The ruins of the ancient city of Chichen Itza are located about 120 kilometers southeast of the city of Merida. It is the most famous archaeological site of the Mayan period and the Yucatan state.
Last time we talked about the underwater pyramids of Yonaguni Island, now came through the story of the great city of the Maya Indians, their culture and structures.
Contrary to popular belief, the Maya were not an empire - they were a group of autonomous cities, often interacting with other states in the region. Chichen Itza and many other important Mayan cities were built in accordance with the sacred beliefs of the Indians - cities were built to reflect the position of various astronomical objects in the night sky.
So, who built this ancient city and its pyramids? The Maya were an ancient civilization of southern Mexico and other South American countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and El Salvador. Nowadays, about 6 million Mayan descendants live here, speaking many different dialects.
The Maya people were very well versed in astronomy, during the first millennium AD, they studied and mapped in detail the movement of the sun, moon, and other planets and stars. Their religion and mythology was based on this, explaining the past, present and future. The Maya also invented a brilliant mathematical system, a writing system, and a combination of three precise interconnected calendars.
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In addition to the city of Chichen Itza, the Maya are also famous for a number of other temple cities, such as Palenque, Uxmal, Copan, etc. Many of these cities have been restored by archaeologists, while some remain underground and await their turn. It is also worth noting that the Maya were able to travel long distances across the ocean by developing a sophisticated method of navigating the stars.
Let's turn specifically to the history of the construction of the city of Chichen Itza. The Proto-Maya tribes inhabited the flat plateau of the Yucatan Peninsula for 8000 years. Archaeologists believe that this place has been an important pilgrimage site for thousands of years.
Chichen Itza became the capital and social center of the Maya in the eighth century. At first, the coastal territories of the Yucatan were settled, then the settlements spread over the entire peninsula. Thanks to two large sources of clean water that do not dry up throughout the year, Chichen Itza became the most powerful Mayan city.
In the 10th century, the city was captured by the Toltecs, making Chichen Itza the capital of the Toltec state, but was later conquered by the combined army of three Mayan cities. After the 12th century, the Yucatan was mysteriously deserted, as the Spanish conquerors destroyed the Mayan manuscripts and the clergy. By the time of the Spanish conquests in the 16th century, Chichen Itza was in ruins.
As a result of excavations in the city, many architectural monuments were discovered, in particular, the famous Chichen Itza pyramids. The most prominent among them is the Temple of Kukulkan - a pyramid of 9 steps, 24 meters high. It is surprising that on the days of the autumn and spring equinoxes, the rays of the sun illuminate the stairs of the pyramid in such a way that they form the image of seven isosceles triangles, which, in turn, make up the body of a 37-meter snake, crawling as the sun moves to its head, carved in stone at the base stairs.
On a small pyramid of 4 steps is the Temple of the Warriors of Chichen Itza, adjacent to the Temple of the Jaguars and the Mayan Observatory called Caracol. Surprisingly, the Maya Indians played football. Naturally, not in the form in which it is customary to play this game now, but nevertheless, during excavations, 7 large fields for playing ball were discovered. The largest field was 135 meters long.
We also managed to preserve the statues of the gods, with very interesting detail and style of execution, many craft items and various utensils. A sacred well, 50 meters deep, was also preserved, probably used for sacrifices.
In our time, the Mexican government has bought a piece of land of 83 hectares, on which the city of Chichen Itza is located, in order to preserve it. This is one of the main attractions of Mexico, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 2007, the city was recognized as one of the new seven wonders of the world.
The Aztecs had similar cities in Mexico, for example, the city of Teotihuacan, which looks no less majestic: