Difference between revisions of "Chichen Itza"
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| − | '''Chichen Itza''' is an ancient [[Maya]]n 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]]. | + | '''Chichen Itza''' is an ancient [[Maya]]n 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]]. It was recently voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.[http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=633&L=0] |
[[Image:Kukulcan3.jpg|thumb|350px|The Temple of Kukulcan (''El Castillo'')]] | [[Image:Kukulcan3.jpg|thumb|350px|The Temple of Kukulcan (''El Castillo'')]] | ||
Revision as of 00:29, October 31, 2007
Chichen Itza is 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. It was recently voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.[1]
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.
Mayan world
Other cities in the Mayan world as Chichén Itza are Calakmul in Campeche and Tikal in Guatemala.
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.