Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Mexico
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii
Reference	483
Region†	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription history
Inscription	1988  (12th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Chichen Itza (pronounced /tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː/);^[1] from Yucatec Maya: Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha',^[2] "At the mouth of the well of the Itza") is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Yucatán state, present-day Mexico. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Yucatec Maya ("Maaya T'aan" in the revised Orthography of the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala) is a Mayan language spoken in The Itza are a Guatemalan ethnic group of Maya affiliation speaking the Itza' language. The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either Prehistoric or historic or contemporary and The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas The Yucatán Peninsula, in Southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. Yucatán is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.

Chichen Itza was a major regional focal point in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic through the Terminal Classic and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period. Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, from what is called “Mexicanized” and reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico to the Puuc style found among the Puuc Maya of the northern lowlands. PuucChunjujujpg|right|thumb|325px|Puuc building at Chunhuhub, Campeche, as drawn by Frederick Catherwood, 1841]][[Image UxmalCornerChacMask The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion. Cultural diffusion, as first conceptualized by Alfred L Kroeber in his influential 1940 paper Stimulus Diffusion, or trans-cultural diffusion in later reformulations

Archaeological data, such as evidence of burning at a number of important structures and architectural complexes, suggest that Chichen Itza's collapse was violent. Following the decline of Chichen Itza's hegemony, regional power in the Yucatán shifted to a new center at Mayapan. Hegemony (hɨˈdʒɛməni (Amer /hɨˈɡɛməni/ (Brit (ἡγεμονία hēgemonía) is a concept that has been used to describe and explain the dominance of one social Mayapan ( Màayapáan in Modern Maya) (in Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya site in the state of

The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, INAH). The land under the monuments, however, is privately-owned by the Barbachano family. ^[3]

Contents 1 Name and orthography 2 History of Chichen Itza 2.1 Ascendancy 2.1.1 Political organization 2.1.2 Economy 2.2 Decline of Chichen Itza 3 The site 3.1 El Castillo 3.2 Temple of the Warriors 3.3 The Great Ball Court 3.4 High Priest's Temple 3.5 Las Monjas 3.6 El Caracol 3.7 Akab Dzib 3.8 Old Chichen 3.9 Other structures 4 Caves of Balankanche 5 Archaeological investigations 6 Tourism 7 Notes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

Name and orthography

The Maya name "Chich'en Itza" means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza. " This derives from chi', meaning "mouth" or "edge", and ch'e'en, meaning "well. " Itzá is the name of an ethnic-lineage group that gained political and economic dominance of the northern peninsula. The name is believed to derive from the Maya itz, meaning "magic," and (h)á, meaning "water. " Itzá in Spanish is often translated as "Brujas del Agua (Witches of Water)" but a more precise translation would be Magicians of Water.

The name is often represented as Chichén Itzá in Spanish and when translated into other languages from Spanish to show that both parts of the name are stressed on their final syllables. Other references prefer to employ a more rigorous orthography in which the word is written according to Maya language, using Chich'en Itzá IPA: [tʃitʃʼen itsáʔ]. The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific Writing system to write the language This form preserves the phonemic distinction between [ ch' ] and [ ch ], since the base word ch'e'en (which, however, does have a neutral tone vowel "e" in Maya and is not accented or stressed in Maya) begins with a glottalized affricate. The phoneME project is Sun Microsystems reference implementation of Java virtual machine and associated libraries of Java ME with source licensed under the GNU The postalveolar ejective affricate is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The word "Itzá'" has a high rise final "a" that is followed by a glottal stop (indicated by the apostrophe).

There is evidence in the Books of the Chilam Balams that there was another, earlier name for this city prior to the arrival of the Itza hegemony in northern Yucatán. The Mayan Chilam Balam books are named after Yucatec towns such as Chumayel Mani and Tizimin and are usually collections of disparate texts in which Mayan and Spanish traditions This name is difficult to define because of the absence of a single standard of orthography, but it is represented variously as Uuc Yabnal, Uuc Habnal, Uuc Hab Nal, or Uc Abnal. While most sources agree the first word means seven, there is considerable debate as to the correct translation of the rest. Among the translations suggested are “Seven Bushes,” “Seven Year Corn,” “Seven Stone Corn,” “Seven Lots of Corn,” or “Seven Caves. ”^[4]

History of Chichen Itza

Northern Yucatán is arid, and the interior has no above-ground rivers. There are two large, natural sink holes, called cenotes, that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichen, making it attractive for settlement. A cenote (pronounced in Mexican Spanish and in English, plural cenotes; from Yucatec Maya dzonot) is a type of Sinkhole Of the two cenotes, the "Cenote Sagrado" or Sacred Cenote, is the more famous. Sacred Cenote (Well of Sacrifice is a noted Cenote at the Maya site of Chichen Itza. According to post-Conquest sources (Maya and Spanish), pre-Columbian Maya sacrificed objects and human beings into the cenote as a form of worship to the Maya rain god Chaac. Chaac (also rendered as Chaak or Chac) is the originally Yucatec name of the Maya rain deity American Consul Edward Herbert Thompson dredged the Cenote Sagrado from 1904 to 1910, and recovered artifacts of gold, jade, pottery, and incense, as well as human remains. Edward Herbert Thompson ( 28 September, 1857 - 11 May, 1935) was a United States born Archaeologist and Diplomat Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Jade is an Ornamental stone. The term jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different Silicate minerals. Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware Incense is composed of Aromatic biotic materials It releases fragrant Smoke when burned ^[5] A recent study of human remains taken from the Cenote Sagrado found that they had wounds consistent with human sacrifice. ^[6]

Ascendancy

Chichen Itza rose to regional prominence towards the end of the Early Classic period (or, roughly 600 AD). Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation It was, however, towards the end of the Late Classic and into the early part of the Terminal Classic that the site became a major regional capitol, centralizing and dominating political, sociocultural, economic, and ideological life in the northern Maya lowlands. Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation The ascension of Chichen Itza roughly correlates with the decline and fragmentation of the major centers of the southern Maya lowlands, such as Tikal. Tikal (or Tik’al, according to the more current orthography is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Mayan civilization.

Some ethnohistoric sources claim that in about 987 a Toltec king named Quetzalcoatl arrived here with an army from central Mexico, and (with local Maya allies) made Chichen Itza his capital, and a second Tula. Ethnohistory is the study of ethnographic cultures and indigenous customs by examining historical records. Toltec-style Vessel 1jpg|thumb|250px|right|A rather expressive orange-ware clay vessel in the Toltec style Tula is a town of 28432 (2005 census in the southwestern part of the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico, some 100 km to the north-northwest of Mexico City The art and architecture from this period shows an interesting mix of Maya and Toltec styles. However, the recent re-dating of Chichen Itza's decline (see below) indicates that Chichen Itza is largely a Late/Terminal Classic site, while Tula remains an Early Postclassic site (thus reversing the direction of possible influence).

Political organization

Unlike previous Maya polities of the Early Classic, Chichen Itza was not governed by an individual ruler or a single dynastic lineage. A dynasty is a succession of rulers who belong to the same family for generations Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin through either biological cultural or historical descent Instead, according to Sharer and Traxler (2006:581), the city’s political organization was structured by a "multepal" system, which is characterized as rulership through council. The council was composed of members of elite ruling lineages. Elite (also spelled Élite) is taken originally from the Latin, eligere, "to elect"

Economy

Chichen Itza was a major economic power in the northern Maya lowlands during its apogee. Participating in the water-borne circum-peninsular trade route through its port site of Isla Cerritos, Chichen Itza was able to obtain locally unavailable resources from distant areas such as central Mexico (obsidian) and southern Central America (gold). Obsidian is a naturally occurring Glass formed as an extrusive Igneous rock. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79

Decline of Chichen Itza

See also: Spanish conquest of Yucatán

The Maya chronicles record that in 1221 a revolt and civil war broke out, and archaeological evidence seemed to confirm that the wooden roofs of the great market and the Temple of the Warriors were burned at about this date. The Spanish Conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish Conquistadores ' against the Late Postclassic Maya states and Chichen Itza went into decline as rulership over Yucatán shifted to Mayapan. Mayapan ( Màayapáan in Modern Maya) (in Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya site in the state of

This long-held chronology, however, has been drastically revised in recent years. As archaeologists improve their knowledge of changes in regional ceramics, and more radiocarbon dates arise out of ongoing work at Chichen Itza, the end of this Maya capital is now being pushed back over 200 years. Archaeological data now indicates that Chichen Itza fell by around AD 1000. ^[7] This leaves an enigmatic gap between the fall of Chichen Itza and its successor, Mayapan. Ongoing research at the site of Mayapan may help resolve this chronological conundrum.

While the site itself was never completely abandoned, the population declined and no major new constructions were built following its political collapse. The Sacred Cenote, however, remained a place of pilgrimage. Sacred Cenote (Well of Sacrifice is a noted Cenote at the Maya site of Chichen Itza.

In 1531 Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Montejo claimed Chichén Itzá and intended to make it the capital of Spanish Yucatán, but after a few months a native Maya revolt drove Montejo and his forces from the land. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador Francisco de Montejo y Alverez (c 1479 in Salamanca &ndash c 1553 in Spain) was a Spanish Conquistador in Mexico and Central America

The site

East side of El Castillo

Great Ballcourt (interior)

Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors)

High Priest's Temple.

"El Caracol" observatory temple.

"La Iglesia" in Las Monjas complex of buildings.

The site contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation; the buildings were formerly used as temples, palaces, stages, markets, baths, and ballcourts.

El Castillo

Main article: El Castillo, Chichen Itza

Dominating the center of Chichén is the Temple of Kukulkan (the Maya name for Quetzalcoatl), often referred to as "El Castillo" (the castle). El Castillo ( Spanish for "The Castle " is the nickname of a spectacular Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center Kukulkan (" Plumed Serpent " " Feathered Serpent " is one of the many gods in the pantheon of Maya mythology. Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcōhuātl keʦalˈkoːwaːtɬ is an Aztec sky and creator god. This step pyramid has a ground plan of square terraces with stairways up each of the 4 sides to the temple on top. Step Pyramids The construction of step pyramids has been an ancient part of several cultures throughout history On the Spring and Fall equinox, at the rising and setting of the sun, the corner of the structure casts a shadow in the shape of a plumed serpent - Kukulcan, or Quetzalcoatl - along the side of the North staircase. An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle On these two days, the shadows from the corner tiers slither down the northern side of the pyramid with the sun's movement.

Mesoamerican cultures periodically built larger pyramids atop older ones, and this is one such example. In the mid 1930s, the Mexican government sponsored an excavation into El Castillo. After several false starts, they discovered a staircase under the north side of the pyramid. By digging from the top, they found another temple buried below the current one. Inside the temple chamber was a Chac Mool statue and a throne in the shape of jaguar, painted red with spots made of inlaid jade. Chac-Mool is the name given to a type of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stone statue

The Mexican government excavated a tunnel from the base of the north staircase, up the earlier pyramid’s stairway to the hidden temple, and opened it to tourists. In 2006, INAH closed the throne room to the public.

Temple of the Warriors

The Temple of the Warriors complex consists of a large stepped pyramid fronted and flanked by rows of carved columns depicting warriors. This complex is analogous to Temple B at the Toltec capital of Tula, and indicates some form of cultural contact between the two regions. The one at Chichen Itza, however, was constructed on a larger scale. At the top of the stairway on the pyramid’s summit (and leading towards the entrance of the pyramid’s temple) is a Chac Mool. Chac-Mool is the name given to a type of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stone statue

Near the Warriors' Temple is a large plaza surrounded by pillars called "The Great Market. "

The Great Ball Court

Archaeologists have identified seven courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame in Chichén, but the Great Ball Court about 150 meters to the north-west of the Castillo is by far the most impressive. The Mesoamerican ballgame was a Sport with ritual associations played for over 3000 years by the Pre-Columbian peoples of Mesoamerica. It is the largest ball court in ancient Mesoamerica. It measures 166 by 68 meters (545 by 232 feet). The imposing walls are 12 meters high, and in the center, high up on each of the long walls, are rings carved with intertwining serpents. ^[8]

At the base of the high interior walls are slanted benches with sculpted panels of teams of ball players. In one panel, one of the players has been decapitated and from the wound emits seven streams of blood; six become wriggling serpents and the center becomes a winding plant.

At one end of the Great Ball Court is the North Temple, popularly called the Temple of the Bearded Man. This small masonry building has detailed bas relief carving on the inner walls, including a center figure that has carving under his chin that resembles facial hair. ^[9] At the south end is another, much bigger temple, but in ruins.

Built into the east wall are the Temples of the Jaguar. The Upper Temple of the Jaguar overlooks the ball court and has an entrance guarded by two, large columns carved in the familiar feathered serpent motif. Inside there is a large mural, much destroyed, which depicts a battle scene.

In the entrance to the Lower Temple of the Jaguar, which opens behind the ball court, is another jaguar throne, similar to the one in the inner temple of El Castillo, except that it is well worn and missing paint or other decoration. The outer columns and the walls inside the temple are covered with elaborate bas-relief carvings.

Behind this platform is a walled inscription which depicts a tzompantli (rack of impaled human skulls) in relief. A tzompantli is a type of wooden rack or palisade documented in several Mesoamerican civilizations which was used for the public display of human Skulls typically

High Priest's Temple

This step-pyramid temple is a smaller version of El Castillo; the name comes from an elite burial discovered by early excavator E. H. Thompson.

Las Monjas

One of the more notable structures at Chichen Itza is a complex of Terminal Classic buildings constructed in the Puuc architectural style. PuucChunjujujpg|right|thumb|325px|Puuc building at Chunhuhub, Campeche, as drawn by Frederick Catherwood, 1841]][[Image UxmalCornerChacMask The Spanish nicknamed this complex Las Monjas ("The Nuns" or "The Nunnery") but was actually a governmental palace. Just to the east is a small temple (nicknamed La Iglesia, "The Church") decorated with elaborate masks of the rain god Chaac. Chaac (also rendered as Chaak or Chac) is the originally Yucatec name of the Maya rain deity

A number of other structures are near the "Monjas" complex. These include:

• "The Red House"
• "The House of the Deer"

El Caracol

To the north of Las Monjas is a round building on a large square platform nicknamed El Caracol or "the snail" for the stone spiral staircase inside. This structure was an observatory with its doors aligned to view the vernal equinox, the Moon's greatest northern and southern declinations, and other astronomical events sacred to Kukulcan, the feathered-serpent god of the wind and learning. An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle Kukulkan (" Plumed Serpent " " Feathered Serpent " is one of the many gods in the pantheon of Maya mythology. The Maya used the shadows inside the room cast from the angle of the sun hitting the doorway to tell when the solstices would occur. Solstices occur twice a year when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most oriented toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes Placed around the edge of El Caracol are large rock cups that they filled with water and would watch the reflection of the stars in the water to help determine their complex, but extremely accurate calendar system.

Akab Dzib

Located to the east of the Caracol, Akab Dzib means, in Maya, "The House of Mysterious Writing. " An earlier name of the building, according to a translation of glyphs in the Casa Colorada, is Wa(k)wak Puh Ak Na, "the flat house with the excessive number of chambers,” and it was the home of the administrator of Chichén Itzá, kokom Yahawal Cho' K’ak’. ^[10] INAH completed a restoration of the building in 2007. It is relatively short, only 6 meters high, and is 50 meters in length and 15 meters wide. The long, western-facing facade has seven doorways. The eastern facade has only four doorways, broken by a large staircase that leads to the roof. This apparently was the front of the structure, and looks out over what is today a steep, but dry, cenote. The southern end of the building has one entrance. The door opens into a small chamber and on the opposite wall is another doorway, above which on the lintel are intricately carved glyphs—the “mysterious” or “obscure” writing that gives the building its name today. Under the lintel in the door jamb is another carved panel of a seated figure surrounded by more glyphs. Inside one of the chambers, near the ceiling, is a painted hand print.

Old Chichen

"Old Chichen" is the nickname for a group of structures to the south of the central site. It includes the Initial Series Group, the Phallic Temple, the Platform of the Great Turtle, the Temple of the Owls, and the Temple of the Monkeys.

Other structures

Chichen Itza also has a variety of other structures densely packed in the ceremonial center of about 5 km² (2 mile²) and several outlying subsidiary sites.

Caves of Balankanche

Approximately 4 km west of the Chichen Itza archaeological zone are a network of sacred caves known as Balankanche (Spanish: Gruta de Balankanche), Balamka'anche' in Modern Maya). Yucatec Maya ("Maaya T'aan" in the revised Orthography of the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala) is a Mayan language spoken in In the caves, a large selection of ancient pottery and idols may be seen still in the positions where they were left in pre-Columbian times.

The location of the cave has been well known in modern times. Edward Thompson and Alfred Tozzer visited it in 1905. Alfred Marston Tozzer ( 4 July, 1877 - 5 October, 1954) was an American anthropologist, archaeologist, A. S. Pearse and a team of biologists explored the cave in 1932 and 1936. E. Wyllys Andrews IV also explored the cave in the 1930s. Edwin Shook and R. E. Smith explored the cave on behalf of the Carnegie Institution in 1954, and dug several trenches to recover potsherds and other artifacts. Shook determined that the cave had been inhabited over a long period, at least from the Preclassic to the post-conquest era. ^[11]

On 15 September 1959, José Humberto Gómez, a local guide, discovered a false wall in the cave. Behind it he found an extended network of caves with significant quantities of undisturbed archaeological remains, including pottery and stone-carved censers, stone implements and jewelry. INAH converted the cave into an underground museum, and the objects after being catalogued were returned to their original place so visitors can see them in situ. ^[12]

Archaeological investigations

Chichén Itzá entered the popular imagination in 1843 with the book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan by John Lloyd Stephens (with illustrations by Frederick Catherwood). John Lloyd Stephens ( November 28, 1805 &ndash October 13, 1852) was an American explorer writer and diplomat The book recounted Stephens’ visit to Yucatan and his tour of Maya cities, including Chichén Itzá. The book prompted other explorations of the city. In 1860, Desire Charnay surveyed Chichén Itzá and took numerous photographs that he published in Cités et ruines américaines (1863). Claude-Joseph Désiré Charnay ( 2 May 1828 - 24 October 1915) was a French traveller and Archaeologist notable both for

In 1875, Augustus Le Plongeon and his wife Alice Dixon Le Plongeon visited Chichén, and excavated a statue of a figure on its back, knees drawn up, upper torso raised on its elbows with a plate on its stomach. Augustus Le Plongeon (1825-1908 was a Photographer, Antiquarian and amateur Archaeologist. Alice Dixon Le Plongeon (1851-1910 was an English Photographer, amateur Archaeologist and traveller who spent 11 years living and working in southern Augustus Le Plongeon called it “Chaacmol” (later renamed “Chac Mool,” which has been the term to describe all types of this statuary found in Mesoamerica). Chac-Mool is the name given to a type of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stone statue Teobert Maler and Alfred Maudslay explored Chichén in the 1880s and both spent several weeks at the site and took extensive photographs. Teoberto Maler or Teobert Maler ( 12 January 1842 &ndash 22 November 1917) was an explorer who devoted his energies to Alfred Percival Maudslay ( March 18, 1850 - January 22, 1931) was a British Maudslay published the first long-form description of Chichén Itzá in his book, Biologia Centrali-Americana.

In 1894 the United States Consul to Yucatán, Edward H. Thompson purchased the Hacienda Chichen, which included the ruins of Chichen Itzá. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Edward Herbert Thompson ( 28 September, 1857 - 11 May, 1935) was a United States born Archaeologist and Diplomat For 30 years, Thompson explored the ancient city. His discoveries included the earliest dated carving upon a lintel in the Temple of the Initial Series and the excavation of several graves in the Ossario (High Priest’s Temple). Thompson is most famous for dredging the Cenote Sagrado (Sacred Cenote) from 1904 to 1910, where he recovered artifacts of gold, copper and carved jade, as well as the first-ever examples of what were believed to be pre-Columbian Maya cloth and wooden weapons. Sacred Cenote (Well of Sacrifice is a noted Cenote at the Maya site of Chichen Itza. Thompson shipped the bulk of the artifacts to the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a Museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge Massachusetts.

In 1913, archaeologist Sylvanus G. Morley persuaded the Carnegie Institution to fund an extensive archaeological project at Chichén Itzá, which included mapping the ruins and restoring several of the monuments. This article is mainly about the archaeologist For the professor of Spanish see the section The other Sylvanus G The Mexican Revolution and the following government instability prevented the Carnegie from beginning work until 1924. Over the course of 10 years, the Carnegie researchers excavated and restored the Temple of Warriors and the Caracol. At the same time, the Mexican government excavated and restored El Castillo and the Great Ball Court.

In 1926, the Mexican government charged Edward Thompson with theft, claiming he stole the artifacts from the Cenote Sagrado and smuggled them out of the country. The government seized the Hacienda Chichén. Thompson, who was in the United States at the time, never returned to Yucatán. He wrote about his research and investigations of the Maya culture in a book People of the Serpent published in 1932. He died in New Jersey in 1935. In 1944 the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that Thompson had broken no laws and returned Chichén Itzá to his heirs. The Thompsons sold the hacienda to tourism pioneer Fernando Barbachano Peon, and his heirs own the property today. ^[13]

There have been two later expeditions to recover artifacts from the Cenote Sagrado, in 1961 and 1967. The first was sponsored by the National Geographic, and the second by private interests. Both projects were supervised by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). INAH has conducted an ongoing effort to excavate and restore other monuments in the archaeological zone, including the Ossario, Akab D’zib, and several buildings in Chichén Viejo (Old Chichen).

Tourism

Tourism has been a factor at Chichen Itza for more than a century. John Lloyd Stephens, who popularized the Maya Yucatan in the public’s imagination with his book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, inspired many to make a pilgrimage to Chichén Itzá. John Lloyd Stephens ( November 28, 1805 &ndash October 13, 1852) was an American explorer writer and diplomat Even before the book was published, Benjamin Norman and Baron Emmanuel de Friederichsthal traveled to Chichen after meeting Stephens, and both published the results of what they found.

After Edward Thompson in 1894 purchased the Hacienda Chichén, which included Chichen Itza, he received a constant stream of visitors. In 1910 he announced his intention to construct a hotel on his property, but abandoned those plans, probably because of the Mexican Revolution.

In the early 1920s, a group of Yucatecans, led by writer/photographer Francisco Gomez Rul, began working toward expanding tourism to Yucatán. They urged Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto to build roads to the more famous monuments, including Chichen Itza. In 1923, Governor Carrillo Puerto officially opened the highway to Chichen Itza. Gomez Rul published one of the first guidebooks to Yucatán and the ruins.

Gomez Rul's son-in-law, Fernando Barbachano Peon (a grandnephew of former Yucatán Governor Miguel Barbachano), started Yucatán’s first official tourism business in the early 1920s. Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo ( 29 September, 1807 &ndash 17 December, 1859) (Baqueiro 1896 was a liberal Yucatecan politician who was 5 times He began by meeting passengers that arrived by steamship to Progreso, the port north of Merida, and persuading them to spend a week in Yucatán, after which they would catch the next steamship to their next destination. In his first year Barbachano Peon reportedly was only able to convince seven passengers to leave the ship and join him on a tour. In the mid-1920s Barbachano Peon persuaded Edward Thompson to sell five acres of property next to Chichen for a hotel. In 1927, the Mayaland Hotel opened, just north of the Hacienda Chichén, which had been taken over by the Carnegie Institution.

In 1944, Barbachano Peon purchased all of the Hacienda Chichén, including Chichen Itza, from the heirs of Edward Thompson. ^[14] Around that same time the Carnegie completed its work at Chichen Itza and abandoned the Hacienda Chichén, which Barbachano turned into another seasonal hotel.

In 1972, Mexico enacted the Ley Federal Sobre Monumentos y Zonas Arqueológicas, Artísticas e Históricas (Federal Law over Monuments and Archeological, Artistic and Historic Sites) that put all the nation's pre-Columbian monuments, including those at Chichen Itza, under federal ownership. ^[15] There were now hundreds, if not thousands of visitors every year to Chichen Itza, and more were expected with the development of Cancún resort area to the east. Cancún (pronounced as kanˈkun is a coastal city in Mexico 's easternmost state Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula.

In the 1980s, Chichen Itza began to receive an influx of visitors on the day of the spring equinox. An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle Today several thousand show up to see the light-and-shadow effect on the Temple of Kukulcan in which the feathered serpent god supposedly can be seen to crawl down the side of the pyramid. ^[16]

Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second-most visited of Mexico's archaeological sites. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex ^[17] The archaeological site draws many visitors from the popular tourist resort of Cancún, who make a day trip on tourist buses. Cancún (pronounced as kanˈkun is a coastal city in Mexico 's easternmost state Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula. In 2007, Chichen Itza's El Castillo was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World after a worldwide vote. New Seven Wonders of the World is a project that attempts to revive the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a list of modern wonders Despite the fact that the vote was sponsored by a commercial enterprise, and that its methodology was criticized, the vote was embraced by government and tourism officials in Mexico who project that as a result of the publicity the number of tourists expected to visit Chichen will double by 2012. ^[18] The ensuing publicity re-ignited debate in Mexico over the ownership of the site, with some representatives of the government such as the secretary of the parliamentary culture committee, Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real, calling for the land to be returned to public ownership, by expropriation if necessary. ^[19]

Over the past several years, INAH, which manages the site, has been closing monuments to public access. While visitors can walk around them, they can no longer climb them or go inside their chambers. The most recent was El Castillo, which was closed after a San Diego, Calif. , woman fell to her death in 2006. ^[20]

Notes

References

Further reading

• Chichen Itza was popularized by American John Lloyd Stephens in Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, (two volumes, 1843)
• Holmes, Archæological Studies in Ancient Cities of Mexico, (Chicago, 1895)
• Spinden, Maya Art, (Cambridge, 1912)
• Coggins & Shane, "Cenote Of Sacrifice", (U. John Lloyd Stephens ( November 28, 1805 &ndash October 13, 1852) was an American explorer writer and diplomat of Texas, 1984) very scarce.

External links

• Chichen Itza on Mesoweb.com
• Chichen Itza photos by Genry Joil
• Chichen Itza archaeologists
• UNESCO page about Chichen Itza World Heritage site
• American Egypt, contains information and articles relating to Chichen Itza
• Ancient Observatories page on Chichen Itza

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex

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