Chichen Itza and beyond

At the base of the Temple of the Warriors there is a rectangular column decorated with carvings of people or gods, as well as animals and serpents. There is a lot of discussion as to who was responsible for the carvings, the Mayans? the Toltecs? another culture completely? The carvings show figures that aren't known to the area.

Another ruin in the complex that isn't completely understood.

Me at the base of the Temple of Warriors. The statues at the top represent the 'tail of Kukulan' and the bird Quetzalcoatl. The main temple in Chichen Itza is dedicated to Kukulan, the serpent god. One of the most incredible things that you can participate in is clapping your hands while facing the temple. The echo of your hands clapping sounds like a bird chirping. The echo bouncing off the Temple of the Warriors sounds like a rattle, a snake's rattle. So here is the question: how? A bronze age techology, using limestone, arranged in such a way that the echoes sound like a bird and a snake, which is the sound of the Mayan gods. We can't do that today.

Okay, enough of temples. Leaving the ruins behind we got lunch at a local family restaurant. As part of our lunch, we got entertainment! A local group performed folk dances while the men played various intruments. The dances includes balancing beer bottles on their heads while they danced, lots of hand clapping and drumming.

The men, dressed in white, played for the dancers, then played when we left the restaurant. You felt very special when you left.

More of Chichen Itza

Images on the walls on either side of the ball court. Modern interpretations translate the carvings into a story of playing a deadly game, with the winning captain sacrificed to the gods. Some theorize that teams were from tribes scattered over a large area and this location was the 'play-offs' of a large scale competition. It was an honor to play and even more of an honor to die.



Kukulcan, the serpent god. The vertical rendition of Kukulcan is a representation of the shadow of the god that descended the stairs on the spring and fall equinox.

The iguanas know who their friend is.




More carvings telling the number of games, the number of players, sacrificed , and the gods that waited for the blood. The ruins at Coba aren't as detailed and there is no mention of bloody games. Some believe that the Toltec influence is at its greatest here, which started the tradition of sacrifices.

Chichen Itza

The world famous Chichen Itza temple. The one ruin that immediately is associated with the Mayan culture. This site is so incredible. On the spring and fall equinox the sun casts a shadow of a serpent that moves down the pyramid and into the ground. Thousands gather at sunrise to watch the image and marvel at what was built by a culture that had no tools beyond bronze age technology. 3 years ago the sky was cloudy and the shadow did not appear on the spring equinox. The Mayans immediate said that was a sign of impending terrible weather. Hurricane Wilma lashed the Yucatan peninsula that summer.


Me and the tour guide at Chichen Itza. He is of Mayan descent and is extemely knowledgeable of the history, legends, and archaelogical significance of the ruins. While the ruling class of the Mayans, the kings and priests, were slaughtered by the Europeans in the 1500s, the working class and the farmers/hunters disappeared into the jungle. The Mayan language and culture still exist today with over 3 million people descended from the lost civilation. Unfortunately, the huge library of the Mayans were lost with the slaughter of the upper class. Rumor has it that one of the books containing the history/knowledge of the Mayan people is hidden in the Vatican, hidden away from anyone who could interpet what it means.

The temple of the warriors in the background with 'the garden of columns' that was thought to have held a thatch roof over the area. This area is immense and was thought to be some type of market place.

On top of the temple of the warriors is Chac Mool. He is reclining, with a bowl on his lap, supposedly waiting for a sacrifice. Of course, we don't know what the 'sacrifice' was.

Students of the Chichen Itza ruins believes that this represent the heads of slain warriors, mounted on poles as a warning to invaders or warring neighbors. Some believe that this practice started when the Toltecs started to influence the Mayan culture.

The other large icon of the Mayan culture is this ball court at Chichen Itza. This is not the beginning of basketball! Archaelogists believe that the ball used in this game was about 17 pounds and hands weren't allowed to pass the ball. At the end of the game the winning captain was beheaded, sacifaced to the gods for his skill.