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Chichen Itza: The History and Mystery of the Maya's Most Famous City
*Includes pictures of Chichen Itza's ruins and art.
*Explains the history of the site and the theories about its purpose and abandonment.
*Describes the layout of Chichen Itza, its important structures, and the theories about the buildings' uses.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading.
Many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century, like the Greeks and the Romans, but of all the world’s civilizations, none have intrigued people more than the Mayans, whose culture, astronomy, language, and mysterious disappearance all continue to captivate people. At the heart of the fascination is the most visited and the most spectacular of Late Classic Maya Chichen Itza.
Chichen Itza was inhabited for hundreds of years and was a very influential center in the later years of Maya civilization. At its height, Chichen Itza may have had over 30,000 inhabitants, and with a spectacular pyramid, enormous ball court, observatory and several temples, the builders of this city exceeded even those at Uxmal in developing the use of columns and exterior relief decoration. Of particular interest at Chichen Itza is the sacred cenote, a sinkhole was a focus for Maya rituals around water. Because adequate supplies of water, which rarely collected on the surface of the limestone based Yucatan, were essential for adequate agricultural production, the Maya here considered it of primary importance. Underwater archaeology carried out in the cenote at Chichen Itza revealed that offerings to the Maya rain deity Chaac (which may have included people) were tossed into the sinkhole.
Although Chichen Itza was around for hundreds of years, it had a relatively short period of dominance in the region, lasting from about 800-950 A.D. Today, tourists are taken by guides to a building called the Nunnery for no good reason other than the small rooms reminded the Spaniards of a nunnery back home. Similarly the great pyramid at Chichen Itza is designated El Castillo (“The Castle”), which it almost certainly was not, while the observatory is called El Caracol (“The Snail”) for its spiral staircase. Of course, the actual names for these places were lost as the great Maya cities began to lose their populations, one by one.
Chichen Itza was partially abandoned in 948, and the culture of the Maya survived in a disorganized way until it was revived at Mayapán around 1200. Why Maya cities were abandoned and left to be overgrown by the jungle is a puzzle that intrigues people around the world today, especially those who have a penchant for speculating on lost civilizations.
Chichen The History and Mystery of the Maya’s Most Famous City comprehensively covers the history of the city, as well as the speculation surrounding the purpose of Chichen Itza and the debate over the buildings. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about the Maya’s most famous city like you never have before, in no time at all.
*Explains the history of the site and the theories about its purpose and abandonment.
*Describes the layout of Chichen Itza, its important structures, and the theories about the buildings' uses.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading.
Many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century, like the Greeks and the Romans, but of all the world’s civilizations, none have intrigued people more than the Mayans, whose culture, astronomy, language, and mysterious disappearance all continue to captivate people. At the heart of the fascination is the most visited and the most spectacular of Late Classic Maya Chichen Itza.
Chichen Itza was inhabited for hundreds of years and was a very influential center in the later years of Maya civilization. At its height, Chichen Itza may have had over 30,000 inhabitants, and with a spectacular pyramid, enormous ball court, observatory and several temples, the builders of this city exceeded even those at Uxmal in developing the use of columns and exterior relief decoration. Of particular interest at Chichen Itza is the sacred cenote, a sinkhole was a focus for Maya rituals around water. Because adequate supplies of water, which rarely collected on the surface of the limestone based Yucatan, were essential for adequate agricultural production, the Maya here considered it of primary importance. Underwater archaeology carried out in the cenote at Chichen Itza revealed that offerings to the Maya rain deity Chaac (which may have included people) were tossed into the sinkhole.
Although Chichen Itza was around for hundreds of years, it had a relatively short period of dominance in the region, lasting from about 800-950 A.D. Today, tourists are taken by guides to a building called the Nunnery for no good reason other than the small rooms reminded the Spaniards of a nunnery back home. Similarly the great pyramid at Chichen Itza is designated El Castillo (“The Castle”), which it almost certainly was not, while the observatory is called El Caracol (“The Snail”) for its spiral staircase. Of course, the actual names for these places were lost as the great Maya cities began to lose their populations, one by one.
Chichen Itza was partially abandoned in 948, and the culture of the Maya survived in a disorganized way until it was revived at Mayapán around 1200. Why Maya cities were abandoned and left to be overgrown by the jungle is a puzzle that intrigues people around the world today, especially those who have a penchant for speculating on lost civilizations.
Chichen The History and Mystery of the Maya’s Most Famous City comprehensively covers the history of the city, as well as the speculation surrounding the purpose of Chichen Itza and the debate over the buildings. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about the Maya’s most famous city like you never have before, in no time at all.
51 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 10, 2013
53 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 6, 2017
Informative booklet with lots of collected information from a variety of sources, with footnotes letting you know where the information was obtained if you want to read further, about Chichen Itza and the history of the Maya.
September 12, 2022
Very interesting read. I'll definitely be reading more about these cities.
August 22, 2017
Too many typos. These books have a great chance to be wonderful introductions to so many topics, but the editing really has got to be better. I continue to read them for that intro value, especially on topics I do not know a lot about, but investing in great editing is worth the cost.
March 9, 2019
I read this book, "Chichen Itza: The History and Mystery of the Maya's Most Famous City," by Charles River Editors, on an airplane on my way to Merida and a visit to the city, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Although I had done quite a bit of reading about the site, it was a while ago and I wanted a refresher before seeing it.
The book does a good job of describing the basic elements of the blend of Mayan and Toltec elements that infuse much of the site. There are good photographs and fairly accurate descriptions of the major structures such as El Castillo (the large pyramid), the Skull Platform, Temple of Jaguars, Temple of Warriors, and the Caracol. The latter building is the astronomical observatory and, according to our guide, is where the Mayan calendar was developed.
It is astonishing that these people, without a telescope or computer, could accurately track Venus, Mars, the Sun, and Eclipses. And they could engineer structures to utilize the position of the sun on certain days of the year. This was probably happening, according to the book, between the 5th and 9th centuries. These highly sophisticated astronomers, architects, and engineers also worshipped gods like the feathered serpent, Kulkulkan, and the rain god, Chaac. They sacrificed humans.
Actually, so little is known, largely because the Spanish Bishop de Landa destroyed all of the Mayan texts. Everything about the origins of Chichen Itza, life there, and the decline of the city is the product of archeological excavation, resulting in inference and considerable speculation.
It is puzzling, then, when the editors chose to contradict their title and say there is no mystery here. There is, they say, "complexity and obscurity" and caution the reader not to confuse that with mystery. Their point, oddly, is to say they don't know anything for sure, but they do know one thing - extraterrestrials were not involved! Interesting they would even bring that up. So what if that is one theory and has been the subject of documentaries, as they point out? They do not explain why one theory is more plausible than another.
The book ends with the account of the site's rediscovery in the 19th century, it's addition to the list of World Heritage sites, and the elevation to one of the New 7 Wonders in 2007. Footnotes and an excellent bibliography are included.
The book does a good job of describing the basic elements of the blend of Mayan and Toltec elements that infuse much of the site. There are good photographs and fairly accurate descriptions of the major structures such as El Castillo (the large pyramid), the Skull Platform, Temple of Jaguars, Temple of Warriors, and the Caracol. The latter building is the astronomical observatory and, according to our guide, is where the Mayan calendar was developed.
It is astonishing that these people, without a telescope or computer, could accurately track Venus, Mars, the Sun, and Eclipses. And they could engineer structures to utilize the position of the sun on certain days of the year. This was probably happening, according to the book, between the 5th and 9th centuries. These highly sophisticated astronomers, architects, and engineers also worshipped gods like the feathered serpent, Kulkulkan, and the rain god, Chaac. They sacrificed humans.
Actually, so little is known, largely because the Spanish Bishop de Landa destroyed all of the Mayan texts. Everything about the origins of Chichen Itza, life there, and the decline of the city is the product of archeological excavation, resulting in inference and considerable speculation.
It is puzzling, then, when the editors chose to contradict their title and say there is no mystery here. There is, they say, "complexity and obscurity" and caution the reader not to confuse that with mystery. Their point, oddly, is to say they don't know anything for sure, but they do know one thing - extraterrestrials were not involved! Interesting they would even bring that up. So what if that is one theory and has been the subject of documentaries, as they point out? They do not explain why one theory is more plausible than another.
The book ends with the account of the site's rediscovery in the 19th century, it's addition to the list of World Heritage sites, and the elevation to one of the New 7 Wonders in 2007. Footnotes and an excellent bibliography are included.
January 23, 2021
A short book with some interesting facts.
October 18, 2023
Nice little book on the great Mayan city of Chichen Itza and the ancient Yukatan.
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September 12, 2020Great companion to the actual visit. I read it on the cruise ship the night before my visit and was well informed with the knowledge the tour guide was giving to the tour. This allowed me to just walk around and take in the magnificence of the ruins.
July 7, 2017
Great information, but very short book.
July 14, 2015
this was a pretty good, short introduction to the ancient Mayan site. it did have a lot of typos though.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews