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Chichen Itza Archeological Zone
Part one
Chichen Itza not the most representative of all Mayan sites but it sure is one of the most impressive! It’s a mix between Mayan and Toltec traditions. It was one of the last sites inhabited by the Maya. Chichen Itza is the most visited site in Mexico. There will be a lot of people when you visit but it’s totally worth it. The site is so huge that it can easily accommodate a lot of people. During it’s peak, Chichen Itza housed about 50,000 people, so don’t be frightened by the crowd on your way in. There’s a lot of history at this site so I’ve divided it into two posts. Read more about it next week. It’s an absolute must see if you are in the Cancun region!
History
Chichen-Itza started around 415-455 A.D. The name is Mayan. Chi means mouth, Chen signifies well, Itza is the name of the tribe who lived here. The name would be translated as “At the mouth of the well of the Itza”. The main pyramid, The Temple of Kukulcan, was built on top of another pyramid which was also built on top of a previous pyramid. Kind of like a Russian doll of Pyramids. The Mayans would rebuild on top of buildings every 52 years because it represented the beginning of a new calendar round. I will explain the Mayan calendar in a future post. The Temple we see today was built by the Mayas between 800-900 A.D.
The Toltecs arrived and took over the Yucatan peninsula between 967-987 A.D. This created a fusion of Mayan and Toltec traditions. Chichen Itza flourished between 750-1200 CE, during the rein of the Toltecs. At it’s peak, Chichen Itza was the capital for trade in the Yucatan region. They traded with people as far as central Mexico and Guatemala for Jade, obsidian and gold. They controlled the salt trade from the coast. Chichen Itza lost a war against Mayapan in the 1200’s. Mayapan became the new capital. The empire started to decline rapidly around 1440 A.D. way before the Spanish invasion.
El Castillo was named by Montejo the Younger in 1532 went into the Yucatan and tried to establish it as his new capital. He called it Ciudad Real. He didn’t encounter any resistance at first but he believed the building contained gold so he started to blow some apart. You can still see the remains of his destruction in some of the buildings. For example the west side of the Temple of Kukulcan has been partially destroyed. It has not been rebuilt because the stones were blown to smithereens and therefore cannot be reassembled. They never found gold.
Over time the Mayas grew hostile and cut off the Spaniards supplies from the coast. Montejo tried an all out assault against the Maya but lost 150 of the soldiers that remained in his troop. He snuck out when night fell. He returned a few years later with a bigger army and conquered the Yucatan Peninsula.
The ruins were excavated for the first time in 1841. The site started to gain major interest in 1843 but restorations didn’t start until 1923. Chichen Itza is still an active Archeological site. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988. In 2007 it was globally voted as one of the New Seven Wonder of the World. It was privately owned until March 29, 2010 when it was purchased by the Yucatan peninsula.
TEMPLE OF THE WARRIORS
This is a three level-level pyramid surrounded by hundreds of columns that were once covered with a roof. This would have been an enormous enclosed court with a pyramid on one side. It was built somewhere between 800-1050 CE. The pyramid is a temple that was used for sacrifice. A Chac Mool sits on top, waiting for his next sacrifice. Chac Mool was used for human sacrifice through heart extraction. They would lie the victim over Chac Mool which would help to spread the ribs to allow for easier extraction of the heart.
Inside this temple is the former Temple of the Chac Mool. The temple itself is not quite as impressive as the thousands of columns surrounding it. There are thousands of pillars and columns depicting animals, female gift bearers, warriors and gods. These columns are huge and they weren’t carved. They were built by carefully stacking rocks on top of each other and sticking them together with cement. These columns used to hold up a thatch roof, The carved images in the pillars would have been painted back then. This area would have been a spectacular work of art back in the Mayan days.
TEMPLE OF VENUS
This was a small temple used for sacrifices to the god Venus. It has beautiful carvings on all sides with jaguar heads on each side of the staircase.
THE Great BALL COURT
Thirteen ball courts are present on this site including the largest one in the Mayan world, measuring 146 m long and 36 m wide! It’s huge! The Mayan ball game Pok a Tok was played here. The objective of the game is to get an 8lbs rubber ball through hoops on each side of the ring. There are 7 players on each team and they are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands. The game ends when one of the teams gets the ball through the hoop. The ones in the Great Ball Court are impossible. They are 8 m 20 ft above the ground. In a normal ball court, the walls are slanted, in the Great Ball Court, the walls are vertical.
It was built somewhere between 1050-1200 CE. There are carving along the walls depicting the end of the ball game. The captain of the winning team has decapitated the captain of the losing team. The sacrifice was to ensure a good harvest.
Great Ball Court Sound Phenomena
The ball court at Chichen Itza has really cool sound phenomenon. There is a platform on each side of the court and if there is a person on each side, they can speak to each other and have a normal conversation without having to scream. The walls of the ball court are made to echo the sound from one end of the 168 m (551 ft) long ball court to the other. You can hear a clap echo 7 times as the sound travels from one end of the ball court to the other.
TZOMPANTLI
Next to the Great Ball Court is a Tzompantli, a skull platform. It’s a fence with hundreds of skulls carved into it. They are all stacked one upon each other. The Mayans would have stacked skulls on stakes on top of this fence as a display. They would stack skulls on stakes vertically. It was a great way to make sure people within the city remained peaceful. Crime would make you another skull on the Tzompantli.
Why did they take the head?
In the Mayan tradition, the human head holds the humans soul. When the person dies, the soul will remain inside the head. The Mayans would bury their dead beneath their homes, as a way to keep the soul close to the family. Keeping the heads was an insult to the families because they could not get the soul of their deceased back. It was also a trophy of war and a great way to scare your enemies.
Fun Facts
- The Mayans didn’t pray, they danced instead. They believe dancing was the only way to connect to nature.
- When Mayans die they don’t go to heaven, they go to Xibalba, the underworld.
- The ground was artificially elevated 2-3 meters to make the site flat.
Tours
The easiest way to get to Chichen Itza from the Cancun Hotel Zone is by tour. They will pick you up at your hotel and take you to and from the site. They will tell you all about the Mayan culture. I took the VIP tour. It includes a boxed breakfast and unlimited water, soft drinks or beer. It gets hot in Mexico and staying hydrated is important. Without this package, you will only get two bottles of water. Tours include a buffet style lunch featuring Mayan food. Most tours will take you to a cenote so that you can enjoy a swim in a sink hole. It’s very refreshing after a day in the sun. All tours take you to see the Spanish town of Valladolid. You can book your tour below. I recommend the VIP tour!
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Hours
Year round. 8 am – 5 pm daily.
It will cost you 70 pesos to get in if you don’t take a tour. There are vendors all over this site, make sure to bring cash as they don’t accept credit cards. There are restrooms by the entrance. If you bring video equipment it will cost you an additional 45 pesos. Wear good walking shoes, sunblock and a hat. Bring a camera and lots of water if you don’t have it supplied by a tour.
Take Cancun-Kantunil/Mexico 180D. Turn left unto Piste/YUC 79. Take the exit for Chichen-Itza/Piste and continue to the destination.
Accommodations
If planning a trip to Cancun, you can book your hotel and flight package below. Just start with your flight dates and add a hotel to create a package. My link will search through all the sites online to find you the best deal.
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