Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza Yucatan

2010-01-09T21:29:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free enzyclopedia

Chichen Itza is a ruined site on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, about 120 km east of Merida. The name Chichen Itza is composed of three words from the yukatekischen Maya: chi '() mouth ch'e'en (fountain or pond), and Itzá (native name of the people).

Composed as follows: "At the mouth of the well of the Itza". The well was probably meant the Cenote of the city. Another name of the place is mentioned in the Chilam Balam books. Other possibilities for write the name are: Chitzen Itza, Chitzien Itza and Chitzan Itza.

Iglesia - Church

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The so called Iglesia (church) is located in the immediate vicinity of the building Las Monjas. It is a very small building with only one room and a single access from the east. The design of the facade shows a clear contrast between the lower wall surfaces, worked out the little stones exist in irregular rows, and the stone mosaic about it. It seems that here instead of the usual stone facing some kind of presence has been used for towels, because at the bottom of the middle cornice there are numerous holes that have been used for its installation. This is a form of variable facade design, which otherwise in the Maya region is not known.

The bottom ledge has five horizontal bands, the middle of which consists of a carved in relief Stufenmänder. The cornice runs right around the entire building. The overlying wall surface on the front page shows three large Chac masks (two of them at the corners), can be seen between them in two small square niches of two sedentary animal-human figures. They are (from north to south), an armadillo, a snail, a turtle and a crab dar. Their bodies are with stem deep into the wall. The heads, which were developed fully plastic, have been cut off in all cases. They are used as figures of BACAB, mythical figures, which reflect the sky, interpreted. On the back of the building there are also three masks, which are inserted between flat motives, which are the same found on the short sides. The upper cornice runs also identical to the whole building and consists of four bands, while the second is from the bottom of obliquely juxtaposed stones. Snake heads at the corners sticking out of this band, which are only partially preserved.

About the facade a roof tower, resting on a band of fret, on a wall surface followed by three forward-oriented masks and only a simple conclusion to the top. On the back of roof with diagonally placed bricks is flat decorated. The function of the building is unclear, the frequent occurrence of Chac masks does not necessarily give an indication.

Las Monjas

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The building is located on a platform that it shares with the Caracol and numerous smaller buildings. It has undergone a large number of structural changes and is therefore likely to become one of the most complex part in Chichén Itzá. A very extensive excavations by the Carnegie Institution of Washington was held in the years 1933 and 1934, instead, headed by John S. Bolles.

The building seems to consists of two interrelated parts do not exist: from the eastern part, which is usually referred to as the Annex, and a high platform with far stairs from the north, leading to a building on the second floor, over which the remains of another floor with upstream steps are visible.

The actual construction history is different: In the beginning, a simple platform was high, with rounded corners, a little over 2nbsp; m, with a projecting stair from the south. This platform is now visible only in the large hole caused by collapse of the western part of the complex. Subsequently, this platform has been increased to approximately twice and built on their surface an existing one room building with three north-facing door openings. South of the platform has now built the wing, known as Annex. It originally consisted of 13 rooms, made up of three parallel rows, and a final, transverse space in the east. The middle row was entered by the area lying to the south rooms. The room had passes to the adjacent areas of the outer rooms, and a small side door to the outside.

End-space and space arrangement with the decor of the facade to make it clear that had shifted the focus of the building after the lie to the east yard. While the lower wall surface of the northern and southern facades are kept simple in form between the doors of different widths fields with stones cross the only jewelry that are the building corner and the entire facade in the East fully decorated. The upper wall surface of the northern and southern ways differently designed Chac masks on, as well as fields with diagonally set stones and rosettes. The friezes of these sites are kept relatively simple.

The pictorial program of the show site around the eastern entrance of combined motifs from the entire northern Maya area: All around the front door are arranged the teeth of a snake foot entrance. But it is only an eclectic quote - for a complete lack of foot snake eyes and noses above the door along with nose ring on the sides. In their place, flat Chac masks arranged in a double cascade. The identical masks are also found on the upper wall surface. At the corners the same masks appear in the corner form, as a whole are also shown on page 12 of these masks. Above the door sits in an oval frame, step outside the square scrolls, the figure of a ruler with a large feather headdress. It stems perhaps from the ruler, who in this building on seven stone doorpost, under the date of the 8th February 880 has immortalized.

The building rests on an unusually high base, which is a simple Gesimsband completed Fiederform. The median Gesimsband that jumps up to make room for the pseudo-foot snake jumps in, there has 5 horizontal bands: a plait, a band that reflects a differently designed plait, a sleek element on a number of ik characters the other by a smooth, narrow band seem to hang. The upper frieze has only four elements: two smooth above that a deeper field with sloping stones frame, and above the usual inclined to the front end protruding stones, is inserted into the intervals motive another, reminiscent of the Mixtec years makers mark.

If the above dates in the year 880 indicate the completion of this wing, it was the beginning of the 10th Century, the high platform enhanced so that arose before the building is now broad platform. This extension covered the three western areas of the building on the ground floor, which were demolished for this purpose either largely or filled with rubble masonry. This extended platform but did not have enough space for an expansion of the building in the 1st Floor, which made a renewed increase in the platform is required. In the next three areas (were seen from the east) are lost, which were below the platform. They too were filled with rubble for structural reasons. The upper platform, which was now clearly visible on the outside, was provided with alternating round stone mosaic decor.

Thus the condition for the final shape of the upper details of building was given: the open space originally building was expanded to eight rooms, six of which were parallel to each other (a large medium with three inputs and two smaller rooms) at the sides, while on the eastern and western ends were ever a room. The façade shows large areas with slightly deeper stones diagonally across the width and set with four fret on the sides. The upper wall surface is inclined slightly inwards. Before the north facade has been served up a staircase that led to a small building to the next level. The stairs do not skip over the facade with a Mayacave, but with a flat slab of stone blocks. The top building was bare and had only one room, however, found relief decorations on the last stair.

In an unclear connection with extensions of the high platforms and the remaining two interiors were filled with debris, were removed with portions of the vault. However, in extending the inputs left blank spaces to the middle narrow, blind-ending ducts, formed in the later period of attack for plunder graves.

Caracol - The Worm Tower

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Caracol is an observatory Caracol dar. means "snail", this name comes from the narrow winding staircase inside that leads into the upper structure of the building. The building, which was excavated in the 1930s, restored under the direction of Karl Ruppert and was built in stages and its final form until late. At the beginning of a large, rectangular platform was built with rounded corners, which led up the stairs on its west side preserved. The stringers are intertwined with each other, bodies adorned with snakes and ending in a serpent's head, rising above the stairs. The excavations were recovered from the rubble of the 60 incense burners in the form of human heads, which were probably originally issued: on the edge of the platform.

Over this first platform has an additional, built in the circular diameter of 11 meters. Around them, then they built another, better also round platform with 16 m in diameter. Then there was an expansion and improvement on the west side, which was subsequently amended on the east side. Both together resulted in a not completely rectangular shape with about 24 m side length. This includes a staircase on the west side, is also entwined with snakes. In a recess of the stairs they found a stele with 132 blocks hieroglyphics, whose date has not been established.

On the surface of the platform past the round tower was built. It consists of two concentric gang spaces that are covered with a Mayan arch. For the outer and the inner gear features four inputs, which are offset against each other. In the center of the circular passage times is a circular wall block, the exhibits at a height of about 3 meters, a low and narrow doorway, by the very narrow and leads up a winding staircase difficult to passing into the observation room on the roof level.

The upper structure, which contained an observation room which had several deep window openings to the outside. With the diagonally visors inner and outer edges of the windows could be seen on the horizon positions with sufficient precision. The three remaining window openings offer the following directions:

* Window 1: 270 ° 57 '(sunset at the equinoxes)
* Window 1: 298 ° 53 '(northernmost moonset possible)
* Window 2: 242 ° 11 '(southernmost moonset possible)
* Window 3: 182 ° 13'E (south)

The lower wall surface of the building is smooth, but uncommonly with 3.3 m high. The frieze consists of five basic elements. In the upper wall surface largely tower, which showed each of the four inputs on one of the typical masks, and a seated figure. The building is constructed Puuc style.

Venus Platform

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Other buildings in the temple city of Chichen Itza was one of the architectural masterpieces mentioned above, the Platform of Venus. It is located near the Great Pyramid, the stairs of the platform will be accompanied by a serpent's head, which represents Kulkulkan Quetzalcoatl as the morning star.

Juego de pelota - The Ball Court

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Relief of the ball court: The leader of the defeated party has been decapitated, in the form of snakes, blood spurts from his neck, the winner keeps his head

Chichén Itzá has been found in at least twelve ball courts. The Juego de pelota is the largest and most important of more than 520 ball courts in Yucatán dar. It is located about one hundred meters northwest of the Pyramid of Kulkulkán. The dimensions of the playing field be 168 x 38 m and it is flanked by eight-meter high walls, which were intended, inter alia, for the audience. The shape of the court is aware of two "T".

The ball game was inhuman stressful in itself. At the height of 6.50 meters is mounted on each side ever a schlangenverzierter ring through which the ball had to be beaten. For the ball, there were different weight classes: 400, 1000, 2000 or 4000 grams, the ball had to) without the help of the hands and legs to be played (ie with shoulders, chest and hip. The reason was that the ball represented the path of the sun. In pictures you can see the clothing. This was made of hardened leather. In addition, some of the players wore two different shoes. One of them had a protection for the ankle to allow the player to the ball when slide not hurt. The ball went out of bounds, he was back with the aid of a stick put into play it (could not hit the ball even with the hand or foot touch). Each team had five to seven players who were sometimes also unevenly distributed.

The motives of the two rings allow conclusions on the game. Folklorists in Mexico are still not sure whether or not the team captain was sacrificed to the loser, but even the winner. On the reliefs on the stone rings are around the field, appears as a recurring motif that someone was beheaded. From the body of the beheaded, the gushing blood is presented in the form of 7 snakes, which existed when the Mayans as a symbol of fertility. From the blood that flows to the floor, creating for the "tree of life". This presentation is based on a myth of the Mayas, which shows the making of the game and allows things stand today, no conclusions on whether winners or losers lose their heads.

Here, too, sound effects and echoes due to the long smooth side walls are inevitable. However, what still works is that when you get on the field clapping their hands, one obtains a multiple echo. It springs from the imagination of the guide that the reason for this response was the establishment of the sidewalls of seven different types of limestone and sandstone, as the material is essentially uniform and sandstone nowhere to be found in the Yucatan. In addition, the material of the surfaces has no effect on echo effects.

Templo de los Guerreros - The Temple of the Warriors

2010-01-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The war temple is a fine example of the Maya-Toltec architecture. He is northeast of the Pyramid of Kukulcan, at the northern end of the 1000 columns.
Snake pillars of the temple building

The upper platform is reached by a staircase, which, however, is closed to tourists. There, the well-known as a Chac Mool figure in half-lying position is to be seen. Chac Mool, the name goes back to the New York amateur archeologist Augustus Le Plongeon that in him the image of a suspected he saw Mayan prince, he has nothing to do with the rain god Chac do. The walls of the substructure like a pyramid are decorated with reliefs continuously repeated. On the existing piers of square stone blocks warriors are represented, as well as eating eagle, the hearts of men. On the upper platform is the temple, the entrance of two pillars snake was born. This snake pillars correspond Toltec style. However, the snout noses of the rain god Chac, as can be seen on the outer walls of the temple building to come, the architectural style of the Maya.

On the north side of the temple there is an access to the interior of an earlier construction of the temple, in its structure which corresponds to a large extent, and was later uncovered in the excavations in the 1930s. The pillars that once supported the roof, are similar to those of the later temple decorated with reliefs. She colored paint is still intact and shows how all the pillars must have looked like. On the back wall of the temple area is a large, walled sacrificial table, which is supported by numerous Altanten figures just under 1 m high.

Pyramid of Kukulcan

2010-01-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pyramid of Kukulcan
Called The Pyramid of Kukulcan (Castillo, Chichen Itza: Mayan word for Quetzalcoatl), also called El Castillo, situated in the ruined city of Chichen Itza in Yucatan (Mexico).

Younger pyramid
The pyramid is 30 meters high, has a base side length of 55 m and rises in nine Pyramid steps. The steps include alleged 365 steps. This number should be composed as follows: Each of the four flights of stairs is 91 steps), together 364, plus the base of the temple building (1 step resulting 365th This calculation, which should refer to the days of the year, has been reviewed already by earlier writers as pure speculation. In fact, the number of steps are always the result of restoration: the north and west by the Mexican Dirección de Antropología (from 1923 under Jose Reygadas Vértiz), east side by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (1979 by Peter J. Schmidt). The south side is unrestored. The number of stages we reached varies from 91 to 93, if only because the site slopes slightly to the south.

The temple building has an unusual plan: Behind one of the width of the temple engaging wide entrance with two pillars in the shape of snakes with back erect, his body, which include the doorpost, there is a smaller, nearly square room, whose vault is additionally supported by two pillars to the width of the space with two vaults spanning parts to. To this room leads to three sides of the deal, which has doors to the three remaining steps down. The side surfaces of the doors are carved with life-size depictions of Toltec warriors in costume and armed with a bundle of spears and spear throwers.

Predecessor
Inside the pyramid is an older, much lower buildings with similar floor plan (33 meters side length, 17 meters) up to the highest platform, also nine Pyramid steps, but only one staircase on the north side of 61 stages and a temple building with two rooms . Exhibits include the victims figure of a Chac Mool and a jaguar throne. The facade above the entrance shows two vertically intertwined in each other snakes, like the west building of the complex Monjas at Uxmal. On both sides of a procession of jaguars, which strive towards the middle, between and above them oversized rosettes. Rosettes are also found in the third volume of the middle and upper-membered cornice. In the second volume of the upper cornice alternately inclined stab, as he is often in the late Puuc styles. The Dachkamm over the front wall extends to just below the floor of the temple of the later pyramids. The early pyramid is obtained the prize for the jacket through the pyramid and later in the 1930s by J. Erosa Peniche was investigated by means of tunnels, the associated stairway was completely excavated until the 1950s. The interior is also a platform appear even earlier, which could not be investigated further.

Dating
For the dating is to use wooden door bar to the upper temple, the doors and arches in the interior of the temple were late. There are only two conducted early 14C datings, the calibrated average from 875 AD have shown, in a statistical deviation (2 sigma, 95% probability of adequacy) between 660 and 1050. The deviation of these data makes the results for the dating of the building unsuitable. Hieroglyphic inscriptions with data are not available in this structure.

Spectacle of the Feathered Serpent
Of note is the "spectacle of the feathered serpent." This is in every year (equinox to March 21 and 23 September admire) to. The shadow of the stepped pyramid edge falls on the cheek of one of the staircases. This gives the impression as if there wind down a snake. The stairs end is decorated accordingly through a stone snake head.

The pyramid can to ensure the preservation of the building no longer be climbed, the early access to the temple is also no longer allowed.

Hieroglyphic inscriptions

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The inscriptions include only a relatively short period in the history of Chichen Itza, essentially a ruling family, especially their major exponents.

According to the inscriptions had initially Ek Balam, which was clearly oriented toward the well situated in the south central area of the classic Maya civilization, which held dominance in northern Yucatan. Also Ek Balam Chichen Itza at first appears to have been subordinated. The series of inscriptions at Chichen Itza, which begins with Maya data is reliably dated, with a long horizontal strip in the front room of the Red House (Casa Colorada). In this inscription put up their authors clearly from the inscriptions of Ek Balam, where they use a local language form, which occurs later than Yukatekisches Maya in appearance. In the inscription for the year 869, first reported in a ceremony that is K'ak'upakal K'awiil (fire, the shield of K'awiil has been made), the outstanding personality in the inscriptions of Chichen Itza. Nearly a year later, fire ceremonies were held in involving K'ak'upakal and K'inich June To'ok Spades', ruler of Ek Balam, and an apparently well-known member of the same rank from the colonial period KOKOM family. K'ak'upakal mentioned for the last time in an inscription from 890th The name of his brother, the second important figure of Chichén Itzá, is read as an provisionally K'inil Kopol. He wears, like his brother it would normally not occur ruler titles, but is only mentioned in inscriptions from 878 to 881. Her mother was Mrs. K'ayam, while his father was not satisfied with a read name, is still unclear, which should correspond to an emphasis on the maternal line of descent in Chichén Itzá.

K'ak'upakal and K'inich June Pik To'ok connect 'on a monument in the nearby Halakal, probably together with an unidentified local rulers. In neighboring Yula K'ak'upakal appear together with the local rulers To'k 'YAAS Ajaw K'uhul order and other persons in connection with fire ceremonies. The building known today as Akab Dzib of Chichén Itzá describes himself Yahawal Cho 'K'ak', a member of the family KOKOM as its owner, but also other inscriptions from unidentified buildings to bring them into relationship with the KOKOM.

The inscriptions on buildings in the reported data can distinguish three periods of building. The oldest that's still before the rise of K'ak'upakal, includes the construction Akab Dzib and Casa Colorada, the nearest one to the establishment of a complex of Monjas, the last among the buildings of the Grupo de la Fecha and the temple with a three-and four lintels, all built on behalf of K'inil Kopol. Thus the dense series ends of dated inscriptions.

Many names that were multepal considered in earlier research as members of a relatively egalitarian system of power among the Mayan name, are now recognized as names of gods, which the suspected political structure is no longer assumed. The initial misunderstanding stems from the fact that there will be gods and rulers, possibly until after her death, in the same context, especially as the owners of buildings.

History

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For the history of Chichen Itza, there are three different types of information sources, each illuminating different topics:

* The archaeological evidence from excavations and recording of surface finds and surveying
* The inscription of texts in the Maya hieroglyphic writing
* The written reports from the period after the Spanish conquest

It is not uncommon that does not cover the information of the three source types and to a considerable extent even contradictory, because they arose in different situations. Archaeological findings are the unintended result of human life and therefore not consciously changed or focused. However, the unequal opportunities affect that traces reflected from various walks of life in material finds and the preservation conditions in the soil as a filter through which only parts of the visible reality of past lives. Contemporary written documents are governed by a different thematic selection: here it was the local rulers, who could carve themselves and their dynasties and their deeds for their own glorification in stone. The third group of sources, the centuries after the events were written, are shaped by the perspective of their authors and the intentions of the transcript. Here are the differences between the texts of Spanish clergy and the Indian village of writers quite fundamentally. In addition, each played by the different authors' access to information and the inevitable distortions, which were previously subject to such a crucial role.

Research History

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Castillo, 1843, in a drawing by Frederick Catherwood
Alfred Maudslay 1889 at Chichén Itzá

In 1533, before the final conquest of Yucatán by the Spaniards nearly a decade later, Francisco de Montejo the Younger built a small settlement under the name of Ciudad Real in the ruins of Chichen Itza, where he built homes. He could, however, believe at this point and had to retire in secret, such as Diego de Landa reported. Landa is also a fairly detailed description of some buildings in the center of Chichen Itza, from the Castillo and the two small platforms, as well as the broad road to the Sacred Cenote and objects that he found there. Just a short note on his visit to the ruins on 26 July 1588 leaving Antonio de Ciudad Real.

Among the earliest modern visitors was 1840, Baron Emmanuel of Friedrichsthal, then first secretary of the Austrian Embassy in Mexico, also received daguerreotypes, but not published its report. In 1841, John Lloyd Stephens was accompanied by Frederick Catherwood long as a draftsman and architect in Chichen Itza, which he described in detail and illustrated with drawings. The report prepared by Stephens made the Central American ruins, including Chichen Itza with the interested parties in North America and Europe known. They suggested, among other expeditions to the French, Désiré Charnay, where he visited Chichen Itza in 1860 and then received numerous photographs.

The initial research and excavations made the New York amateur archeologist Augustus Le Plongeon since 1875. He was followed in quick succession Teoberto painter, bought by the Englishman Alfred Percival Maudslay and the American diplomat Edward Herbert Thompson, is the 1894, the Hacienda Chichen Itza on the ground, where research into the 1920s. Among other things, he dredged since 1904, the deposits from the Sacred Cenote, also undertook diving expeditions. He was accused of many valuable objects illegally taken out of the country, but this charge was later dropped as unfounded. Since 1924, the Carnegie Institution of Washington has taken under the direction of Sylvanus Griswold Morley, together with Mexican government agencies Excavations and reconstructions. The Carnegie Institution in particular, worked at the Temple of the Warriors, Caracol, Monjas, Mercado, Temple of the Three Bar door, while Mexican authorities the Castillo partially restored, and the big ball game, which Tzompantli, the platforms of the Eagles and the Jaguars and Venus.

After Thompson's death in 1935 his heirs sold the hacienda on the 19th since the Century, influential family yukatekische Barbachano, which is still legal owner of the site of Chichén Itzá and operates two hotels there. Recent excavations and restoration work by the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia since the 1980s, usually under the guidance of German Peter J. Schmidt, focused on check-ups and consolidations in the center of Chichen Itza (completion of the Castillo, the Temple of the small and large sacrificial table, Osario) and Neugrabener in the south (Grupo de la Fecha). Excavations in the vicinity of the Castillo began 2009 under Rafael Cobos.

Architecture Chichen Itza

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Chichen Itza in a large number occurs in different types of buildings. Examples are only well-preserved and restored buildings usually referred to as (many more are hidden in dense forest):

* Pyramids with stairs at one or four sides, some with a hall-temple building interior. Examples: Castillo, Osario
* Temple and hall-like interior to multilevel high platform. Examples: Temple of the Warriors (Templo de los Guerreros), temple of the great and the small sacrifices table, Templo de la Fecha
* Ball courts. Examples: Great ball game, ball game east of the Casa Colorada, ball courts in the thousand columns Complex
* Colonnades. Example: Several thousand pillars in the pillared hall complex
* Hofgalerie with courtyard with colonnade and portico. Example: Mercado, further including in the Grupo de la Fecha
* Buildings with a series of interior spaces, according to the Puuc tradition. Example: Casa Colorada Casa del Venado, Akab Dzib, Las Monjas, temple of the three lintels
* Low square platform with four steps. Example: Platform of Eagles and Jaguars and Venus platform to platform in front of the Osario
* Large platform with a surrounding wall and doorways. Large platform, Grupo de la Fecha.
* Sacbe (brick road), the transfers are the different groups of buildings, about 70 have been localized.

Significance Today

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The UNESCO declared World Heritage Site Chichen Itza in 1988.
2007 Chichen Itza was selected as part of a private initiative, according to the organizers of world's 70 million people to the "new seven wonders". Both the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as official custodian of such and Egypt (Ancient Wonders of the World: Great Pyramid of Giza) distanced themselves from the personal as a "campaign" without scientific criteria designated choice.

Tourism
Tourism has started more than a century after the American John Lloyd Stephens published the two-volume book, "Incidents of Travel in Yucatan" 1843rd Today, Chichen Itza is the second most visited archaeological site in Mexico. Most buildings, including El Castillo and the Temple of the Warriors were managed by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia closed to public access.