Chichén Itzá

Description

Chichén Itzá, one of the best-known archaeological sites of the Maya civilization, has a split personality. The site is located in the northern Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, about 90 miles from the coast. The south half of the site, called Old Chichén, was constructed beginning around the year 700, by Maya emigres from the Puuc region of southern Yucatan. The Itzá built temples and palaces at Chichén Itzá including the Red House (Casa Colorada) and the Nunnery (Casa de las Monjas). The Toltec component of Chichén Itzá arrived from Tula and their influence can be seen in the the Osario (the High Priest's Grave), and the Eagle and Jaguar Platforms. Most interestingly, a cosmopolitan blending of the two created the Observatory (the Caracol) and the Temple of the Warriors. Photographers for this project include Jim Gateley, Ben Smith, Dolan Halbrook, Oscar Anton, and Leonardo Palotta This little building is an exemplary form of a Puuc (pronounced "pook") house. Puuc is the name of the hill country in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, and their homeland included the big centers of Uxmal, Kabah, Labna, and Sayil. The Puuc style of architecture consisted of veneer stones cemented in place over a rubble core, stone roofs with corbeled vaulting and intricately detailed facades in geometric and mosaic stone veneers. The smaller structures have plain plastered lower elements combined with an intricate roof comb—that's the free-standing tiara on the top of the building, seen here with a lattice crust mosaic. The roof design in this structure has two Chac masks looking out. Chac is the name of the Maya Rain God, one of the dedicatory gods of Chichén Itzá.

Facts about Chichén Itzá

• Chichen Itza is classified as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and in 1988 was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The term Chichen Itza means ‘the mouth at the well of Itza’. It is believed Itza means ‘water magicians’, deriving from the Mayan Itz for ‘magic’ and á for ‘water’
• El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan) is the famous pyramid which dominates the site of Chichen Itza and it actually sits on another much older temple..
• Believed by archaeologists to have been a powerful economic city around 600 AD, the fall of Chichen Itza is thought to have been approximately 1000 AD
• The four most well-known clusters are the Great North Platform, the Ossario Group, the Central Group and the Old Chichen, which is not open to the public. The Great North Platform is home to the most visited sites of Chichen Itza, including the Kukulkan Pyramid, the Great Ball Court and the Temple of the Jaguars.

Details Of This Palace

1	Location		:		Yucatán, Mexico
2	Region		:		Yucatán
3	Culture		:		Maya civilization
4	Length		:		270 meters (885 feet)
5	Height		:		98 feet
6	Width		:		181 feet wide

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