Chichén Itzá is the name given to a set of Mayan ruins located in Yucatán (Mexico). Founded by the Itzá in the 5th century ad. The name «chichén itzá» means «mouth of the well of the sorcerers of the water» (chichén: mouth of the well and itzá: sorcerer of the water), alluding to the cenote located to the north of the Pyramid or Castle of KukulKán and which was considered a sacred enclave, as well as an essential source of fresh water for that city of temples and wise astronomers.
The archaeological site occupies 15 km2, has been a World Heritage Site since 1998 and constitutes one of the best preserved testimonies of the Mayan civilization. The list of monuments and places that are still standing in Chichén Itzá would be enormous and the description of each one would be endless. The best known and most important would be: the zenotes, the roads, the Temple of the Warriors, the Temple of the Great Tables, the Ossuary, the Plaza de las Monjas, the Great Ball Court, the Caracol, the Temple of the Thousand Columns or the KukulKán Pyramid (these last two appear in the painting), among many others. In the image you can see precisely the Kukulkan Castle or Pyramid, a 30-meter monumental pyramid in honor of Kukultan, the serpent god of Mesoamerican cultures, equivalent to Quetzalcoatl. It is built entirely of limestone, an abundant material in the area. It is thus made up of 18 terraces that correspond to the 18 months of the Mayan calendar. On each side of the pyramid, there is a stairway with 91 steps that, together with the platform, add up to the 365 days of the year. At the foot of the stairs, the snake heads that refer to Kukulcán are surprising. In the foreground you can see part of the Temple of the Thousand Columns, it is a construction made up of multiple columns grouped in a vast quadrilateral. All the columns once supported a frieze and a roof that at some point collapsed. The structure measures 150 meters on each side, and is right between the Market and the Temple of the Warriors, which closes off the entire Plaza. Chichén Itzá, as I said, is a World Heritage Site, but it is also considered one of the 7 wonders of the modern world. This work is part of the collection: «Seven Wonders of the World in black and white». Más información sobre este texto de origen Para obtener más información sobre la traducción, se necesita el texto de origen Enviar comentarios Paneles laterales
«Chichen Itza»
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