Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period, its ruins located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico. Its most iconic structure, the Temple of Kukulkan, also called El Castillo, is a stepped pyramid about 30 meters high built in nine square terraces, its final layout dating from after 900 AD; excavations in the 1930s found a hidden earlier temple buried inside it, complete with a jaguar throne. Northwest of the pyramid stands the Great Ball Court, at 168 by 70 meters the largest and best preserved ball court in ancient Mesoamerica, its walls carved with feathered serpents and scenes of ritual sacrifice, and nearby the Temple of the Warriors rises as a stepped pyramid fronted by long rows of carved columns depicting warriors.
Facts
Building Type Completed YearSourced to the subject's own account Height (m)Height of El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulcan), the site's principal step pyramid; the wider ceremonial city has no single height of its own. Classification
Standing Status Building Type
Building Type (category) FAQs
Was Chichen Itza built by the Maya alone?
Maya in origin; Toltec influence from central Mexico shaped it in the 10th century.
Chichen Itza began as a Maya town, but its later form shows strong outside influence. UNESCO places a second and, for historians, most important settlement phase in the 10th century, when Toltec warriors migrated south from the Mexican plateau. It describes the result as a fusion of Maya construction techniques with new elements from central Mexico, which is why the site is called an example of Maya-Toltec civilization in Yucatán.
Connections
Has Building Type
In Style
A major Maya political and religious center, home to the step-pyramid El Castillo.
Uses Element
Source UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza
In the Other Atlases
Located In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.
Source Wikipedia: Chichen ItzaLead sentence 2Quote, Lead sentence 2
The archeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Chichen Itza
WikipediaLead paragraph, opening sentence describing it as a pre-Columbian Maya city
Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people
Lead paragraph, sentence naming Tinum Municipality, Yucatan, Mexico
The archeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico.
El Castillo section, sentence giving the step pyramid's height of about 30 meters
This step pyramid stands about 30 meters (98 ft) high and consists of a series of nine square terraces
- Wikipedia "Chichen Itza" intro (read live, w-fk-arch-rel2-0927c, R-K)
standing status determination, wikipedia summary
Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico, with over 2.6 million tourists in 2017.
View the Source 2. Chichen Itza (Wikidata)
Wikimedia FoundationWikidata date-of-opening/inception statement (455)Quote, Wikidata date-of-opening/inception statement (455)
Wikidata item Q5859, property P571: 455
UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza
UNESCO World Heritage CentreUses Element: Stone, short_description_enQuote, Uses Element: Stone, short_description_en
The Maya and Toltec vision of the world and the universe is revealed in their stone monuments and artistic works.
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