Chichen Itza

An ancient Mayan city in Mexico. It is located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula. The words "chich - en - itza" means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza" because of its immense sacred cenote.

The site contains several stone buildings occupying an area of 4 square miles. "El Castillo" (the castle), a pyramid, is the most famous one; it is also known as the Temple of Kukulcan. The High Priest's Temple is a small replica of "the Castillo" Pyramid; the name comes from an elite burial discovered by early excavator, the American archeologist Edward H. Thompson (1856 - 1935).

Other buildings:

Observatory Temple (El Caracol)

Temple of the Warriors

Great Ball Court -- Temple of the Jaguars

Market

Northeastern Colonnade

Palace of the Sculptured Columns

Platform of Venus

Platform of Eagles and Jaguars

Sacred Cenote

Steambath

Temple of the Large Tables

Tzompantli (Platform of Skulls)

Chichanchoob (The Red House)

The Church

House of the Deer

House of the Grinding Stones

The Nunnery

Ossuary

Platform of the Tombs

Temple of the Panels

Edward H. Thompson

Thompson for 40 years sent back a stream of valuable artifacts and information from Chichén Itzá. His books stimulated public interest in Maya Culture. He is most famous for his work at the Sacred Well.

References

• Thompson, Edward H., People of the Serpent, 1932.
• Thompson, Edward H., 1938, The high priest's grave, Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. Field Museum of Natural History Anthropological Series Vol. 27, No. 1.
• Andrews, George F., Maya Cities: Placemaking and Urbanization. The Civilization of the American Indian Series, v. 131. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1975.