Chichen Itza is the second hottest site for visitors to Mexico. It is considered to be one among the Seven Wonders of the New World. Located on the Yucatan, Chichen Itza was an outsized city built by the Maya people. It thrived from about 600 AD., until 1221 when the facility within the region shifted to Mayapan. Today it is often visited by tourists and non-secular pilgrims alike. Chichen Itza also means ‘at the mouth of the well of the Itza'.
 |
| Chichen Itza (pic courtesy: Wikipedia.org) |
Chichen Itza may are built where it had been due to the situation of two large natural sinkholes nearby that might have provided water year-round. One of these sinkholes was thought to possess been used as an area of human sacrifice. These sacrifices were made in times of drought, and men, women, and youngsters would be thrown within the well as a sacrifice to the Chac God. The Chac God is that the Maya God of rain and lightning and these sacrifices were done to finish drought.
The Castillo is perhaps the foremost famous image of Chichen Itza. Castillo means castle in Spanish. The Castillo is a monument in the shape of a pyramid. There are four staircases on the outside of the pyramid. The image of the Castillo has been popularized in media. In about 600 AD. Chichen Itza had begun to gain importance within the region. Between 900 and 1050 AD. Chichen Itza had become a powerful capital. It also controlled northern and central Yucatan at the time. It was one of the foremost important Maya cities and also had the most diverse population in any Maya population. It covered five square kilometers.
Many of the Maya folks that lived in Chichen Itza were very skilled craftsmen, including sculptors, weavers, jewelers, and potters. There is a good sort of architectural style that's attributed to the very fact that Chichen Itza had such a diverse population and culture. The people of Chichen Itza built strong allies with regional tribes and this helped them thrive for 2 centuries. There is archaeological evidence to support the idea that war broke call at about 1221 and the power of Yucatan shifted to Mayapan, leaving Chichen Itza behind.
Chichen Itza may are a spiritual center for a period of your time and is believed to possess been a pilgrimage place for the Maya. Some suggest that the location where Chichen Itza was built was already a well-liked place of pilgrimage long before the building of the town ever began.
All the buildings of Chichen Itza are made up of stone. It's also thought that the Maya did no use the wheel to create many of their temples, pyramids or palaces.
Some of the foremost famous buildings in Chichen Itza that have survived include "The Warrior's Temple", "El Castillo", and therefore the Great Ball Court. Chichen Itza is taken into account to be one of the Seven Wonders of the New World. Part of what sparked an interest in Chichen Itza was a book (travel journal) written by John Lloyd Stephens in 1843 called Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. Further exploration of the city began from the interest and imagination of his readers. By 1875 a statue had been recovered and excavation continued. Approximately 1.2 million people visit the ruins of Chichen Itza per annum.
