Third Group of Pictures of Chichen Itza in Mexico
Third
Group of Pictures of Chichen Itza in Mexico
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Click to go to: Introduction Group 1 Group 2
This is the central pyramid of Chichen Itza. It has four stairways, one on each side, leading to the top. Each stairway has 91 steps. That is 364 steps in all and one platform on top. A total of 365- the number of days in a year. Is it coincidence or design? Serpent heads grace the bottom of the main stairway. The pyramid is oriented so that the serpents shadow "climbs" the pyramid on the day of the equinox. The equinox holds great significance for ancient cultures. It is the day when the balance shifts between days of more daylight and days of lesser daylight. Imagine if you knew that and didn't know why. Many ancient rituals were conducted in the hopes of making sure that longer daylight would indeed come and that the longer night would not grow and grow until there was no more day.
El Castillo is not just "a" pyramid. It is a larger pyramid built on top of a smaller pyramid. Inside the second chamber of the inner pyramid sits this red jaguar. Flint teeth, jade eyes, and jade flecks decorate this creature. Tourists have been permitted to climb the inner pyramid. This practice is becoming increasingly controversial due to fear of damage that could occur to this ancient cat. (The jaguar is reproduced from "Monuments of Civilization- Maya" by Pierre Ivanoff published by Grosset and Dunlap in 1973.)
The codices or books that were found were named after the cities to which they were sent. This is a sample from the Madrid Codex. Imagine how difficult it must be to decipher such writings. (This sample of the codex is also reproduced from "Monuments of Civilization- Maya" by Pierre Ivanoff published by Grosset and Dunlap in 1973.This book has marvelous photographs of major Mayan sites.)
The Mayans were not the last civilization to inhabit Chichen Itza. It was another group called the Toltecs.
El Castillo is also known as the temple of Kukulkan. Kukulcan is the simple Mayan translation for Quetzacoatl, the Plumed Serpent. The Aztecs thought Cortes to be this legendary and mythical figure.
The ancient Maya considered a sloped forehead to be a sign of royalty. Baby's heads were trained using wooden boards to help obtain the proper shape.
In 1848 long after their magnificent structures had been abandoned, during the War of the Castes between the Maya and the Spaniards, the Maya were poised for victory and the Spaniards feared great slaughter. But the expected Mayan attack never came. The armies had left. The winged ants had come indicating that it was time to plant. And plant is what the Mayan soldiers did. They chose crops instead of massacre.
The fourth known Mayan book was found in 1971 by treasure hunters in a cave. It may be the oldest of the four. Radiocarbon dating techniques place it circa 1230 AD. It is called the Grolier Codex. The other three are the Dresden Codex, Paris Codex, and Madrid Codex.
Click to go to: Introduction Group 1 Group 2
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