![]() This pyramid-shaped structure stands close to 100 feet high. Among them:Įl Castillo: Also known as the Temple of Kukulkan, named for a Mayan deity that appears as a feathered serpent. It remains so today.Ī number of important structures of the original city remain standing, some thanks to restoration efforts on the part of the Mexican government. Long abandoned by the Spanish, and then by the newly formed country of Mexico, Chichen Itza became a significant architectural site in the mid-1800s. They later used the site as a headquarters for cattle ranching activities. As a result, it was only natural that, for a time, the Spanish set up a temporary capital there. Still, when Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1526, there was a thriving community living in and around the city. There is some evidence that Chichen Itza may have been raided and looted at this time, although that remains up for debate. Indeed, historians believe that many of the political and economic activities of the city had shifted to Mayapan, a newer community built to the south and west of Chichen Itza, by the mid-1200s. Mayan Scientific Achievements The Decline of Chichen ItzaĪlthough the fall of Mayan civilization is widely attributed to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, and the European colonialists that followed the famous explorer, Chichen Itza may well have lost its place as an important city in the region long before then. This population may have also been fairly diverse, at least by standards of the time, with residents immigrating to the city from beyond the Yucatan, including from present-day Central America. Via its port at Isla Cerritos on the northern coast, Chichen Itza became an important commercial center, trading in goods-including gold and other treasures-with other cities throughout the Americas.Īt its height, it is believed that as many as 50,000 people lived in the city. Chichen Itza as a Capitalīy the ninth century, Chichen Itza was a de facto regional capital, with its rulers controlling much of the central and northern Yucatan peninsula. ![]() Researchers found that the human remains had bone marks and other wounds indicating that they were killed before being thrown into the cenote. The dredging yielded numerous precious artifacts made of gold, turquoise and jade, as well as human remains. ![]() Long rumored to have been the site of human sacrifice, the cenote was dredged in the early 1900s. Mayan Architecture Cenote at Chichen ItzaĪ large cenote (sacred well or spring) located at the northern end of Chichen Itza has immense ceremonial and archaeological significance. ![]() ![]() Today, though, the remains of the city retain the pale gray colors of the original stone. In addition, archeologists believe the Mayans painted many of the buildings in bright colors, including reds, greens and blues. Remarkably, given the relatively simple technology available at the time, Chichen Itza was built in an area of rough terrain that was leveled in order to accommodate larger structures, including, most notably, El Castillo (“the castle”), a pyramid structure that, thanks to restoration efforts on the part of the Mexican government, still stands today.Īnother larger structure on the site, Las Monjas, which served as a government building, was also built on leveled terrain.Īll of the buildings of Chichen Itza were linked by a network of nearly 100 “sacbeob,” or paved roadways and sidewalks-which was significant, given that many European cities did not yet feature paved streets at the time. Chichen Itza even had its own “suburbs,” with smaller homes occupying the outskirts of the city. What isn’t up for debate is that Chichen Itza was a significant center of political and economic activity in the Mayan culture by roughly 600 A.D.īy then, it was already one of the largest cities in the Mayan world, covering nearly two square miles with densely packed commercial, residential and other structures made of stone. Some accounts place the establishment of the city in the early 400s A.D., while others suggest construction started a few years later, in the middle part of the fifth century. Historic accounts differ as to when Chichen Itza was built and ultimately developed into a center of political and economic power. Chichen Itza When Was Chichen Itza Built? ![]()
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