Though Chichen Itza was said to have met its demise in the 13th century, in 1527 spanish Conquistador Francisco de Montejo found this ancient city with his forces. He reported that there was still inhabitants surrounding the area around the main city, but no one was living in any of the structures. It is unknown whether or not the still used the observatory or not. After the ruins were discovered by the conquistador, they just sat there until around 100 years ago when in 1913 Sylvanus G. Morley was approved by the Carnegie institution to explore the ruins long term. Since then, the ruins have been excavated from archaeologists around the world. A vast majority of the ruins still lie underground. That is why this place and others like it are still shrouded in mystery.
Even after the fall of Chichen Itza, the mayans still regarded the city as holy. They often made pilgrimages to places like the Sacred Cenote. They often visited El Castillo as well because it was said to predict the last day of the world, which was supposed to be December 21, 2012. Well, that didn't happen! Besides that, the mystery of Chichen Itza still feeds the mythological mysteries that surround the Mayans. The video link that follows gives more information about the mysteries that surround Chichen Itza:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyvw6G9Max0
Saturday, July 27, 2013
How did Chichen Itza meet its demise?
What happened? That is the million dollar question. With today's interest in "ancient aliens," there are tons of theories out there. Hopefully, by the end of this, we'll get a little closer to the REAL answer. Here are a few of the theories out there:
First of all, the most plausible theory of what lead to the demise of this great city is the rising power of Mayapan conquering the city. The reason why historians believe this theory to be most plausible is because the time period when the Mayan city began to decline matches perfectly with when the city of Mayapan began to rise to power. The city of Mayapan is located just 63 miles from Chichen Itza, which lends more credibilty to the theory that the Mayapan conquered Chichen Itza. Some historians also believe that they didn't necessarily "take over' Chichen Itza, rather they just took over in being the socio-economic hub of the area, which lead to the city's downfall.
Secondly, some evidence suggests that the Mayans just left the area. This doesn't seem as plausible as the Mayapan theory, but some historians believe that is what happened because there is not enough evidence to prove the previous theory. One thing that just doesn't sit right is if the Mayans would just really leave the area. It doesn't make sense to build this great city, then just leave.
Now may favorite, Alien Abduction! Some people believe this theory, not just because of lack of evidence to prove the other theories, but because of the complexity of the city itself. Ancient astronaut theorists, such as Giorgio Tsoukalos, have added fuel to this fire. The theorists ask how could the Maya have constructed such things as the Observatory and track the path of Venus? They also question if it was really possible for the mayans to have built, with such precision, all of the columns, ball courts, and structures such as "El Castillo."
I don't know what happened, but what I can say is that I am leaning toward the first theory, but aliens would be awesome!
First of all, the most plausible theory of what lead to the demise of this great city is the rising power of Mayapan conquering the city. The reason why historians believe this theory to be most plausible is because the time period when the Mayan city began to decline matches perfectly with when the city of Mayapan began to rise to power. The city of Mayapan is located just 63 miles from Chichen Itza, which lends more credibilty to the theory that the Mayapan conquered Chichen Itza. Some historians also believe that they didn't necessarily "take over' Chichen Itza, rather they just took over in being the socio-economic hub of the area, which lead to the city's downfall.
Secondly, some evidence suggests that the Mayans just left the area. This doesn't seem as plausible as the Mayapan theory, but some historians believe that is what happened because there is not enough evidence to prove the previous theory. One thing that just doesn't sit right is if the Mayans would just really leave the area. It doesn't make sense to build this great city, then just leave.
Now may favorite, Alien Abduction! Some people believe this theory, not just because of lack of evidence to prove the other theories, but because of the complexity of the city itself. Ancient astronaut theorists, such as Giorgio Tsoukalos, have added fuel to this fire. The theorists ask how could the Maya have constructed such things as the Observatory and track the path of Venus? They also question if it was really possible for the mayans to have built, with such precision, all of the columns, ball courts, and structures such as "El Castillo."
Structures Found at Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza was composed of nearly 50 different structures. These were anything from the great temple of Kukulcan or "El Castillo," which stands nearly 100 feet tall. There is also a ball court that is 545 feel long, from end to end, and is shrouded in mystery. Let's look at those, along with other structures in the city with more detail.
Kukulcan
Standing nearly 100 feet tall, this is the most prominent feature of the city. This is also the most sought after tourist destination of Chichen Itza. It is a four sided pyramid that resembles the Egyptian Pyramids with the exception that the sides of the pyramid have more of a terraced structure and each of the four sides have a staircase that leads to the top, where a room sits at the top. This room was a throne for the God Kukulcan. Kukulcan is the Mayan's feathered serpent god. Another amazing aspect of the pyramid is that the Mayan's were ingenious enough to be able to build the pyramid to be a representation of the Mayan Calendar. This is how they did it. Each of the sides has nine steps, which is intersected by the staircase, which creates a total of 18 steps and that matches the 18 months in the Mayan Calendar. Each of the staircases has 91 steps, which adds up to 364 steps total, the number of days in their year. Every year on the spring and fall equinox, Kukulcan is said to return. He does this by the sun lighting up the 9 sections of the serpentine figure on the front of the pyramid. Scientists are still dumbfounded as to how they knew about the equinoxes and how they knew about other astronomical events.(Maybe Extra Terrestrial intervention?) The video link below shows the return of Kukulcan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAwzfSqMNk4
El Caracol(observatory)
El Caracol is an ancient observatory that is located at Chichen Itza. This observatory served the purpose of helping the Mayans record important astronomical events. They were able to track equinoxes, eclipses, and solstices. One of the most amazing features of the observatory was that they could track the planet Venus. The reason for them wanting to track venus was so that they could record longer intervals in the Earth's orbit. They also wanted to track Venus because the planet held an important religious meaning to them.
Plaza de Mil Columnas(Plaza of One Thousand Columns)
The Plaza of One Thousand Columns is perhaps one of the most bizarre features of Chichen Itza. In the day that the Mayan's inhabited it, it may have not been as bizarre, but today it is. The reason is because columns, when they were first built, supported an extensive roof system. This structure was housing for soldiers that was in front of the Warrior Temple.
I only highlighted a few of the structures that are found in the city of Chichen Itza. A more complete listing and description of the structures found there can be found at: http://archive.cyark.org/chichen-itza-info
Kukulcan
Standing nearly 100 feet tall, this is the most prominent feature of the city. This is also the most sought after tourist destination of Chichen Itza. It is a four sided pyramid that resembles the Egyptian Pyramids with the exception that the sides of the pyramid have more of a terraced structure and each of the four sides have a staircase that leads to the top, where a room sits at the top. This room was a throne for the God Kukulcan. Kukulcan is the Mayan's feathered serpent god. Another amazing aspect of the pyramid is that the Mayan's were ingenious enough to be able to build the pyramid to be a representation of the Mayan Calendar. This is how they did it. Each of the sides has nine steps, which is intersected by the staircase, which creates a total of 18 steps and that matches the 18 months in the Mayan Calendar. Each of the staircases has 91 steps, which adds up to 364 steps total, the number of days in their year. Every year on the spring and fall equinox, Kukulcan is said to return. He does this by the sun lighting up the 9 sections of the serpentine figure on the front of the pyramid. Scientists are still dumbfounded as to how they knew about the equinoxes and how they knew about other astronomical events.(Maybe Extra Terrestrial intervention?) The video link below shows the return of Kukulcan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAwzfSqMNk4
El Caracol(observatory)
Plaza de Mil Columnas(Plaza of One Thousand Columns)
The Plaza of One Thousand Columns is perhaps one of the most bizarre features of Chichen Itza. In the day that the Mayan's inhabited it, it may have not been as bizarre, but today it is. The reason is because columns, when they were first built, supported an extensive roof system. This structure was housing for soldiers that was in front of the Warrior Temple.
Ball Courts
Yes, the Mayans enjoyed a little contact sport watching as much as you and I, with one contrast to today's sports. In Chichen Itza, there was a little more at stake. By a little, I mean a lot! The young men who played this "game" were in a battle between life and death! Not getting a bonus if you win a game! There are three ball courts located on Chichen Itza's grounds. The biggest ball court, which is 345 feet long, isn't though to have been used. It was used more or less to show their power. The other two ball courts were very real. It isn't known how many times they played the game or when they played the game, but what we do know is that this game was very rough, and lots of blood was spilled. The rubber balls were to weigh a minimum of 12 pounds and the stone hoops on the sides of the courts weren't much bigger than the ball, so the game was difficult. Some other rules that were found in ancient writings were that the players could not use their hands or feet, they had to bounce the ball off of their head and body. OUCH!!! Now, about those sacrifices. Some historians believe that the game was played one on one, others believe that it is a team sport. Either way, the games weren't always life or death. But, when they were the player or players that lost the game, also lost their lives. When they sacrificed their player or players, they would then throw the head or whole body into the sacrificial Cenote. This is a giant fresh water filled hole in the ground with steep walls, so if you fell in, you're not getting out. The middle photo is of the biggest ball court in Chichen Itza, and the bottom is a photo from the bottom of a Cenote, not necessarily the cenotes found at Chichen Itza.
What is Chichen Itza?
Chichen Itza is an ancient pre-Columbian City that is located in the Yucatan Peninsula, near the modern city of Piste, Mexico. This very important urban center was first established in 600 A.D. and met its demise around 1200 A.D. The city covered nearly 10 square miles with residential house and huts surrounding the area. The Mayans who lived in the huts gathered in the central city for important holidays, religious gatherings, and to trade with others. The religious leaders and important political figures of the time inhabited the central city's structures.This Provided a very important socio-economic gathering place for the Mayans.
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