ChiChen Itza
By Bryce Goodall
Chechen Itza
"The urban design found in the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza is impressive and well planned, with many Mayan Temples grouped in various architectonic clusters." (haciendachichen.com). At the mention of its name images of Natives around a fire preforming rituals lost in time come to some peoples minds but with a look a little deeper you see the marvel the Maya left behind. With their simple tools and thoughts of the gods, they built temples they beleved the gods would approve of and even now the case could be the same.
El Castillio
The grandest of all temples in ChiChen Itza is the temple the spanish called El Casstiolio, or "the castel". The temples greatness bleeds over into today as the remaining Maya still worsip there. This perticular temple is what has captured the attention of the world scince it was designed so that on the equonox, a large shadow slowly crawls its way down the temples side. This shadow is "supposedly" KuKluKan.( haciendachichen.com)
The Bustling City
In the classic peariod ChiChen Itza was a very important city. During this spacific peariod it florished as a religeuos center. (Grey) Chi Chen Itza has a very large pak-to-pak (a ball game played by Maya)court suggesting a large crowed.(haciendachichen.com) Another way to prove the city was of importants is to point out that the people built an observatory.(haciendachichen.com)
Archatecture
The archatexture in this grand city is one of marvel. The Mayan people, with stone tools, were able to build these massive temples.(Grey) In this city the maya erected a fully functional observatory to satisfy their intrest with the stars.(haciendachichen.com) More proof that this place is a creation of archatextual genius, is that as preveously stated a shadow emboding a Mayan god creeps down the temple throught the day, but only on the equonox.(Grey) Even today this site is a marvel to even fathom that people using pimative tools could build something rivling structures today in astetics.
To Summarize
With tools of stone and the labor of belief, the Maya erected structers marvled then, and even today. Though, the way of life that they lived in the classic period can never be, the existing people do their best to keep the culture alive."Chichen Itza was one of the greatest Mayan centers of the Peninsula of Yucatan. Throughout its nearly 1,000 years history, different peoples have left their mark on this city." (Chichenitza.com).