The Mysterious Chirping Sounds Of The Pyramid Of Kukulkan In Mexico - Alternative View

The Mysterious Chirping Sounds Of The Pyramid Of Kukulkan In Mexico - Alternative View
The Mysterious Chirping Sounds Of The Pyramid Of Kukulkan In Mexico - Alternative View

Video: The Mysterious Chirping Sounds Of The Pyramid Of Kukulkan In Mexico - Alternative View

Video: The Mysterious Chirping Sounds Of The Pyramid Of Kukulkan In Mexico - Alternative View
Video: Chichen Itza : Sound of Bird and Snake 2024, March
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Research shows that Mesoamerican pyramids such as the Temple of Kukulkan, which survived among the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, were designed to create complex acoustic effects …

The Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza is one of the seven new wonders of the world. Europeans, in particular the Spaniards, call this pyramid "El Castilio", that is, "Castle", and it belongs to the best-preserved ancient Mayan buildings, dedicated to one of the main deities of the Yucatan Indians.

A temple structure built around 1100 AD e., rises on a terrace with an area of 18 hectares. The terrace is surrounded by a stone parapet.

The Pyramid of Kukulkan is a four-sided stepped structure approximately 30 meters high, with a staircase on each side.

Pyramid of Kukulkan, Mexico
Pyramid of Kukulkan, Mexico

Pyramid of Kukulkan, Mexico.

There are 9 large steps at the pyramid (the number of heavens for the Toltecs), and each staircase consists of 91 steps. At the top there is a rectangular building with a flat roof, which contains 4 entrances to the temple. If you add up all the steps leading up from the four sides, together with a small platform at the top, you get the number 365 - corresponding to the number of days in a year.

All the pyramids, and in particular the Kukulkan temple, are a continuous mystery: it is not known for certain, neither who built them, nor exactly when, nor the main thing - why. Archaeologists traditionally tell us some stories about bloody religious cults and a timeline, but all these theories, until now, have not been unambiguously confirmed. And not so long ago, researchers threw another mystery to the sensation-hungry public - if you stand at the foot of the pyramid stairs and clap your hands, you will get this incredible chirping sound.

Promotional video:

Echoes from buildings are common, but nothing distorts sound like this pyramid.

Locals have known this effect for a long time and, comparing this effect with different sounds, they came to the conclusion that the echo from the pyramid imitates the sound made by quesals - very unusual birds from the trogon-like order.

Quesal, or quesal, or quetzal (lat. Pharomachrus mocinno) - the largest bird of the trogon-like order
Quesal, or quesal, or quetzal (lat. Pharomachrus mocinno) - the largest bird of the trogon-like order

Quesal, or quesal, or quetzal (lat. Pharomachrus mocinno) - the largest bird of the trogon-like order.

The quetzal was considered a sacred bird in the Mayan and Aztec cultures and its feathers were used in religious ceremonies. But, since the bird was in some mystical way connected with Quetzalcoatl, they did not kill it for the extraction of feathers, but caught it, then they simply pulled out a few feathers, and then released it.

Acoustic studies have revealed compelling similarities between the chirping echo of a pyramid and the cry of a sacred bird. Just check it out for yourself with the following video:

It's worth noting that the quetzal is a misleading translation of the bird's name, which is confusing. A more accurate translation would be quetzal, that is, quetzal (kɛtˈsɑːl) - as the Spaniards who first heard it wrote this Indian word. And this is a direct reference to the name Quetzalcoatl - the god of the Aztecs, whom the Maya called Kukulcan.

Researchers speculate that the Maya built majestic stone cities centered around pyramid temples such as Kukulcan, where people went to worship their gods and participate in ceremonies associated with their very complex calendar.

It was probably during these gatherings that the Mayan priests or other chiefs clapped their hands, calling on the sacred bird. When a clapping sound is heard, the high and narrow limestone steps of the temple act as separate sound diffusers, casting back a chirping tone that decreases in frequency.

On the days of the equinox, crowds of people gather near the pyramid of Kukulkan
On the days of the equinox, crowds of people gather near the pyramid of Kukulkan

On the days of the equinox, crowds of people gather near the pyramid of Kukulkan.

In other words, sound reflections from stair steps are responsible for echo changes. The reason that the sound of the echo resembles the chirping of birds lies in the geometry of the pyramid. The time between later reflections is longer than the early reflections, resulting in the echo frequency falling rapidly by about an octave.

Whether the pyramid was built specifically to make such a noise, or whether it happened by accident, is still the subject of heated debate among scientists and archaeologists. The author of the article is inclined to the second option, since the builders of the pyramid would need something like a computer, as well as special software and knowledge of certain laws of physics / acoustics to simulate the desired sound effect.

Somehow this does not fit into the history of pre-Columbian America. Or maybe the pyramid was brute force? That is, first they built one, then another, then a third, and so on - until the desired effect was obtained? On the other hand, it is foolish to deny that the pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza is and remains one of the architectural wonders of ancient civilizations.