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CHACCHOBEN
PERFIL
Name: Archaeological Zone Chichén Itzá
Location: Yucatán, México
Culture: Maya
Period: Posclásico Temprano
Schedule: 8:00a.m - 7:00p.m
Rate: $90.00
 

History

Warriors, priests and merchants formed the ruling elite in Chichen Itza. They introduced the worship of the god Kukulcán, the equivalent of Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent) Antiplano. Levantaron constructions with slopes and vertical walls and representations of the god pájaro-serpiente. Militarism was undoubtedly the foundation of this culture. This is evident in the monument called Platform for the Calaveras where exhibited, riveted stakes in the skulls of hundreds of enemies.

Around the year 325, the city, which initially was a small village of huts, wood and straw, flourished and its people began to build monumental buildings near the cenote called Xtoloc. Apparently, grew so dispersed in the early days, later to be designed carefully, leaving large gaps between the temples. The distances between the buildings were covered broad roads or main roads, high above the ground, called Sacbés (roads white, in Maya).

The Temple of the Warriors, The Center, The Sacred Cenote, Play Ball, are just part of the greatness of this civilization and the ancient Mayan metropolis.

The monumental buildings of the Grand Esplanade Chichen Itza are chaired by the Pyramid of Kukulcán, one of the tallest buildings and notable Mayan architecture. It is a four-sided pyramid which culminates in a rectangular temple. It sits on a rectangular platform of 55.5 meters wide and has a height of 24 meters. Each side of the pyramid has a grand staircase leading to the temple above. Balustradas stone staircase flanking each, and at the base of the staircase north settle two colossal heads of snakes emplumadas, effigies of the god Kukulcán.

In 1900 Edward Thompson adquiró the Treasury Chichén-Itzá that at the time identified the area and conducted some studies, while looted objects found in their explorations, which were subsequently handed over. The Europeans Francisco de Montejo and Landa made the first visits to the area and reported the existence of the city.
     
 

Importance of place

Towards the end of the Late Classic (ninth century), Chichen became one of the most important political centers in the lowlands of the Mayab. For the principle of Posclásico, the city had established itself as the main power center in the Yucatan peninsula. The buildings Chichen Itza show a large number of architectural elements and iconographic that some historians have wanted to call mexicanizados mixed with reminicencias the Puuc style of classical architecture Maya. The presence of these elements from the cultures of the Central Highlands were designed until a few years ago as a product of a mass migration or conquest of the city by Maya groups Toltec. However, studies recientessugieren that could have been the cultural expression of a political system widely used and prestigious during Posclásico early throughout Mesoamerica.

According to the available evidence, it is possible that many of the major buildings in the city were burned by the end of the thirteenth century. Therefore, we can say that the decline of Chichen Itza was in a context of violence, which led to the loss of hegemony in the Mayab. Since the decline of Chichen Itza, Maapán became the leader of the confederation that bears his name.

The archeological site of Chichen Itza is the heritage of the Mexican nation and ownership of the Federation. The maintenance of monuments and the administration of the area are faculty of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). Despite this, the land occupied by the archeological area are privately owned, like many of the monuments considered national patrimony in Mexico.

The archaeological site of Chichen Itza was inscribed on the list of World Heritage by UNESCO in 1988. On July 7, 2007, was recognized as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, a private initiative without the support of UNESCO, but with the recognition of millions of voters around the world.

  
     

 
     
 

Location

As was the case for more than 1,000 years, the phenomenon of the equinox (21/22 March and September) in the temple of Kukulcán in Chichen Itza, continues conmoviendo the hearts of the audience.

In these times of the year, the play of light and shade in the temple, creates this optical illusion: a snake that moves. Thousands of enthusiasts meet in Chichen Itza to experience the magic Maya. Looking at the snake down the temple, visitors can ask where you are going.

It has been discovered that in the days equinocciales before hiding the sun between 14:15 to 16:50 Hrs, the shadows of the corners of the platforms superimposed on the north side are projecting from the top down in succession on the shore the alfarda north until it is formed with clear sunlight seven isosceles angles, so that the whole resembles the undulating body of a snake that appears to be in decline because of the pyramid triangle coincides with the seventh throat of the reptile that is the principle the alfarda.

This phenomenon lasts a few minutes as the sun was hidden, and the triangles are disappearing in reverse order, or from the bottom up.

  
     
 
     





 

Principal Structures

The sacbé 1 communicates with the Plaza del Castillo Cenote Sagrado, to be scanned and restored its southern part, along with a wide section of the slope and the walls that limit the large square in this sector, showed a monumentally higher than expected . Moreover, he appeared under a building of considerable size, attached to the wall and copious evidence of activities related to the killing cult of the Sacred Cenote.

The temple of the officers, immediate neighbor of the Temple of the Warriors, was semiexcavado and allegedly destroyed from the last century. Among the rubble around him recovered an impressive frieze of jaguars rampant among trees and groups of five darts and another snake emplumadas; a row of battlements formed by crossed arms must crowned the edge of a high vaulted ceiling, four of the offerings foundation building containing small metates with their hands, some green stone figurines, necklaces and simple foundation for mirrors hematite. The temple itself contained a pectoral jade called style of Nebaj. It documented, as well a building slightly above that still retains most of the original coating.

In a thin layer of stucco polychrome murals snakes are found in the vaults and high reliefs and slender pilasters warriors in the interior. Four of these reliefs are now released, preserved and accessible.

It explored and restored four buildings at the northeast corner and a little east of the Plaza of the Thousand Columns that were observed in various stages of processing and overlap.

 Some characteristics of this area are great colonnades with elaborate facades of stone reliefs, vaulted interior and polychrome. It was rescued from ruin the Colonnade Northwest, with pilasters and richly decorated an altar of reliefs. Six masks the top of the facade could arm itself almost completely. The nineteen of these carriers, with two warriors or dignitaries each, plus three jambs sculpted with carriers from the sky (panahtun) and another amount of smooth columns.

 In a downtown area of the entrance to the palace columns. Esculpidas is a new chac mool in recostada position on the one hand and her head emprotrada fall forward.

 The group Osario was cleared in its entirety, and explored and restored for the most part. It was established that the wall enclosing its main square is a perfect rectangle to continue in its west side. In addition, it was discovered that this place is communicated through sacbé 15 with the rim of cento toloc and restored the Temple of Xtoloc, a small altar of masonry, sacbé 15 and a stretch of sacbé largest 5. In the same plaza was rescued four buildings:

1 .- A platform with two graves for burials side, six high columns and a frieze of snakes intertwined.

2 .- A platform four stairs is almost a duplicate on a small scale of the Platform for Venus in the Plaza del Castillo.

3 .- A round platform very low.

 4 .- The main building of Osario, a basement seven bodies with four stairways of alfardas in the form of snakes and a very elaborate temple at the top. The outer skin of osario retains most of a rich iconographic program represented by about three thousand stones carved in relief.

In addition to the eight alfardas formed by two different snakes intertwined, each with head and tail rattlesnake up and down, there is another horizontal frieze eight snakes, whose bodies are decorated with jewels and jade discs represent, and in the four outgoing head corners of the building.

The three bodies senior basamenteo were covered with about eighty birds with faces of god Itzamná, headgear and pectoral anthropomorphic.

The facade of the temple showed four characters with extended arms and rich attire in each field, combined with representations of hombre-pájaro-serpiente, half relief, half sculpture recess. In the corners were lifted four masks on top derivatives Puuc style

 Inside the temple, whose floor was painted blue, we found some tombstones in a mesa-altar with creeks reliefs mítico-históricos and their carriers in the form of Atlantis, as well as sculptures hombres-aves, a lot of incense type on Mayapán the floor and incense and bones childhood, probably burned on both sides of the main staircase.

The dedicatory inscription on one of the pillars of the ninth century.

 

  
     
 

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