montejo Mlađi na kraju je stigao u Chichen Itza, koju je preimenovao u Ciudad Real. U početku nije naišao na otpor, te je krenuo s podjelom zemljišta oko grada i dodjelom njihovih vojnika. Maje su s vremenom postale neprijateljske, pa su na kraju opsjedali Španjolce, presjekavši im opskrbnu liniju do obale i prisilivši ih da se zabarikadiraju među ruševinama drevnog grada. Mjeseci su prolazili, ali pojačanje nije stiglo. Montejo Mlađi pokušao je sveopći napad na Maje i izgubio 150 preostalih vojnika. Bio je prisiljen napustiti Chichén Itzá 1534. pod okriljem mraka. Do 1535. svi su Španjolci istjerani s poluotoka Yucatán. [29]
Montejo se na kraju vratio u Yucatán i, regrutiravši Mayu iz Campechea i Champotona, izgradio veliku indijsko-španjolsku vojsku i osvojio poluotok. [30] Španjolska je kruna kasnije izdala zemljišnu potporu koja je uključivala Chichen Itza i do 1588. to je bio radni stočni ranč. [31]
Moderna povijest
Chichen Itza je knjigom ušao u popularnu maštu 1843. godine Incidenti putovanja na Yucatanu autora Johna Lloyda Stephensa (s ilustracijama Fredericka Catherwooda). U knjizi se prepričava Stephensov posjet Yucatánu i njegov obilazak gradovima Maja, uključujući Chichén Itzá. Knjiga je potaknula i druga istraživanja grada. 1860. Désiré Charnay je pregledao Chichéna Itzá i snimio brojne fotografije koje je objavio u Cités et ruines américaines (1863).
Posjetitelji Chichén Itzá tijekom 1870 -ih i 1880 -ih dolazili su s fotografskom opremom i točnije zabilježili stanje nekoliko zgrada. [32] Godine 1875. Augustus Le Plongeon i njegova supruga Alice Dixon Le Plongeon posjetili su Chichén i iskopali kip figure na leđima, podignutih koljena, gornjeg dijela torza podignutog na laktovima s pločicom na trbuhu. Augustus Le Plongeon nazvao ga je "Chaacmol" (kasnije preimenovan u "Chac Mool", koji je bio izraz za opisivanje svih vrsta ovog kipa pronađenog u Mezoamerici). Teobert Maler i Alfred Maudslay istraživali su Chichén 1880 -ih i obojica su proveli nekoliko tjedana na tom mjestu i snimili opsežne fotografije. Maudslay je u svojoj knjizi objavio prvi dugoročni opis Chichen Itze, Biologia Centrali-Americana.
1894. konzul Sjedinjenih Država u Yucatánu, Edward Herbert Thompson, kupio je Hacienda Chichén, koja je uključivala ruševine Chichen Itze. 30 godina Thompson je istraživao drevni grad. Njegova otkrića uključuju najranije datirano rezbarenje nadvratnika u Hramu početne serije i iskopavanje nekoliko grobova u Osaru (Hram velikog svećenika). Thompson je najpoznatiji po jaružanju Cenote Sagrado (Sacred Cenote) od 1904. do 1910., gdje je pronašao artefakte od zlata, bakra i rezbarenog žada, kao i prve primjere za ono za što se vjerovalo da su bili predkolumbijske tkanine Maja i drveno oružje. Thompson je većinu artefakata otpremio u muzej Peabody na Sveučilištu Harvard.
Godine 1913. Institucija Carnegie prihvatila je prijedlog arheologa Sylvanusa G. Morleya i obvezala se provesti dugoročna arheološka istraživanja u Chichen Itzi. [33] Meksička revolucija i sljedeća nestabilnost vlade, kao i Prvi svjetski rat, odgodili su projekt za desetljeće. [34]
Meksička vlada je 1923. dodijelila Institutu Carnegie 10-godišnju dozvolu (kasnije produženu još 10 godina) kako bi američkim arheolozima omogućila opsežna iskapanja i restauraciju Chichen Itze. [35] Istraživači Carnegieja iskopali su i obnovili Hram ratnika i Caracol, među ostalim velikim građevinama. U isto vrijeme, meksička je vlada iskopala i obnovila El Castillo (hram Kukulcán) i Veliki bal. [36]
Meksička vlada je 1926. godine optužila Edwarda Thompsona za krađu, tvrdeći da je ukrao artefakte iz Cenote Sagrada i prokrijumčario ih iz zemlje. Vlada je zauzela Hacienda Chichén. Thompson, koji je u to vrijeme bio u Sjedinjenim Državama, nikada se nije vratio u Yucatán. O svojim istraživanjima i istraživanjima kulture Maja napisao je u knjizi Ljudi Zmije objavljeno 1932. Umro je u New Jerseyju 1935. 1944. meksički Vrhovni sud presudio je da Thompson nije prekršio zakone i vratio Chichen Itzu svojim nasljednicima. Thompsonovi su hacijendu prodali pioniru turizma Fernandu Barbachanu Peonu. [37]
Postojale su dvije kasnije ekspedicije za pronalaženje artefakata iz Cenote Sagrada, 1961. i 1967. Prvu je sponzorirao National Geographic, a drugu privatni interesi. Oba projekta nadgledao je meksički Nacionalni institut za antropologiju i povijest (INAH). INAH je uložio stalne napore u iskopavanje i restauraciju drugih spomenika u arheološkoj zoni, uključujući Osario, Akab Dzib i nekoliko zgrada u Chichén Vieju (Stari Chichen).
Godine 2009., kako bi istražili gradnju koja je prethodila El Castillu, arheolozi iz Yucateca započeli su iskopavanja u blizini El Castilla pod vodstvom Rafaela (Rach) Cobosa.
Chichen Itza bio je jedan od najvećih gradova Maya, s relativno gusto grupiranom arhitekturom jezgre mjesta koja se prostire na površini od najmanje 5 četvornih kilometara (1,9 četvornih kilometara). [2] Stambena arhitektura manjih razmjera proteže se na nepoznatu udaljenost. [2] Grad je izgrađen na rascjepkanom terenu, koji je umjetno niveliran kako bi se izgradile glavne arhitektonske skupine, pri čemu je najveći napor uložen u izravnavanje područja za piramidu Castillo, te Las Monjas, Osario i glavni jugozapad grupe. [10]
Mjesto sadrži mnoge fine kamene građevine u različitim očuvanim stanjima, a mnoge su obnovljene. Zgrade su bile povezane gustom mrežom popločanih nasipa, tzv sacbeob. [nb 4] Arheolozi su identificirali preko 80 sacbeob križajući mjesto, [10] i protežući se u svim smjerovima od grada. [38] Mnoge od ovih kamenih zgrada izvorno su bile obojene u crvene, zelene, plave i ljubičaste boje. Pigmenti su birani prema onom što je bilo najlakše dostupno na tom području. Mjesto se mora zamisliti kao šareno, a ne kao što je danas. Baš kao i gotičke katedrale u Europi, boje su pružale veći osjećaj potpunosti i uvelike su pridonijele simboličkom utjecaju zgrada. [39]
Arhitektura obuhvaća brojne stilove, uključujući stilove Puuc i Chenes na sjevernom poluotoku Yucatán. [2] Zgrade Chichen Itze grupirane su u niz arhitektonskih sklopova, a svaki je skup jedno vrijeme bio odvojen od drugog nizom niskih zidova. Tri najpoznatija od ovih kompleksa su Velika sjeverna platforma, koja uključuje spomenike Kukulcánovog hrama (El Castillo), Hrama ratnika i Velikog loptnog dvora Grupa Osario, koja uključuje istoimenu piramidu, kao i hram Xtoloc i Centralna skupina, koja uključuje Caracol, Las Monjas i Akab Dzib.
Južno od Las Monjasa, u području poznatom kao Chichén Viejo (stari Chichén) i otvorenom samo za arheologe, nalazi se nekoliko drugih kompleksa, poput Grupe početnog niza, Grupe nadvratnika i Grupe Starog dvorca.
Arhitektonski stilovi
Arhitektura u stilu Puuc koncentrirana je na području Starog Chichena, a također i ranijih građevina u Samostanskoj skupini (uključujući zgrade Las Monjas, Dodatak i La Iglesia) također je zastupljena u strukturi Akab Dzib. [40] Zgrada u stilu Puuca ima uobičajena gornja pročelja ukrašena mozaikom karakteristična za ovaj stil, ali se razlikuju od arhitekture Puuca u svojim zidanim blokovima, za razliku od finih furnira u samoj regiji Puuc. [41]
Najmanje jedna građevina u skupini Las Monjas ima ukrašeno pročelje i maskirana vrata koja su tipični primjeri arhitekture u stilu Chenesa, stila usredotočenog na regiju na sjeveru države Campeche, koja se nalazi između regija Puuc i Río Bec. [42] [43]
Te strukture s isklesanim hijeroglifskim pismom koncentrirane su na određenim područjima nalazišta, od kojih je najvažnija grupa Las Monjas. [21]
Arhitektonske skupine
Velika sjeverna platforma
Hram Kukulcán (El Castillo)
Sjeverna platforma Chichen Itza dominira Hram Kukulcán (božanstvo zmija perjanica Maja slično Aztečkom Quetzalcoatlu). Hram su identificirali prvi Španjolci koji su ga vidjeli, kao El Castillo ("dvorac"), i redovito se naziva takvim. [44] Ova stepenasta piramida visoka je oko 30 metara (98 stopa) i sastoji se od niza devet kvadratnih terasa, svaka visine približno 2,57 metara (8,4 stope), sa 6 metara visokim hramom na vrhu. [45]
Stranice piramide udaljene su približno 55,3 metra (181 ft) u podnožju i uzdižu se pod kutom od 53 °, iako to malo varira za svaku stranu. [45] Četiri lica piramide imaju izbočena stubišta koja se uzdižu pod kutom od 45 °. [45] The glas zidovi svake terase nagnuti pod kutom između 72 ° i 74 °. [45] U podnožju balustrada sjeveroistočnog stubišta isklesane su glave zmije. [46]
Mezoameričke kulture povremeno su postavljale veće strukture nad starijima [47], a jedan od takvih primjera je Kukulcánov hram. [48] Sredinom 1930-ih, meksička je vlada sponzorirala iskopavanje hrama. Nakon nekoliko lažnih startova, otkrili su stubište ispod sjeverne strane piramide. Kopajući s vrha, pronašli su još jedan hram zatrpan ispod sadašnjeg. [49]
Unutar hramske odaje nalazio se kip Chac Mool i prijestolje u obliku Jaguara, obojeno crvenom bojom i s mrljama od umetnutog žada. [49] Meksička vlada iskopala je tunel od podnožja sjevernog stubišta, uz stepenice ranije piramide do skrivenog hrama, i otvorila ga za turiste. INAH je 2006. godine zatvorio prijestolnu dvoranu za javnost. [50]
Oko proljetnog i jesenskog ekvinocija, u kasnim popodnevnim satima, sjeverozapadni kut piramide baca niz trokutastih sjena na zapadnu ogradu na sjevernoj strani koja dočarava pojavu zmije koja se vitla niz stepenice, za što su neki znanstvenici sugerirali da je prikaz božanstva perjanice-zmije, Kukulcán. [51] Uvriježeno je mišljenje da je ovaj učinak svjetlosti i sjene postignut namjerno snimanjem ekvinocija, no ideja je vrlo malo vjerojatna: pokazalo se da se fenomen može promatrati, bez većih promjena, tijekom nekoliko tjedana oko ekvinocija, što onemogućuje određivanje bilo kojeg datuma promatrajući samo ovaj učinak. [52]
Veliki teren za loptu
Arheolozi su identificirali trinaest igrališta za igranje mezoameričke igre s loptom u Chichen Itzi, [53] ali Veliko igralište za lopte udaljeno oko 150 metara (490 stopa) sjeverozapadno od Castilla daleko je najupečatljivije. To je najveće i najbolje očuvano igralište za loptu u drevnoj Mezoamerici. [44] Dimenzije su 168 x 70 metara (551 x 230 stopa). [54]
Paralelne platforme uz glavno igralište dugačke su 95 metara (312 stopa). [54] Zidovi ovih platformi stoje 8 metara (26 stopa) visoko [54] postavljeni visoko u sredini svakog od ovih zidova, prstenovi su isklesani isprepletenim pernatim zmijama. [54] [nb 5]
U podnožju visokih unutarnjih zidova nalaze se koso postavljene klupe s isklesanim pločama timova igrača lopticama. [44] U jednoj ploči jednom je igraču odrubljena glava, rana ispušta mlazove krvi u obliku zmija koje se vrte. [55]
Na jednom kraju Velikog igrališta za loptu nalazi se Sjeverni hram, također poznat kao Hram bradatog čovjeka (Templo del Hombre Barbado). [56] Ova mala zidana zgrada ima detaljno izrezbaren reljef na unutarnjim zidovima, uključujući središnju figuru koja ima rezbariju ispod brade koja nalikuje dlakama na licu. [57] Na južnom kraju nalazi se još jedan, mnogo veći hram, ali u ruševinama.
U istočni zid ugrađeni su Hramovi Jaguara. The Gornji hram Jaguara gleda na igralište i ima ulaz koji čuvaju dva velika stupa isklesana u poznatom motivu pernate zmije. Unutra se nalazi veliki zidni zid, mnogo uništen, koji prikazuje scenu bitke.
Na ulazu u Donji hram Jaguara, koji se otvara iza igrališta za lopte, još je jedno prijestolje Jaguara, slično onom u unutarnjem hramu El Castilla, osim što je dobro iznošeno i nedostaje mu boja ili drugih ukrasa. Vanjski stupovi i zidovi unutar hrama prekriveni su razrađenim bareljefnim rezbarijama.
Dodatne strukture
The Tzompantli, ili Platforma lubanje (Plataforma de los Cráneos), pokazuje jasan kulturni utjecaj središnje meksičke visoravni. Za razliku od tzompantli u gorju su lubanje nabijene okomito, a ne vodoravno, kao u Tenochtitlanu. [44]
The Platforma orlova i jaguara (Plataforma de Águilas y Jaguares) nalazi se istočno od Velikog dvora. [56] Izgrađen je u kombinaciji Maya i Toltec stilova, sa stubištem koje se uspinje sa svake svoje četiri strane. [44] Bočne strane ukrašene su pločama s prikazima orlova i jaguara koji proždiru ljudska srca. [44]
Ovaj Platforma Venere posvećen je planeti Veneri. [44] U svojoj unutrašnjosti arheolozi su otkrili zbirku velikih čunjeva isklesanih od kamena, [44] čija je namjena nepoznata. Ova se platforma nalazi sjeverno od El Castilla, između nje i Cenote Sagrado. [56]
The Hram stolova najsjevernija je u nizu zgrada istočno od El Castilla. Njegovo ime potječe od niza oltara na vrhu strukture koji su poduprti malim izrezbarenim likovima muškaraca s uzdignutim rukama, nazvanim "atlantes".
The Parna kupka jedinstvena je zgrada s tri dijela: galerijom čekanja, vodenom kupelji i parnom komorom koja je radila pomoću zagrijanog kamenja.
Sacbe broj jedan je nasip koji vodi do Cenote Sagrado, najveći je i najsloženiji u Chichen Itzi. Ova "bijela cesta" duga je 270 metara (890 stopa) s prosječnom širinom od 9 metara (30 stopa). Počinje na niskom zidu nekoliko metara od platforme Venere. Prema arheolozima, nekad je na početku ceste bila opsežna zgrada sa stupovima.
Sveti Cenote
Poluotok Yucatán je vapnenačka ravnica, bez rijeka i potoka. Regija je obilježena prirodnim vrtačama, zvanim cenotes, koje izlažu vodostaj površini. Jedan od najimpresivnijih od njih je Cenote Sagrado, koji ima 60 metara (200 stopa) u promjeru [58] i okružen strmim liticama koje se spuštaju do podzemne vode nekih 27 metara (89 stopa) ispod.
Cenote Sagrado bilo je mjesto hodočašća drevnih Maja koji su, prema etnohistorijskim izvorima, žrtvovali u vrijeme suše. [58] Arheološka istraživanja to potvrđuju jer su tisuće predmeta uklonjene s dna cenote, uključujući materijal poput zlata, izrezbarenog žada, kopala, keramike, kremena, opsidijana, školjki, drva, gume, tkanine, kao i kostura djece i muškaraca. [58] [59]
Hram ratnika
Kompleks Temple of Warriors sastoji se od velike stepenaste piramide s prednjom stranom okruženom nizovima rezbarenih stupova koji prikazuju ratnike. Ovaj kompleks je analogan Hramu B u glavnom gradu Tolteka u Tuli i ukazuje na neki oblik kulturnog kontakta između dviju regija. Ona u Chichen Itzi, međutim, izgrađena je u većim razmjerima. Na vrhu stubišta na vrhu piramide (i vodi prema ulazu u hram piramide) nalazi se Chac Mool.
Ovaj hram obuhvaća ili sahranjuje bivšu strukturu koja se zove Hram Chac Mool. Arheološku ekspediciju i restauraciju ove zgrade radila je Carnegie Institucija u Washingtonu od 1925. do 1928. Ključni član ove restauracije bio je grof H. Morris, koji je objavio rad s ove ekspedicije u dva sveska pod naslovom Hram ratnika. Akvareli su napravljeni od murala u Hramu ratnika koji su brzo propadali nakon izlaganja elementima nakon što su stoljećima izdržali u zaštićenim ograđenim prostorima. Mnogi prikazuju bitke, a neki čak imaju i zamamne slike koje podliježu nagađanjima i raspravama istaknutih učenjaka Maja, poput Michaela D. Coea i Mary Miller, u vezi s mogućim kontaktom s mornarima Vikinga. [60]
Grupa od tisuću stupaca
Uz južni zid Hrama ratnika niz je danas izloženih stupova, iako bi, kada je grad bio naseljen, podržavali opsežni krovni sustav. Stupovi su u tri različita dijela: Zapadna skupina, koja se proteže linijama prednje strane Hrama ratnika. Sjeverna skupina prolazi duž južnog zida Hrama ratnika i sadrži stupove s rezbarijama vojnika na reljefu
A northeast group, which apparently formed a small temple at the southeast corner of the Temple of Warriors, contains a rectangular decorated with carvings of people or gods, as well as animals and serpents. The northeast column temple also covers a small marvel of engineering, a channel that funnels all the rainwater from the complex some 40 meters (130 ft) away to a rejollada, a former cenote.
To the south of the Group of a Thousand Columns is a group of three, smaller, interconnected buildings. The Temple of the Carved Columns is a small elegant building that consists of a front gallery with an inner corridor that leads to an altar with a Chac Mool. There are also numerous columns with rich, bas-relief carvings of some 40 personages.
A section of the upper façade with a motif of x's and o's is displayed in front of the structure. The Temple of the Small Tables which is an unrestored mound. I Thompson's Temple (referred to in some sources as Palace of Ahau Balam Kauil ), a small building with two levels that has friezes depicting Jaguars (balam in Maya) as well as glyphs of the Maya god Kahuil.
El Mercado
This square structure anchors the southern end of the Temple of Warriors complex. It is so named for the shelf of stone that surrounds a large gallery and patio that early explorers theorized was used to display wares as in a marketplace. Today, archeologists believe that its purpose was more ceremonial than commercial.
Osario 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.
The Osario itself, like the Temple of Kukulkan, is a step-pyramid temple dominating its platform, only on a smaller scale. Like its larger neighbor, it has four sides with staircases on each side. There is a temple on top, but unlike Kukulkan, at the center is an opening into the pyramid that leads to a natural cave 12 meters (39 ft) below. Edward H. Thompson excavated this cave in the late 19th century, and because he found several skeletons and artifacts such as jade beads, he named the structure The High Priests' Temple. Archeologists today believe neither that the structure was a tomb nor that the personages buried in it were priests.
The Temple of Xtoloc is a recently restored temple outside the Osario Platform is. It overlooks the other large cenote at Chichen Itza, named after the Maya word for iguana, "Xtoloc." The temple contains a series of pilasters carved with images of people, as well as representations of plants, birds, and mythological scenes.
Between the Xtoloc temple and the Osario are several aligned structures: The Platform of Venus, which is similar in design to the structure of the same name next to Kukulkan (El Castillo), the Platform of the Tombs, and a small, round structure that is unnamed. These three structures were constructed in a row extending from the Osario. Beyond them the Osario platform terminates in a wall, which contains an opening to a sacbe that runs several hundred feet to the Xtoloc temple.
South of the Osario, at the boundary of the platform, there are two small buildings that archeologists believe were residences for important personages. These have been named as the House of the Metates i House of the Mestizas.
Casa Colorada Group
South of the Osario Group is another small platform that has several structures that are among the oldest in the Chichen Itza archeological zone.
The Casa Colorada (Spanish for "Red House") is one of the best preserved buildings at Chichen Itza. Its Maya name is Chichanchob, which according to INAH may mean "small holes". 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.
In 2009, INAH restored a small ball court that adjoined the back wall of the Casa Colorada. [61]
While the Casa Colorada is in a good state of preservation, other buildings in the group, with one exception, are decrepit mounds. One building is half standing, named La Casa del Venado (House of the Deer). This building's name has been long used by the local Maya, and some authors mention that it was named after a deer painting over stucco that doesn't exist anymore. [62]
Central Group
Las Monjas is one of the more notable structures at Chichen Itza. It is a complex of Terminal Classic buildings constructed in the Puuc architectural style. The Spanish named this complex Las Monjas ("The Nuns" or "The Nunnery"), but it was a governmental palace. Just to the east is a small temple (known as the La Iglesia, "The Church") decorated with elaborate masks. [44] [63]
The Las Monjas 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. [21] [64]
El Caracol ("The Snail") is located to the north of Las Monjas. It is a round building on a large square platform. It gets its name from the stone spiral staircase inside. 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. [65]
Akab Dzib is located to the east of the Caracol. The name means, in Yucatec Mayan, "Dark Writing" "dark" in the sense of "mysterious". An earlier name of the building, according to a translation of glyphs in the Casa Colorada, is Wa(k)wak Puh Ak Na, "the flat house with the excessive number of chambers", and it was the home of the administrator of Chichén Itzá, kokom Yahawal Choʼ Kʼakʼ. [66]
INAH completed a restoration of the building in 2007. It is relatively short, only 6 meters (20 ft) high, and is 50 meters (160 ft) in length and 15 meters (49 ft) wide. The long, western-facing façade has seven doorways. The eastern façade has only four doorways, broken by a large staircase that leads to the roof. This apparently was the front of the structure, and looks out over what is today a steep, dry, cenote.
The southern end of the building has one entrance. The door opens into a small chamber and on the opposite wall is another doorway, above which on the lintel are intricately carved glyphs—the "mysterious" or "obscure" writing that gives the building its name today. Under the lintel in the doorjamb is another carved panel of a seated figure surrounded by more glyphs. Inside one of the chambers, near the ceiling, is a painted hand print.
Old Chichen
Old Chichen (ili Chichén Viejo in Spanish) is the name given to a group of structures to the south of the central site, where most of the Puuc-style architecture of the city is concentrated. [2] It includes the Initial Series Group, the Phallic Temple, the Platform of the Great Turtle, the Temple of the Owls, and the Temple of the Monkeys.
Other structures
Chichen Itza also has a variety of other structures densely packed in the ceremonial center of about 5 square kilometers (1.9 sq mi) and several outlying subsidiary sites.
Caves of Balankanche
Approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) south east of the Chichen Itza archeological zone are a network of sacred caves known as Balankanche (Spanish: Gruta de Balankanche), Balamkaʼancheʼ in Yucatec Maya). In the caves, a large selection of ancient pottery and idols may be seen still in the positions where they were left in pre-Columbian times.
The location of the cave has been well known in modern times. Edward Thompson and Alfred Tozzer visited it in 1905. A.S. Pearse and a team of biologists explored the cave in 1932 and 1936. E. Wyllys Andrews IV also explored the cave in the 1930s. Edwin Shook and R.E. Smith explored the cave on behalf of the Carnegie Institution in 1954, and dug several trenches to recover potsherds and other artifacts. Shook determined that the cave had been inhabited over a long period, at least from the Preclassic to the post-conquest era. [67]
On 15 September 1959, José Humberto Gómez, a local guide, discovered a false wall in the cave. Behind it he found an extended network of caves with significant quantities of undisturbed archeological remains, including pottery and stone-carved censers, stone implements and jewelry. INAH converted the cave into an underground museum, and the objects after being catalogued were returned to their original place so visitors can see them in situ. [68]
Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico in 2017 it was estimated to have received 2.1 million visitors. [69]
Tourism has been a factor at Chichen Itza for more than a century. John Lloyd Stephens, who popularized the Maya Yucatán in the public's imagination with his book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, inspired many to make a pilgrimage to Chichén Itzá. Even before the book was published, Benjamin Norman and Baron Emanuel von Friedrichsthal traveled to Chichen after meeting Stephens, and both published the results of what they found. Friedrichsthal was the first to photograph Chichen Itza, using the recently invented daguerreotype. [70]
After Edward Thompson in 1894 purchased the Hacienda Chichén, which included Chichen Itza, he received a constant stream of visitors. In 1910 he announced his intention to construct a hotel on his property, but abandoned those plans, probably because of the Mexican Revolution.
In the early 1920s, a group of Yucatecans, led by writer/photographer Francisco Gomez Rul, began working toward expanding tourism to Yucatán. They urged Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto to build roads to the more famous monuments, including Chichen Itza. In 1923, Governor Carrillo Puerto officially opened the highway to Chichen Itza. Gomez Rul published one of the first guidebooks to Yucatán and the ruins.
Gomez Rul's son-in-law, Fernando Barbachano Peon (a grandnephew of former Yucatán Governor Miguel Barbachano), started Yucatán's first official tourism business in the early 1920s. He began by meeting passengers who arrived by steamship at Progreso, the port north of Mérida, and persuading them to spend a week in Yucatán, after which they would catch the next steamship to their next destination. In his first year Barbachano Peon reportedly was only able to convince seven passengers to leave the ship and join him on a tour. In the mid-1920s Barbachano Peon persuaded Edward Thompson to sell 5 acres (20,000 m 2 ) next to Chichen for a hotel. In 1930, the Mayaland Hotel opened, just north of the Hacienda Chichén, which had been taken over by the Carnegie Institution. [71]
In 1944, Barbachano Peon purchased all of the Hacienda Chichén, including Chichen Itza, from the heirs of Edward Thompson. [37] Around that same time the Carnegie Institution completed its work at Chichen Itza and abandoned the Hacienda Chichén, which Barbachano turned into another seasonal hotel.
In 1972, Mexico enacted the Ley Federal Sobre Monumentos y Zonas Arqueológicas, Artísticas e Históricas (Federal Law over Monuments and Archeological, Artistic and Historic Sites) that put all the nation's pre-Columbian monuments, including those at Chichen Itza, under federal ownership. [72] There were now hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors every year to Chichen Itza, and more were expected with the development of the Cancún resort area to the east.
In the 1980s, Chichen Itza began to receive an influx of visitors on the day of the spring equinox. Today several thousand show up to see the light-and-shadow effect on the Temple of Kukulcán during which the feathered serpent appears to crawl down the side of the pyramid. [nb 6] Tour guides will also demonstrate a unique the acoustical effect at Chichen Itza: a handclap before the in front of the staircase the El Castillo pyramid will produce by an echo that resembles the chirp of a bird, similar to that of the quetzal as investigated by Declercq. [73]
Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second-most visited of Mexico's archeological sites. [74] The archeological site draws many visitors from the popular tourist resort of Cancún, who make a day trip on tour buses.
In 2007, Chichen Itza's Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo) was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World after a worldwide vote. Despite the fact that the vote was sponsored by a commercial enterprise, and that its methodology was criticized, the vote was embraced by government and tourism officials in Mexico who projected that as a result of the publicity the number of tourists to Chichen would double by 2012. [nb 7] [75] The ensuing publicity re-ignited debate in Mexico over the ownership of the site, which culminated on 29 March 2010 when the state of Yucatán purchased the land upon which the most recognized monuments rest from owner Hans Juergen Thies Barbachano. [76]
INAH, which manages the site, has closed a number of monuments to public access. While visitors can walk around them, they can no longer climb them or go inside their chambers. Climbing access to El Castillo was closed after a San Diego, California, woman fell to her death in 2006. [50]
Chichén Itzá
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Chichén Itzá, ruined ancient Maya city occupying an area of 4 square miles (10 square km) in south-central Yucatán state, Mexico. It is thought to have been a religious, military, political, and commercial centre that at its peak would have been home to 35,000 people. The site first saw settlers in 550, probably drawn there because of the easy access to water in the region via caves and sinkholes in limestone formations, known as cenotes.
Chichén Itzá is located some 90 miles (150 km) east-northeast of Uxmal and 75 miles (120 km) east-southeast of the modern city of Mérida. The only source of water in the arid region around the site is from the cenotes. Two big cenotes on the site made it a suitable place for the city and gave it its name, from chi (“mouths”), chen (“wells”), and Itzá, the name of the Maya tribe that settled there. Chichén Itzá was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.
Chichén was founded about the 6th century ce , presumably by Maya peoples of the Yucatán Peninsula who had occupied the region since the Pre-Classic, or Formative, Period (1500 bce –300 ce ). The principal early buildings are in an architectural style known as Puuc, which shows a number of divergences from the styles of the southern lowlands. These earliest structures are to the south of the Main Plaza and include the Akabtzib (“House of the Dark Writing”), the Chichanchob (“Red House”), the Iglesia (“Church”), the Casa de las Monjas (“Nunnery”), and the observatory El Caracol (“The Snail”). There is evidence that, in the 10th century, after the collapse of the Maya cities of the southern lowlands, Chichén was invaded by foreigners, probably Maya speakers who had been strongly influenced by—and perhaps were under the direction of—the Toltec of central Mexico. These invaders may have been the Itzá for whom the site is named some authorities, however, believe the Itzá arrived 200 to 300 years later.
In any event, the invaders were responsible for the construction of such major buildings as El Castillo (“The Castle”), a pyramid that rises 79 feet (24 metres) above the Main Plaza. El Castillo has four sides, each with 91 stairs and facing a cardinal direction including the step on the top platform, these combine for a total of 365 steps—the number of days in the solar year. During the spring and autumnal equinoxes, shadows cast by the setting sun give the appearance of a snake undulating down the stairways. A carving of a plumed serpent at the top of the pyramid is symbolic of Quetzalcóatl (known to the Maya as Kukulcán), one of the major deities of the ancient Mesoamerican pantheon. Excavations within the nine-platform pyramid revealed another, earlier structure containing a red jaguar throne studded with jade.
The ball court (for playing the game tlachtli [Mayan: pok-ta-pok]) is 545 feet (166 metres) long and 223 feet (68 metres) wide, the largest such court in the Americas. Six sculpted reliefs run the length of the walls of the court, apparently depicting the victors of the game holding the severed head of a member of the losing team. On the upper platform at one end of the court stands the Temple of the Jaguars, inside of which is a mural showing warriors laying siege to a village. Standing on the platform of the temple to the north of the court, it is possible to hear a whisper from 150 feet (46 metres) away.
Other structures include the High Priest’s Grave and the Colonnade (Thousand Columns) and the adjoining Temple of the Warriors. Most of these buildings probably were completed in the Early Post-Classic Period (c. 900–1200). In the Late Post-Classic Period (c. 1200–1540), Chichén appears to have been eclipsed by the rise of the city of Mayapán. For a time Chichén Itzá joined Uxmal and Mayapán in a political confederacy known as the League of Mayapán.
About 1450 the League and the political supremacy of Mayapán dissolved. When the Spanish entered the country in the 16th century, the Maya were living in many small towns, but the major cities, including Chichén, were largely abandoned.
Long left to the jungle, Chichén Itzá remained sacred to the Maya. Excavation began in the 19th century, and the site became one of Mexico’s prime archaeological zones.
A legendary tradition at Chichén was the Cult of the Cenote, involving human sacrifice to the rain god, Chaac, in which victims were thrown into the city’s major cenote (at the northernmost part of the ruin), along with gold and jade ornaments and other valuables. In 1904 Edward Herbert Thompson, an American who had bought the entire site, began dredging the cenote his discovery of skeletons and sacrificial objects confirmed the legend.
- Yucatán’s green and yellow coat of arms features a deer, which represents the native Mayan people, leaping over an agave plant, a once-important crop in the region. Adorning the top and bottom borders are Mayan arches, with Spanish bell towers on the left and right. These symbols represent the state’s shared Mayan and Spanish heritages.
- The Yucatán Peninsula is home to North America’s largest indigenous population, the Mayans. Yucatán has the highest percentage of indigenous language speakers in the country.
- According to legend, when Francisco Hernández de Córdova arrived on the coast of Yucatán, he asked the natives where he was. They replied in their native tongue that they didn’t understand what he was saying. Because Córdova thought their answer sounded like the word Yucatán, he gave that name to the region.
- R Celestún Biosphere Reserve near the fishing village of Celestún contains thousands of brilliant pink flamingos, myriad other bird species and exotic plants. During the winter months, as many as 30,000 flamingos can be seen there.
- The state is most famous for its Mayan ruins, which number between 2,600 and 2,700. Seventeen sites have been restored and are open to the public, the most famous being Chichén Itzá, Ek Balam and Uxmal.
- Yucatán has approximately 2,600 fresh water pools called cenotes, which the indigenous natives used for drinking water and sacrificial offerings. Today, the pools are popular tourist attractions.
- The state provides sanctuary for 443 of the 546 bird species registered in the Yucatán Peninsula. Along with Campeche and Quintana Roo, Yucatán is home to 50 percent of Mexico’s bird species.
- Chichén Itzá and the Pyramid of Kukulcán were recently named among the new Seven Wonders of the World. Amazingly, the pyramid was built so that on the spring and fall equinox (March 21 and September 21), the movement of the sun creates the illusion of a giant snake of light gliding down the pyramid’s main flight of stairs. To the Mayans, this symbolized the return of Kukulcán, the Plumed Snake.
- Around 600 A.D., the Mayans migrated toward the northern regions of South America and established some of the earliest known cocoa plantations in Yucatán. The cocoa beans, which were reserved for the elite members of Mayan society, were ground and mixed with water to make an unsweetened drink.
Archaeological Sites
Because Yucatán has a rich history of ancient cultures, archaeological sites are active throughout the region. Mexico’s most extensively restored archaeological park, Chichén Itzá, covers four square miles. Founded by a tribe of warriors called the Itzพ, Chichén Itzá represents a melding of Mayan, Toltec, Puuc and Uxmal architectural influences. Once a city of grandeur, Chichén Itzá’s structures include El Castillo (Pyramid of Kukulcán), Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors) and Juego de Pelota (ball court). The nearby Cenote of Sacrifice provided water for the citizens and was sometimes used to sacrifice humans.
Uxmal, another archaeological park in Yucatán, is often called the most attractive of the archaeological sites. Built in approximately 700 A.D., Uxmal features the Mayan chultunes (or cisterns), which held water for the population. Chaac, the rain god, is seen in many of the carvings as well. Within a 10-mile radius of Uxmal are four smaller ancient sites at Kabah, Sayil, Xklapak and Labna. Together with Uxmal, these ruins make up the Ruta Puuc (Puuc Route), named after the hills in which they are nestled.
Ecotourism
The Rio Lagartos National Wildlife Refuge is home to the largest flamingo population in North America. Established in 1979, the 118,000-acre National Park features diverse geological areas, from coastal dunes to mangrove swamps. From April to August, the refuge hosts thousands of flamingos, plus another 200-plus bird species and large populations of sea turtles and jaguars.
Nearly 140 miles from Rio Lagartos, the Celestún Wildlife Refuge spans the border between the states of Campeche and Yucatán. Also established in 1979, Celestún encompasses 146,000-acres and shelters 300 bird species. Celestún also provides winter refuge for migrating birds and is a significant feeding area for non-breeding flamingos.
Urban Areas
Mérida, the capital city of Yucatán, has a population of about 750,000. It offers elegant hotels and restaurants as well as shopping malls, small stores and a central market. The city has a rich cultural life that celebrates its diversity through free concerts, performances and other public events.
An international airport brings tourists and adventurers from all over the world to enjoy the city’s colonial ambiance, ancient ruins and tropical climate. Rich in history and romantic mystique, Merida is a perfect base from which to visit the area’s many several archaeological sites, ecological parks, villages, beaches and cenotes.
In smaller cities such as Valladolid, Progreso and Tulum, tourists can enjoy the music and crafts of local artisans and dine at restaurants that serve such local delicacies as Pollo Pibil (a delicious marinated chicken wrapped in a banana leaves and baked) and Poc Chuc (tenders slices of pork marinated in sour orange juice and served with a tangy sauce and pickled onions).
Post-Classic Maya (900-1500)
During the post-classic Maya period, Chichen Itza was the most dominant city in the northern Maya region
900 A.D. – 1200 A.D. – The cities in the northern part of Yucatán thrive for a few centuries. Most prominent of those cities was the city-state of Chichen Itza, which dominated the region for more than two centuries.
1200 A.D. – Population and economic activities in northern Maya dwindles, and ultimately, those cities become uninhibited.
1224 A.D. – A few decades after the demise of cities in the north, the Toltecs leave, in hordes, the city of Chichén Itzá. Those that remain are joined by the likes of the Uicil-abnal (they later come to be known as the Itzá.
1243 A.D. – For reasons unknown to this day, the people of Uicil-abnal (i.e. the Itzá) abandon Chichén Itzá.
1250 – Chichen Itza is abandoned.
1263 A.D. – The Itzá people pull resources together and build the city of Mayapán. For the next two centuries, Mayapán grows tremendously and becomes the cultural and economic hub of Yucatán.
1441 A.D. – Leaders of Mayapán are toppled the ensuing political instability wreaks immense havoc, forcing the inhabitants to abandon the city a few decades later.
1462 A.D. – The demise of its capital – Mayapán – deals a huge blow to unity of Yucatán. The kingdom fractures into more than a dozen warring states.
The divisions among the Mayapan leave the region unprepared for the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
The early Chichen Itza history is very obscure. This is true for a lot of other aspects of Mayan history. Not a lot of written records are found about this area. Dates and events are scattered because of the way the Mayan calendar is arranged. This is the reason why many periods or dates which were years apart are given the same name.
During the early years of Chichen Itza, this area was mainly used as a ceremonial center by the Mayans. The area was abandoned for about one hundred years, however no records of why this happened could be found. Shortly after resettlement, the land was invaded by the Toltecs who made a home in Tula. This is the reason why some architecture in Chichen Itza mirrors that of Tula. The Toltecs were said to be an aggressive group. They were ruled under the king named Topiltzin. The new king that ruled over the Iztas introduced human sacrifice and, through labor, recreated the area as a new religious center. The Toltecs introduced many new ideas to the Iztas and left their mark on the land.
7. The serpent on the staircase
During the Spring equinox, the serpent can be seen moving up and down the staircase of the Kukulcan temple.
Well not really, just the effect of a serpent.
It’s still pretty impressive that they were able to predict how this would happen. The Mayan people were known to be excellent astronomers though. Effect of the serpent on the staircase during spring equinox / Wiki Commons
New architectural style in Chichen Itza
The new architectural style of Chichen Itza was named Tolteca, due to its similarities with Tula, without this implying an ethnic affiliation or a direct relationship between both sites.
Tzompantli and Kukulkán in Chichén Itzá
During this period in the History of Chichen Itza, the inscriptions in Maya-Yucateco style ceased, being the last building that presented such inscriptions the Tzompantli also known as Temple of Sculls, dated in the year 998.
They presented abundant representations of individual characters in columns and processions, and in many occasions, the characters presented nominal hieroglyphics in a style similar to that used in the Central Mexico area.
Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen Itza
Temple of the Warriors in Chichén Itzá
Great Ball Court in Chichén Itzá
Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen Itza
Temple of the Warriors in Chichén Itzá
Great Ball Court in Chichén ItzáThe power of Chichen Itza during this time was manifested not only in the impressive architecture of emblematic buildings, such as the Pyramid of Kukulkán, also known as El Castillo, the Temple of the Warriors or the Great Ball Court, but also in the impressive program of sculpture in bas-relief, the murals, and the quantity and quality of the imported objects.
During the Middle Postclassic period, which is traditionally dated between the years 1200 and 1350, the city entered a period of decline.
For this reason, the monumental constructions ceased, imports of sumptuary objects were suspended, and the city struggled to maintain its dominance in the area, in the midst of political struggles that unfolded in the replacement of Chichen Itza by the city of Mayapán.
In this gradual period of loss of power in the History of Chichen Itza, the city continued, but the population dropped down considerably.
The remaining population occupied old buildings and even reused objects from the previous period, which is why it was almost impossible to find objects from their greatest period, in their original places of use or storage.
This occupation factor affects the contextual interpretations that are attempted to make about the life and customs of the inhabitants of Chichen Itza, in their periods of maximum development.
Although Mayapán inherited political power, Chichen Itza was not abandoned during the Late Postclassic (1350 -1530 AD).
A Historical Timeline
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest.
South America ranks fourth in area after Asia, Africa, and North America and fifth in population after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
What is the purpose of creating a Historical Timeline?
We have created a historical timeline of the world famous ancient sites to provide you with an information on how really old are these sites. It was created by arranging these ancient sites in a chronological order also shows in what time period these ancient sites were built.
The following table illustrates the ancient sites arranged in chronological order of their original construction.
(Note: The periodical information in this timeline is based on publicly available historical resources. Some differences in the estimation of these time periods may exist.)
Historical timelines can be valuable tools that provide important information about civilizations, religions, key historical events, inventions, and the leaders which had a major impact on the world's history.
As seen from the historical timeline table, these incredible ancient archeological monuments are still in existence even today, and present great opportunities for all to revisit and re-connect with the rich human historical past.
