Post-Classic Maya Chichen Itza Uxmal Tulum

Chichen Itza The name Chichen Itza means "well of the Itzas." Late in its history, the site was occupied by the Itza family, Mayas who resisted the Spanish until the 17th century by withdrawing to a fortress at Lake Peten. In the Middle Preclassic period (800 B.C B.C.) some villages grew into small ceremonial centers. By the Late Classic period ( A.D.) one of these provincial centers, later called Chichen Itza, contained a number of large structures built in the Puuc style of the South, exemplified by the Nunnery and the Palace of the Governors at Uxmal, some 100 miles southeast of Chichen Itza.

Maya historical tradition States that in 987 A.D., a leader called Kukulkan (in Maya, "feathered serpent," in the Toltec language, "Quetzalcoatl") arrived from the sea to the west and conquered the land, probably with the aid of some of the indigenous people. Kukulkan was almost certainly the Quetzalcoatl who had dominated the Toltec capital at Tula to the west and whose faction had been exiled from Tula in 987 A.D.

Chichen Itza & Toltec Influence The Toltec invaders, with the aid, forced or willing, of the Chichen Itza Mayas, proceeded to build a new capital close to the site of the older Maya center. They built new buildings in the Toltec style, altered older Maya structures to suit their own needs, and left some of the older buildings untouched. They may have built a wall around their new plaza, which is bounded by the Temple of the Warriors at one end and the Great Ball Court at the other. The result of the building program was a lively, exciting melding of styles and forms, for many of the innovations of Tula were brought to the Yucatan and refined by Maya craftsmen.

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Later Chichen Itza The Toltecs ruled at Chichen Itza for 200 years and then abandoned the site, probably overthrown by the Mayas. Although the building program ended, people continued to inhabit the site to this time; there is recent evidence that some minor Maya religious rituals, such as the burning of incense, are still practiced in the older sections of Chichen.

Castillo

Earlier entrance under Castillo

Jaguar Temple

Jaguar Throne

Eagle Platform

Temple of the Warriors

Venus Platform

Cenote Excavations In the late 19th century, the American Edward Thompson bought a hacienda located on the site of Chichen Itza. An amateur archaeologist, he investigated many of the structures, of which only a small percentage have been excavated as of the present time. Thompson's main interest, like many of the investigators who succeeded him, was in the Sacred Cenote. This is a limestone sink, not uncommon in the Yucatan, which serves as the only steady natural source of water in this region of low rainfall. During the Toltec era, probably before it, and certainly long after, sacrifices of various kinds were thrown into the cenote. These included human beings, as well as objects made of gold, jade, copal, rubber, and copper. Although the Spanish believed (or hoped) the human sacrifices were beautiful virgins, there is no skeletal evidence for this belief. Skeletons of children, old men and mature women have been dredged from the Cenote.

Cenote

Structure on side of Cenote

Objects found in Cenote (Jade and Shell)

Gold objects in Cenote

The Caracol

Ruins of a High Priests House

Necklace found in High Priest house excavations

Ballcourt

Mural Depicting Battle

Chacmool Figure

The “Nunnery”

Skull Rack

Close-up of Skull Rack

Uxmal Uxmal was the greatest metropolitan and religious center in the Puuc hills of Yucatan during the late Classical period, flourishing between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D. Uxmal translates as 'thrice built' and, whatever the actual number, the numerous building phases are reflected in a variety of architectural styles. The city was abandoned in the 10th century after apparently coming under Toltec influence. The currently used names for many of the structures were coined by the conquering Spanish and are neither indigenous nor do they indicate the actual functions of the buildings. An example is the Nunnery so named for its similarity to the convents of the Spaniards. This structure was actually used as a school for the training of healers, astronomers, mathematicians, shamans and priests.

The Pyramid of the Magician The Pyramid of the Magician, at 100 feet the tallest structure in Uxmal, is more accurately named. According to an ancient legend, of various different tellings, a magician-god named Itzamna was single handedly supposed to have constructed the pyramid in one night. From archaeological excavation however, we know that the pyramid was constructed in five superimposed phases. The legendary association of the pyramid with a magician may be understood as an indication that the structure, and indeed the entire sacred part of the Uxmal complex, had ancient and ongoing use as a mystery school and ceremonial center. It is also interesting to note that the entire city is aligned with reference to the position of the planets then known, with Venus predominating, and that the pyramid of the magician is oriented so that its stairway on the west faces the setting sun at the time of summer solstice.

The Pyramid of the Magician

Uxmal Ballcourt

Nunnery Quadrangle

Hilltop Structure

View with Tempel of Magician in background

Great Pyramid

Tulum El Castillo (The Castle) is the largest of the buildings, and it overlooks the coast on the cliff-edge. Templo del Dios Descendente (Temple of the Descending God) depicts a diving figure, (looks like a bee) and is the same figure you can see depicted at other Mayan sites, including Coba. Templo de los Frescos - Temple of Frescoes dates back to the mid 1400's is a two-storey building with colorful murals on the inner wall. It is thought to have been one of the last structures built by the Maya before the arrival of Hernan Cortez.

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View looking east

El Castillo

Temple of the Descending God

Temple of the Frescoes

The Watchtower