Pyramids of Mesoamerica
Most Ancient Mesoamerican civilisations built pyramid-shaped structures. These were also usually step pyramids, with temples on top - more akin to the ziggurats of Mesopotamia than to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. The Mesoamerican region's largest pyramid by volume - indeed, the largest in the world by volume - is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla.
Most Ancient Mesoamerican civilizations built pyramid-shaped structures. These were also usually step pyramids, with temples on top - more akin to the ziggurats of Mesopotamia than to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. The Mesoamerican region's largest pyramid by volume - indeed, the largest in the world by volume - is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla.
The Great Pyramid of Cholula, the world's largest monument and largest Pre-Columbian pyramid by volume, is a huge complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico.
The temple-pyramid c o m p l e x w a s b u i l t o v e r m a n y g e n e r a t i o n s , f r o m t h e 2 n d c e n t u r y B C t o t h e e a r l y 1 6 t h c e n t u r y , a n d w a s d e d i c a t e d t o t h e d e i t y Quetzalcoatl. I t h a s a b a s e o f 4 5 0 b y 4 5 0 m ( 1 4 7 6 x 1 4 7 6 f t ) a n d a h e i g h t o f 6 6 m ( 2 1 7 f t ) . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e G u i n n e s s B o o k o f R e c o r d s , i t i s i n f a c t t h e l a r g e s t p y r a m i d a s w e l l a s t h e l a r g e s t m o n u m e n t e v e r c o n s t r u c t e d a n y w h e r e i n t h e w o r l d , w i t h a t o t a l v o l u m e e s t i m a t e d a t 4 . 4 5 m i l l i o n m etres , a l m o s t o n e t h i r d l a r g e r t h a n t h a t o f t h e G r e a t P y r a m i d o f G i z a i n E g y p t . (The Giza pyramid is higher, however.) The Aztecs believed that Xelhua built the Great Pyramid of Cholula.
T o d a y t h e p y r a m i d a t f i r s t a p p e a r s t o b e a n a t u r a l h i l l s u r m o u n t e d b y a c h u r c h . T h i s i s t h e C h u r c h o f O u r L a d y o f t h e R e m e d i e s , a l s o k n o w n a s t h e S a n t u a r i o d e l a V i r g e n d e l o s R e m e d i o s ( S a n c t u a r y o f t h e V i r g i n o f t h e R e m e d i e s ) , w h i c h w a s b u i l t b y t h e S p a n i s h i n c o l o n i a l t i m e s ( 1 5 9 4 ) o n t h e s i t e o f a p r e - H i s p a n i c t e m p l e . T h e c h u r c h i s a m a j o r C a t h o l i c p i l g r i m a g e d e s t i n a t i o n , a n d t h e s i t e i s a l s o u s e d f o r t h e c e l e b r a t i o n o f i n d i g e n o u s r i t e s .
M a n y a n c i e n t s i t e s i n S o u t h A m e r i c a a r e f o u n d u n d e r m o d e r n C a t h o l i c h o l y s i t e s , d u e t o t h e p r a c t i c e o f t h e c h u r c h a t t e m p t i n g t o m e l d t h e i r b e l i e f s w i t h t h e n a t i v e s . B e c a u s e o f t h e h i s t o r i c a n d r e l i g i o u s s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e c h u r c h , w h i c h i s a d e s i g n a t e d c o l o n i a l m o n u m e n t , t h e p y r a m i d a s a w h o l e h a s n o t b e e n e x c a v a t e d a n d r e s t o r e d , a s h a v e t h e s m a l l e r b u t b e t t e r - k n o w n p y r a m i d s a t T e o t i h u a c a n . I n s i d e t h e p y r a m i d a r e s o m e f i v e m i l e s ( 8 k m ) o f t u n n e l s e x c a v a t e d b y a r c h e o l o g i s t s .
The Aztecs, a people with a rich mythology and cultural heritage, dominated central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Their capital was Tenochtitlan on the shore of Lake Texcoco - the site of modern-day Mexico City. They were linguistically related to, and culturally in awe of, the Toltecs, whose building styles they adopted and adapted.
X o c h i c a l c o i s a P r e - C o l u m b i a n a r c h e o l o g i c a l s i t e i n t h e w e s t e r n p a r t o f t h e M o r e l o s , M e x i c o . T h e n a m e " X o c h i c a l c o " m e a n s " H o u s e o f t h e F l o w e r s " i n t h e N a h u a t l l a n g u a g e . T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d 3 8 k m s o u t h w e s t o f C u e r n a v a c a , a b o u t 7 6 m i l e s b y r o a d f r o m M e x i c o C i t y .
The main ceremonial center is atop an artificially leveled hill, with remains of subsidiary buildings, mostly unexcavated, in the surrounding area. The site was occupied by 200 BC, with the most notable architecture built between about 700 and 1000 AD. At its peak, the city may have had a population of up to 20,000 people.
Of special interest are sculptured reliefs on the sides of some buildings. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent has fine stylized depictions of that deity in a style which includes apparent influences of Teotihuacan and Maya art. It has been speculated that Xochicalco may have had a community of artists for other parts of Mesoamerica.
Other monuments at the site include several other step-pyramid temples, palaces, two ball courts, sweat-baths, an unusual row of circular altars, and a cave with steps carved down into it. The site also has some free-standing sculptured stelae; others were removed from their original location and are now on display in the INAH museum in Mexico City and at the site museum.
The ruins were first described by explorer Antonio Alzate in 1777. Alexander von Humboldt published illustrations and a description of Xochicalco in 1810. Emperor Maximilian of Mexico visited the ruins. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent was restored by Mexican archeologist Leopoldo Batres in 1910. Major archeological excavations and further restorations were done in a project from the 1940s through the 1960s. Xochicalco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a tourist destination.
The Great Pyramid or Templo Mayor was the main temple of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City). The temple rose 60 m (197 ft) above the city's ritual precinct, surmounted by dual shrines to the deities Huitzilopochtli (god of war and sun) and Tlaloc (god of rain and fertility). It was mostly destroyed in 1521, along with the Aztec empire, by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. Numerous smaller buildings and platforms associated with the temple formed a closely-situated complex around its base. A stucco relief depicting a tzompantli, or "skull rack", decorated one platform leading to the temple. The temple was enlarged several times, and for the last time in 1497, when between 3,000 and 84,000 people were sacrificed over 4 days during its reconsecration.
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M a l i n a l c o i s a c i t y i n M e x i c o S t a t e , M e x i c o . T h e t o w n s e r v e s a s t h e m u n i c i p a l s e a t o f t h e M u n i c i p a l i t y o f M a l i n a l c o . T h e m u n i c i p a l i t y i s l o c a t e d i n t h e s o u t h w e s t e r n p o r t i o n o f t h e s t a t e . I t c o v e r s a t o t a l s u r f a c e a r e a o f 1 8 6 . 2 8 k m a n d , i n t h e y e a r 2 0 0 0 c e n s u s , r e p o r t e d a p o p u l a t i o n o f 2 1 , 7 1 2 . T h e m u n i c i p a l i t y i s a l s o h o m e t o t h e t o w n o f C h a l m a , a p l a c e o f R o m a n C a t h o l i c p i l g r i m a g e .
The Maya are a people of southern Mexico and northern Central America (Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and El Salvador) with some 3,000 years of history. Archaeological evidence shows the Maya started to build ceremonial architecture approximately 3,000 years ago. The earliest monuments consisted of simple burial mounds, the precursors to the spectacular stepped pyramids from the Terminal Pre-classic period and beyond. These pyramids relied on intricate carved stone in order to create a stair-stepped design. Many of these structures featured a top platform upon which a smaller dedicatory building was constructed, associated with a particular Maya deity. Maya pyramid-like structures were also erected to serve as a place of interment for powerful rulers. Maya pyramidic structures occur in a great variety of forms and functions, bounded by regional and period differences.
Altun Ha is the name given ruins of an ancient Maya city in Belize, located in the Belize District about 30 miles (50 km) north of Belize City and about 6 miles (10 km) west of the shore of the Caribbean Sea."Altun Ha" is a modern name in the Maya language, coined by translating the name of the nearby village of Rockstone Pond. The ancient name is at present unknown.The largest of Altun Ha's temple-pyramids, the "Temple of the Masonry Altars", is 54 feet (16 m) high. A drawing of this structure is the logo of Belize's leading brand of beer, "Belikin".
The site covers an area of about 5 miles (8 km) square. The central square mile of the site has remains of some 500 structures.Archeological investigations show that Altun Ha was occupied by 200 BC. The bulk of construction was from the Maya Classic era, c. 200 to 900 AD, when the site may have had a population of about 10,000 people. About 900 there was some looting of elite tombs of the site, which some think is suggestive of a revolt against the site's rulers.
The site remained populated for about another century after that, but with no new major ceremonial or elite architecture built during that time. After this the population dwindled, with a moderate surge of reoccupation in the 12th century before declining again to a small agricultural village.
The ruins of the ancient structures had their stones reused for residential construction of the agricultural village of Rockstone Pond in modern times, but the ancient site did not come to the attention of archeologists until 1963, when the existence of a sizable ancient site was recognized from the air by pilot and amateur Mayanist Hal Ball.
Starting in 1965 an archeological team lead by Dr. David Pendergast of the Royal Ontario Museum began extensive excavations and restorations of the site, which continued through 1970. One of the most spectacular discoveries is a large (almost 10 pounds or 5 kilograms) piece of jade elaborately carved into an image of the head of the Maya Sun God, Kinich Ahau. This jade head is considered one of the national treasures of Belize. A road connects Altun Ha to Belize's Northern Highway, and the site is accessible for tourism.
Calakmul is the name of both a municipality and a major archeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, in the central part of the Yucatán Peninsula.
Calakmul (also Kalakmul and other less frequent variants) is also the name given to site of one of the largest ancient Maya cities ever uncovered. It is located in the 1,800,000 acre Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, deep in the jungles of the Petén, 30 km from the Guatemalan border.
First discovered from the air by biologist Cyrus L. Lundell of the Mexican Exploitation Chicle Company on December 29, 1931, the find was reported to Sylvanus G. Morley of the Carnegie Institute at Chichen Itza in March 1932. According to Lundell, who named the site, "In Maya, 'ca' means 'two', 'lak' means 'adjacent', and 'mul' signifies any artificial mound or pyramid, so 'Calakmul' is the 'City of the Two Adjacent Pyramids'."
Calakmul was the major seat of power of the Kaan or "Kingdom of the Snake", which first arose further north but built Calakmul into a Late Classic Era superpower ally of Caracol and rival to Tikal. A series of 11 painted vessels, dubbed Dynastic Vases, describe the ascensions of the Kaan rulers, including ancestral and legendary figures.
Calakmul probably supported a population of over 50,000, and so far more than 6,250 structures have been discovered in an area of up to 70 square kilometers with a substantial northern wall and a series of water management features (Calakmul's reservoirs include the largest in the Maya world) delineating a dense core of 22 square kilometers. Calakmul's 45 meter pyramid "Structure 2" is the largest Classic Era Maya temple platform known. Many of the city's monuments and structures are constructed of chalky local limestone, which has made interpretation of the site difficult.
After a long period of inactivity following Morely's 1932 expedition, the city was explored by William Folan between 1984 and 1994, and is now the subject of a large-scale project of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) under Ramon Carrasco.
C a r a c o l o r E l C a r a c o l i s t h e n a m e g i v e n t o a l a r g e a n c i e n t M a y a s i t e l o c a t e d i n t h e C a y o D i s t r i c t o f t h e n a t i o n o f B e l i z e . C a r a c o l i s a b o u t 2 5 m i l e s s o u t h o f X u n a n t u n i c h a n d S a n I g n a c i o C a y o , a t a n e l e v a t i o n o f 1 5 0 0 f e e t ( 4 6 0 m ) a b o v e s e a - l e v e l , i n t h e f o o t h i l l s o f t h e M a y a M o u n t a i n s . T h e n a m e i s S p a n i s h f o r " T h e S n a i l " ; t h e a n c i e n t M a y a n a m e m a y h a v e b e e n O x h u i t z a .
T h e s i t e w a s o c c u p i e d a s e a r l y a s 1 2 0 0 B C , b u t h a d i t s g r e a t e s t p e r i o d o f c o n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e M a y a C l a s s i c p e r i o d , w i t h o v e r 4 0 m o n u m e n t s d a t e d b e t w e e n 4 8 5 t o 8 8 9 w h i c h r e c o r d t h e d y n a s t i c s e q u e n c e o f t h e r u l e r s .
A n c i e n t C a r a c o l w a s o n e o f t h e l a r g e s t a n c i e n t M a y a c i t i e s , c o v e r i n g s o m e 6 5 s q u a r e m i l e s ( 1 6 8 k ms) w i t h a n e s t i m a t e d p e a k p o p u l a t i o n o f a b o u t 1 2 0 , 0 0 0 , o r p o s s i b l y e v e n 1 8 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e . O n e m o n u m e n t h e r e r e c o r d s a m i l i t a r y v i c t o r y o v e r t h e a r m y o f T i k a l i n 5 6 2 .
P a l e n q u e i s a M a y a a r c h e o l o g i c a l s i t e n e a r t h e U s u m a c i n t a R i v e r i n t h e M e x i c a n s t a t e o f C h i a p a s . I t i s a m e d i u m - s i z e d s i t e , m u c h s m a l l e r t h a n s u c h h u g e s i t e s a s T i k a l , b u t i t c o n t a i n s s o m e o f t h e f i n e s t a r c h i t e c t u r e , s c u l p t u r e , a n d b a s - r e l i e f c a r v i n g s t h e M a y a p r o d u c e d
The site was already long abandoned when the Spanish arrived in Chiapas. The first European to visit the ruins and publish an account was Father Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada in 1567; at the time the local Chol Maya called it Otolum meaning "Land with strong houses", de la Nada roughly translated this into Spanish to give the site the name "Palenque", meaning "fortification". Palenque also became the name for the town (Santo Domingo del Palenque) which was built over some peripheral ruins down in the valley from the main ceremonial center of the ancient city.
An ancient name for the city was Lakam Ha, which translates as "Big Water" or "Wide Water", for the numerous springs and wide cascades that are found within the site. Palenque was the capital of the important classic-age Mayan city-state of B'aakal (Bone).
The Maya Classic City
While the site was occupied by the middle Pre-Classic, it did not gain importance until several hundred years later. By 600 the first of the famous structures now visible were being constructed. Situated in the western reaches of Maya territory, on the edge of the southern highlands, B'aakal was a large and vital center of Maya civilization from the 5th century AD to the 9th century.
The B'aakal state had a chequered career. Its original dynasts were perhaps Olmec. Politically, the city experienced diverse fortunes, being disastrously defeated by Kalakmul in 599 and again in 611.
Nevertheless, B'aakal produced what is arguably the best-known Maya Ajaw (king or lord), Pacal the Great, who ruled from 615 to 683, and left one of the most magnificent tomb-works of ancient Mesoamerica, beneath the Temple of Inscriptions. This is a grand temple atop a step pyramid dedicated in 692; inside is an elaborate, long hieroglyphic text carved in stone detailing the city's ruling dynasty and the exploits of Pacal the Great.
A stone slab in the floor could be lifted up, revealing a passageway (filled in shortly before the city's abandonment and reopened by archeologists) to a long interior stairway leading back down to ground level and the shrine/tomb of the semi-divine Pacal. Over his crypt is an elaborate stone showing him falling into the underworld, and taking the guise of one of the Maya Hero Twins in the Popul Vuh who defeated the lords of the underworld to achieve immortality.
Other important structures at Palenque include:
The site also has a number of other temples, tombs, and elite residences, some a good distance from the center of the site, a court for playing the Mesoamerican Ballgame, and an interesting stone bridge over the Otulum River some distance below the Aquaduct.
Tikal is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization. It is located in the El Peten department of Guatemala. The ruins lay on lowland rainforest. Conspicuous trees at the Tikal park include gigantic ceiba (Ceiba pentandra) the sacred tree of the Maya; tropical cedar (Cedrela odorata), and mahogany (Swietenia). Regarding the fauna, agouti, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, ocellated turkeys, guans, toucans, green parrots and leaf-cutting ants can be seen there regularly. Jaguars and coatis are said to roam in the park.
Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Maya civilization. Monumental architecture was built here as early as the 4th century BC. The city was at its height in the Maya Classic Period, approximately 200 AD to 850 AD, after which no new major monuments were built, some of the palaces of the elite were burned, and the population gradually declined until the site was abandoned by the end of the 10th century.
The name "Tikal" means "Place of Voices" or "Place of Tongues" in Maya, which may be an ancient name for the city, although the ancient hieroglyphs usually refer to it as Mutal or Yax Mutal, meaning "Green Bundle", and perhaps metaphorically "First Prophecy".
Scholars estimate that at its peak its population was between 100,000 -- 200,000.
The site presents hundreds of significant ancient buildings, only a fraction of which have been excavated in the decades of archeological work.
The most prominent surviving buildings include six very large step pyramids supporting temples on their tops. They were numbered geographically by early explorers. They were built during the city's height from the late 7th and early 9th century. Temple I was built around 695; Temple III in 810; The largest, Temple-pyramid IV, some 72 meters (230 feet) high, was dedicated in 720. Temple V is from about 750.
Temple VI was dedicated in 766.The ancient city also has the remains of royal palaces, in addition to a number of smaller pyramids, palaces, residences, and inscribed stone monuments. There is even a building which seemed to have been a jail, originally with wooden bars across the windows and doors. There are also several courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame.
The residential area of Tikal covers an estimated 60 square km (23 square miles), much of which has not yet been cleared or excavated.
Some of the pyramids of Tikal are over 60 meters high (200 feet).A huge set of earthworks has been discovered ringing Tikal with a 6 meter wide trench behind a rampart. Only some 9km of it has been mapped; it may have enclosed an area of some 125 km square.
Recently, a project exploring the earthworks has shown that the scale of the earthworks is highly variable and that in many places it is inconsequential as a defensive feature. In addition, some parts of the earthwork were integrated into a canal system. The earthwork of Tikal varies significantly in coverage from what was originally proposed and it is much more complex and multifaceted than originally thought.
Uxmal is a large Pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucatán, Mexico.
Uxmal is pronounced "Oosh-mahl". The place name is Pre-Columbian and it is usually assumed to be an archaic Maya language phrase meaning "Built Three Times", although some scholars of the Maya language dispute this derivation.
Even before the restoration work Uxmal was in better condition than many other Maya sites thanks to being unusually well built. Much was built with well cut stones not relying on plaster to hold the building together. The Maya architecture here is considered matched only by that of Palenque in elegance and beauty. The Puuc style of Maya architecture predominates. Thanks to its good state of preservation, it is one of the few Maya cities where the casual visitor can get a good idea of how the entire ceremonial center looked in ancient times.
The Governor's Palace, a long low building atop a huge platform,
with the longest facades in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
A large Ballcourt for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame, which an
inscription there informs us was dedicated in 901 by Chan Chak K'ak'nal-Ahau.
A number of other temple-pyramids, quadrangles, and other monuments, some of significant size, and in varying states of preservation, are also at Uxmal. The majority of hieroglyphic inscriptions were on a series of stone stelae unusually grouped together on a single platform. The stelae depict the ancient rulers of the city, and they show signs that they were deliberately broken and toppled in antiquity; some were re-erected and repaired.A further suggestion of possible war or battle is found in the remains of a wall which encircled most of the central ceremonial center. A large raised stone pedestrian causeway links Uxmal with the site of Kabah, some 18 km to the south.
Modern history of the ruins
The site, located not far from Mérida beside a road to Campeche, has attracted many visitors since the time of Mexico's independence. The first detailed account of the ruins was published by Jean Frederic Waldeck in 1838. John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood made two extended visits to Uxmal in the early 1840s, with architect/draftsman Catherwood reportedly making so many plans and drawings that they could be used to construct a duplicate of the ancient city (unfortunately most of the drawings are lost).
Desire Charnay took a series of photographs of Uxmal in 1860. Some three years later Empress Carlota of Mexico visited Uxmal; in preparation for her visit local authorities had some statues and architectural elements depicting phallic themes removed from the ancient facades.
Sylvanus G. Morley made a map of the site in 1909 which included some previously overlooked buildings. The Mexican' governments first project to consolidate some of the structures from risk of collapse or further decay came in 1927.
In 1930 Frans Blom led a Tulane University expedition to the site which included making plaster casts of the façades of the "Nunnery Quadrangle"; using these casts a replica of the Quadrangle was constructed and displayed at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1936 a further Mexican government repair and consolidation program was begun under José Erosa Peniche.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited on 27 February of 1975 for the inaguration of the site's sound & light show; when the presentation reached the point where the sound system played the Maya prayer to Chaac, a sudden torrential downpour fell upon the gathered dignitaries, despite the fact that it was the middle of the dry season. Two hotels and a small museum have been built within the remains of the ancient city.
Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in Yucatan, Mexico built by the Maya civilization. The Maya name "Chich'en Itza" means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza (people)". Although this was the usual name for the site in pre-Columbian times, it is also referred to in the ancient chronicles as Uucyabnal, meaning "Seven Great Rulers". Chichen" contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation; the buildings were formerly used as temples, palaces, stages, markets, baths, and ballcourts.
Mayan Pyramid of Kukulkan
Dominating the center of Chichen is the Temple of Kukulcan (the Maya name for Quetzalcoatl), often referred to as El Castillo (the castle). This step pyramid with a ground plan of square terraces with stairways up each of the 4 sides to the temple on top.
Great sculptures of Plumed Serpents run down the sides of the northern staircase, and are set off by shadows from the corner tiers on the Spring and Fall equinox. It was practice in Mesoamerican cities to periodically build larger and grander temple pyramids atop older ones, and this is one such example.
Thanks to archeologists, a doorway at the base of the north stairway leads to a tunnel, from which one can climb the steps of the earlier version of El Castillo inside the current one, up to the room on the top where you can see King Kukulcan's Jaguar Throne, carved of stone and painted red with jade spots.
Built into one of the exterior walls of the ballcourt is the Temple of the Jaguar, which features another jaguar throne since this one was not buried for a thousand years, its red paint and jade spots are long since gone. Behind this platform is a walled inscription which depicts a tzompantli (rack of impaled human skulls) in relief.
The 'Temple of the Warriors' and its adjacent 'Temple of the Jaguar' are very impressive ruins of the complex. A massive temple structure, surrounded by hundreds of columns is carved with reliefs. The columns continue on into the jungle, that part of the temple still has not been restored.
This celestial observatory denotes seasons based on solar alignment at different times of the year.
The Nunnery
The Mayans were great sportsmen and build huge ballcourts to play their games. The Great Ballcourt of Chichén Itzá is 545 feet long and 225 feet wide overall. It has no vault, no discontinuity between the walls and is totally open to the sky. As we approach a silent sentinel stands guard.
Each end has a raised "temple" area. A whisper from end can be heard clearly at the other end 500 feet away and through the length and breath of the court. The sound waves are unaffected by wind direction or time of day/night. Archaeologists engaged in the reconstruction noted that the sound transmission became stronger and clearer as they proceeded. In 1931 Leopold Stokowski spent 4 days at the site to determine the acoustic principals that could be applied to an open-air concert theater he was designing. Stokowski failed to learn the secret. To this day it has not been explained.
The massive Kukulcan pyramid called 'El Castillo' - the castle - is roughly at the center of the site. Climbing it is quite a challenge and those who make it are rewarded with a spectacular view of the city and surrounding country side. Inside the pyramid, the corridors and chambers are hot and humid.
Handclaps evoke chirped echoes from the staircases of the Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza. The physics of the chirped echo can be explained quite simply as periodic reflections from stepfaces. The chirped echo sounds much like the primary call of the Mayan sacred bird, the resplendent Quetzal.
This magnificent bird, now near extinction, has for thousands of years represented the 'spirit of the Maya'. Spirits, in many traditions, speak in echoes, lacking a body, just pure spirit.
A Mayan glyph from the Dresden Codex makes the connection between the pyramid of Kukulkan and the Quetzal bird. This glyph shows Kukulkan/Quetzalcoatl , the "sovereign plumed serpent" with a gigantic Quetzal behind him. The Quetzal bird may have represened the spirit of the Maya. Spirits often speak in echoes. It therefore seems most appropriate that the spirit echo of the Pyramid of Kukulkan would speak in the echo-voice of the Quetzal.
Today the Quetzal plays an important part in modern Mayan culture. Many modern Maya live in Guatemala, and in the Mexican States of Chiapas and Quintan Roo. The Quetzal is the unit of currency in Guatemala. The Guatemalan government issues a prestigious award named "The Order of the Quetzal." Could the Maya have intentionally coded the sound of their sacred bird into the pyramid architecture?
In the millenium since this pyramid was built, though the plaster has eroded from the limestone staircases, the sound is still recognizable.
Tzintzuntzan is a city in the state of Michoacan, Mexico. It stands on the eastern shore of Lake Pátzcuaro, about 15 km north of the city of Patzcuaro and about 60 km west of state capital Morelia, and at some 2050 m above sea level. It serves as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name and, in the 2000 census, reported a population of 3,610 people.
The city was founded in the 13th century by the Native American Tarascan or Purepecha nation, in whose language the name means "Place of the Hummingbirds".
In the last years of the 15th century it became the capital of the Tarascan league, replacing nearby Ihuatzio. During this time the Purepecha successfully repulsed an invasion by the Aztecs.
T h e P r e - C o l u m b i a n c i t y o f T z i n t z u n t z a n c o v e r e d a n a r e a o f a b o u t 7 k ms . T h e s i t e , w h i c h s t a n d s o n a h i l l s i d e a b o v e t h e m o d e r n t o w n , h a s t h e r e m a i n s o f m a n y s t e p p y r a m i d s o f a d e s i g n t y p i c a l l y u s e d b y t h e P u r e p e c h a i n t h e i r r i t u a l b u i l d i n g s , k n o w n l o c a l l y a s yac a t a s ( b y e x t e n s i o n , t h e p r e s e n t - d a y a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e i s a l s o k n o w n a s " L a s Yac a t a s " ) .
T h e T z i n t z u n t z a n yac a t a s a r e o f s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t s h a p e s , s o m e r e c t a n g u l a r , s o m e o v a l o r c i r c u l a r , a n d o t h e r s i n t h e d i s t i n c t i v e T a r a s c a n " T " s h a p e . T h e p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e a n c i e n t c i t y i s e s t i m a t e d t o h a v e p e a k e d a t s o m e w h e r e b e t w e e n 2 5 , 0 0 0 t o 3 5 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e .
T z i n t z u n t z a n w a s s t i l l t h e T a r a s c a n c a p i t a l w h e n t h e S p a n i a r d s a r r i v e d i n 1 5 2 2 . F i r s t c o n t a c t , l e d b y C r i s tu b a l d e O l i d , w a s p e a c e f u l , b u t w h e n a s e c o n d S p a n i s h e x p e d i t i o n l e d b y N uno d e G u z man a r r i v e d i n 1 5 2 9 , C h i e f t a i n T a n g a n x o a n w a s b u r n e d a l i v e a n d t h e c i t y l a r g e l y d i s m a n t l e d t o p r o v i d e s t o n e s f o r R o m a n C a t h o l i c t e m p l e s a n d c i v i c b u i l d i n g s , m o s t n o t a b l y t h e l a r g e 1 6 t h c e n t u r y F r a n c i s c a n M o n a s t e r y o f S a n t a A n a . F o l l o w i n g t h e d i s g r a c e a n d r e c a l l o f N uno de Guzman , V a s c o d e Q u i r o g a w a s s e n t t o t h e r e g i o n , a n d T z i n t z u n t z a n s e r v e d a s t h e h e a d q u a r t e r s o f S p a n i s h p o w e r i n t h e a r e a u n t i l t h e b i s h o p r i c w a s r e l o c a t e d t o Patz c u a r o i n 1 5 4 0 .
T h e m o d e r n t o w n o f T z i n t z u n t z a n i s k n o w n f o r t h e b a s k e t r y a n d w e a v i n g p r o d u c e d t h e r e . T h e M o n a s t e r y o f S a n t a A n a i s a l s o s t i l l s t a n d i n g . I t i s h o m e t o s e v e r a l a l l e g e d l y m i r a c u l o u s r e l i c s a n d i c o n s a n d i s r e p u t e d t o h a v e g r o w i n g i n i t s g r o u n d s w h a t w e r e t h e f i r s t o l i v e t r e e s t o b e p l a n t e d i n A m e r i c a .
Teotihuacan was the largest-known pre-Columbian city in the Americas, and the name is also used to refer to the civilization this city dominated, which at its greatest extent included much of Mesoamerica.
T h e c i t y w a s l o c a t e d i n w h a t i s n o w t h e S a n J u a n T e o t i h u a ca n m u n i c i p a l i t y ( p o p u l a t i o n 4 4 , 6 5 3 a s p e r 2 0 0 0 c e n s u s f i g u r e s ) , i n t h e S t a t e o f Mex i c o , M e x i c o , a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 k m ( a b o u t 2 5 m i l e s ) n o r t h e a s t o f M e x i c o C i t y a t . I t c o v e r s a t o t a l s u r f a c e a r e a o f 8 2 . 6 6 k ms.
The name Teotihuacan was given by the Aztec centuries after the fall of the city, and is translated as "the place where men became gods".
The original name of the city is unknown but recently the glyph that represents the city has been translated as "The place of the precious sacrifice".
There is archaeological evidence that Teotihuacan had been a multi-ethnic place, with distinct Zapotec, Mixtec, Maya and what seems to be Nahua quarters.
The Totonacs have always maintained that they were the ones who built it, a story that was corroborated later by the Aztecs. The city was also anciently referred to as Tollan, a name also used centuries later for the Toltec capital of Tula (Tollan Xicocotitlan in Nahuatl).
There is archaeological evidence that Teotihuacan had been a multi-ethnic place, with distinct Zapotec, Mixtec, Maya and what seems to be Nahua quarters.
The Totonacs have always maintained that they were the ones who built it, a story that was corroborated later by the Aztecs. The city was also anciently referred to as Tollan, a name also used centuries later for the Toltec capital of Tula (Tollan Xicocotitlan in Nahuatl).
History
" T e o t i h u a c ˇ n " ( t e h - o h - t e e - w a h - k a h n ) i s a N a h u a t l n a m e , t r a n s l a t e d a s " c i t y w h e r e m e n b e c o m e g o d s . " A c c o r d i n g t o l e g e n d i t w a s w h e r e t h e G o d s g a t h e r e d t o p l a n t h e c r e a t i o n o f m a n .
C o n s t r u c t i o n o f T e o t i h u a ca n c o m m e n c e d a r o u n d 3 0 0 B C , w i t h t h e P y r a m i d o f t h e S u n b u i l t b y 1 5 0 B C . T h e c i t y r e a c h e d i t s z e n i t h a p p r o x . 1 5 0-4 5 0 A D , w h e n i t w a s t h e c e n t e r o f a n i n f l u e n t i a l c u l t u r e . A t i t s h e i g h t t h e c i t y c o v e r e d o v e r 3 0 k ms , a n d p r o b a b l y h o u s e d a p o p u l a t i o n o f o v e r 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e , p o s s i b l y a s m a n y a s 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 .
T e o t i h u a can w a s a n i m p o r t a n t s o u r c e o f o b s i d i a n a n d t h e r e w a s e x t e n s i v e t r a d e w i t h o t h e r r e g i o n s o f M e s o a m e r i c a .
T h e c i t y ' s b r o a d c e n t r a l a v e n u e , c a l l e d " A v e n u e o f t h e D e a d " ( a t r a n s l a t i o n f r o m i t s N a h u a t l n a m e M i c c a o h t l i ) , i s s t i l l f l a n k e d b y i m p r e s s i v e c e r e m o n i a l a r c h i t e c t u r e , i n c l u d i n g t h e i m m e n s e P y r a m i d o f t h e S u n ( s e c o n d l a r g e s t i n t h e N e w W o r l d a f t e r t h e G r e a t P y r a m i d o f C h o l u l a ) , t h e P y r a m i d o f t h e M o o n , t h e T e m p l e o f Q u e t z a l c o a t l o r T e m p l e o f t h e F e a t h e r e d S e r p e n t , a n d m a n y l e s s e r t e m p l e s a n d p a l a c e s .
T h e " P y r a m i d o f t h e S u n " w a s i n r e a l i t y d e d i c a t e d t o T l a l o c , t h e g o d o f r a i n , a n d w a s b u i l t o v e r a c a v e , m o s t l i k e l y a s a c r e d c a v e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e c a v e c o n t e n t w a s s t o l e n , p o s s i b l y i n P r e - C o l u m b i a n t i m e s .
T h e " P y r a m i d o f t h e M o o n " w a s d e d i c a t e d t o T l a l o c's c o n s o r t C h a l c h i h u i t l i c u e , g o d d e s s o f l a k e s a n d s t r e a m s , a n d w a s u s e d a l s o a s a b u r i a l s i t e f o r i m p o r t a n t p e o p l e .
The Moon Pyramid is located at the northern end of the Avenue of the Dead, which was the main axis of the city. The pyramid, facing south, was built as the principal monument of the Moon Pyramid complex. The five-tiered platform was attached to the front of the Moon Pyramid. It is said that the present pyramid has interior structures within it. However, the pyramid still remains as one of the least understood major monuments in Teotihuacan.
The city was highly planned symmetrically and was integrated into the local geography. This may be realized by standing on the center line of the Avenue of the Dead, namely on the main axis of the city.
The top of mountain Cerro Gordo dominating the background of the Moon Pyramid exactly coincides at a certain point of the avenue with the top of the pyramid - a pan-Mesoamerican notion that the pyramid represents a sacred mountain seems to have been an integral element of the city plan. The Avenue of the Dead begins at the Moon Plaza, which was surrounded by 15 pyramidal structures including the Moon Pyramid.
The Quetzalpapalotl Palace lies immediately to the southwest of the Moon Plaza. Like the Main Plaza in the Ciudadela, the Moon Plaza seem to have been one of the main ritual precincts of the city.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y n o a n c i e n t T e o t i h u a c a n o n o n - i d e o g r a p h i c t e x t s a r e k n o w n t o e x i s t ( o r k n o w n t o h a v e e x i s t e d ) , b u t t h e c i t y i s o c c a s i o n a l l y r e f e r r e d t o i n t h e t e x t s o f M a y a m o n u m e n t s , s h o w i n g t h a t T e o t i h u a ca n n o b i l i t y t r a v e l l e d t o a n d m a r r i e d w i t h t h e f a m i l i e s o f l o c a l r u l e r s a s f a r a w a y a s H o n d u r a s .
M a y a h i e r o g l y p h s m e n t i o n a n i n d i v i d u a l n i c k n a m e d b y s c h o l a r s a s S p e a r t h r o w e r O w l , a p p a r e n t l y E m p e r o r o f T e o t i h u a can , w h o r e i g n e d f o r o v e r 6 0 y e a r s a n d i m p o s e d h i s r e l a t i v e s a s k i n g s o f T i k a l a n d U a x a c t u n i n G u a t e m a l a . M o s t o f w h a t w e i n f e r a b o u t t h e c u l t u r e a t T e o t i h u acan c o m e s f r o m t h e m u r a l s t h a t a d o r n t h e s i t e a n d o t h e r s , l i k e t h e W a g n e r M u r a l s , f o u n d i n p r i v a t e c o l l e c t i o n s .
I t w a s p r e v i o u s l y b e l i e v e d t h a t s o m e t i m e d u r i n g t h e 7 t h o r 8 t h c e n t u r i e s , t h e c i t y w a s s a c k e d a n d b u r n e d b y i n v a d e r s , p o s s i b l y t h e T o l t e c s . M o r e r e c e n t e v i d e n c e , h o w e v e r , s e e m s t o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e b u r n i n g w a s l i m i t e d t o t h e s t r u c t u r e s a n d d w e l l i n g s a s s o c i a t e d p r i m a r i l y w i t h t h e e l i t e c l a s s . T h e s l u m s a n d p o o r e r d i s t r i c t s w e r e a l m o s t u n t o u c h e d .
M a n y n o w c l a i m t h i s i s e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e b u r n i n g w a s f r o m a n i n t e r n a l u p r i s i n g a n d t h a t t h e i n v a s i o n t h e o r y i s f l a w e d d u e t o t h e f a c t t h a t e a r l y a r c h a e o l o g i c a l w o r k o n t h e c i t y w a s f o c u s e d e x c l u s i v e l y o n t h e p a l a c e s a n d t e m p l e s , p l a c e s u s e d b y t h e e l i t e s , a n d b e c a u s e a l l o f t h e s e s i t e s s h o w e d b u r n i n g .
A r c h a e o l o g i s t s c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e w h o l e c i t y w a s b u r n e d . I n s t e a d , i t i s n o w k n o w n t h a t t h e d e s t r u c t i o n i n t h e c i t y w a s f o c u s e d o n t h e p o w e r s y m b o l s : S o m e s t a t u e s s e e m t o h a v e b e e n d e s t r o y e d i n a m e t h o d i c a l w a y , t h e i r f r a g m e n t s d i s p e r s e d . T h e f a c t t h a t p o p u l a t i o n b e g a n t o d e c l i n e a r o u n d 5 0 0 - 6 0 0 C E a l s o s u p p o r t s t h e i n t e r n a l u n r e s t h y p o t h e s i s .
I n r e b u t t a l , a d v o c a t e s o f t h e i n v a s i o n h y p o t h e s i s p o i n t t o t h e m u r a l p a i n t i n g s o f C a c a x t l a , a r i v a l c i t y , i n w h i c h w a s f o u n d a b a t t l e p a i n t i n g f e a t u r i n g t h e g l y p h o f T e o t i h u a can o v e r a b u r n i n g p y r a m i d , t h e M e s o a m e r i c a n s y m b o l o f a c o n q u e r e d c i t y , w h i c h c o u l d m e a n t h a t t h e r e r e a l l y w a s a n a t t a c k o n T e o t i h u a can , l e d b y C a c a x t l a . H o w e v e r , i t w a s n o t u n k n o w n f o r a n c i e n t r u l e r s t o f a l s e l y c l a i m v i c t o r y o v e r f o e s .
Comparative Geometric Analysis of the Heights and Bases of the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan ...
Tula is a town of about 10,000 in Hidalgo State, central Mexico, some 100 km to the north-north-west of Mexico City. The modern town is known as Tula de Allende; it covers part of the south-eastern portion of the Pre-Columbian city.
N e a r b y a r e t h e r e m a i n s o f t h e a n c i e n t c a p i t a l c i t y o f t h e T o l t e c s , a l s o k n o w n a s " T u l a " o r a s " T o l l a n " . U s u a l l y i d e n t i f i e d a s t h e T o l t e c c a p i t a l a r o u n d 9 8 0 A D , t h e c i t y w a s d e s t r o y e d i n o r a b o u t 1 1 6 8 o r 1 1 7 9 . T h e s i t e i s a t a n d a r o u n d t h e j u n c t i o n o f t h e Rio R o s a s a n d t he Rio T u l a .
T h e t w o l a r g e s t c l u s t e r s o f g r a n d c e r e m o n i a l a r c h i t e c t u r e a r e n i c k n a m e d " T u l a G r a n d e " ( t h e m o s t v i s i t e d b y t o u r i s t s ) a n d " T u l a C h i c o " . R e m a i n s o f o t h e r b u i l d i n g s e x t e n d f o r s o m e d i s t a n c e i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s . I n t h e r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a s s t r e e t s w e r e l a i d o u t i n a g r i d p a t t e r n .
T h e c i t y w a s t h e l a r g e s t i n c e n t r a l M e x i c o i n t h e 9 t h a n d 1 0 t h c e n t u r i e s , c o v e r i n g a n a r e a o f s o m e 1 2 kms w i t h a p o p u l a t i o n o f a t l e a s t s o m e 3 0 , 0 0 0 , p o s s i b l y s i g n i f i c a n t l y m o r e . W h i l e i t m i g h t h a v e b e e n t h e l a r g e s t c i t y i n M e s o a m e r i c a a t t h e t i m e , s o m e M a y a s i t e s i n t h e Y u ctan m a y h a v e r i v a l e d i t s p o p u l a t i o n d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d .
D i s t i n c t i v e T o l t e c f e a t u r e s h e r e i n c l u d e t e r r a c e d p y r a m i d s , c o l o n n a d e d b u i l d i n g s , a n d r e l i e f s c u l p t u r e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c c h a c m o o l s , r e c l i n i n g f i g u r e s t h a t m a y h a v e b e e n a v a t a r s o f t h e R a i n G o d . T h e r e a r e t w o l a r g e c o u r t s f o r p l a y i n g t h e M e s o a m e r i c a n b a l l g a m e .
S o m e o f t h e a r c h i t e c t u r e i s s i m i l a r t o t h a t a t C h i c h e n I t z a . T h e s i t e w a s e x t e n s i v e l y l o o t e d i n A z t e c t i m e s , w i t h m u c h o f t h e a r t w o r k a n d s c u l p t u r e c a r t e d o f f . T h e f i r s t s c h o l a r l y d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e r u i n s w a s m a d e b y A n t o n i o G a r c Ě a C u b a s o f t h e M e x i c a n S o c i e t y o f G e o g r a p h y a n d H i s t o r y i n 1 8 7 3 .
El Tajín is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site near the city of Papantla, in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.
Construction of ceremonial buildings at El Tajín began about the 1st century. Early classic Tajín shows influence of Teotihuacan; early postclassic shows considerable Toltec influence. Construction continued to about the start of the 13th century, at which time the city was conquered and burned by Chichimec invaders. The site continued to be occupied after this by a smaller population, but no new large construction projects were initiated. The site was completely abandoned with the arrival of the Spanish conquerors in the early 16th century.
The abandoned site was overgrown with forest. In 1785 engineer Diego Ruiz visited the site and published the first description of the site. In the early 19th century it was visited by Guillermo Dupaix, Alexander von Humboldt, and Carlos Nebel, who published additional accounts.The first archeological excavation of the site was made by Jose Garcia Payon from 1943 through 1963. The Mexican Institute of Anthropology & History has made additional restoration to buildings at the site since the 1980s.
The ceremonial center of the site is covers only about 1 km square, but there are mostly unexcavated remains of subsidiary buildings extending for a considerable distance beyond.The ceremonial center has number of temple-pyramids, palaces, and several courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame.
The site's most famous building is the Pyramid of the Niches. The step pyramid of 6 terraces is some 60 feet high. The size is only medium as Mesoamerican pyramids go, but the architecture creates a striking and visually pleasing effect. The terraces are of well cut stone forming a series of 365 niches. A staircase rises up the pyramid's east side. Originally the pyramid was topped by a temple, but little remains of this.
A number of the buildings have carved relief on them, and the site also has some free standing stone stelae. Many of the sculptures depict the ritual ballgame and ritual bloodletting by the elite. The site is now a tourism destination, has a moderate sized museum.
Monte Albán is a large archaeological site in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, located at 17.02° N 96.45° W, elevation 1941 meters.The name "Monte Albán" means "White Mountain" in the Spanish language; the Zapotec name was Danipaguache, meaning "Sacred Mountain of Life".
The Aztecs knew it as Ocelotepec, or "Jaguar Mountain".
This sacred Mesoamerican city is on an artificially flattened mountain top some 400 meters above the city of Oaxaca.
Monte Albán was built over a period of over 2,000 years, starting about 900 BCE, by the Zapotec people. The early art shows Olmec influence. The most impressive building period was during the Mesoamerican Classic era, from about 550 CE to 1000 CE.
|About 1300 CE, the Zapotec were driven out of the site and surrounding area by the Mixtec people. The Mixtec made further additions to Monte Albán until they in turn were conquered by the Spanish Conquistadores in 1521, at which time Monte Albán was abandoned.
Monte Albán has many step-pyramids, temples, elite tombs, and a court for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame. There are also free-standing sculptured stelae, and large bas-relief carved panels in some of the buildings.
The oldest carved stones at the site are the so-called "Danzantes" (literally, dancers), featuring drawings of people in contorted and twisted poses. Although the notion that they depict a dance is generally discredited now, there is still little agreement on what exactly the figures represent, but many archaeologists think that the "dancers" are representations of tortured war prisoners. Some of the original stones can be viewed in the museum at the site.
Building J (the arrowhead-shaped building shown in the top picture) has also invited much speculation, due to its unusual shape and orientation. Alfonso Caso suggested it was an astrological observatory, though other theories have been offered.
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