Charles River Editors - The Most Famous Cities of the Maya: The History of Chichén Itzá, Tikal, Mayapán, and Uxmal

By Jesse Harasta and Charles River Editors

Picture of El Castillo in Chichn Itz , taken by Daniel Schwen

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Chichn Itzs Great Ball Court. Photo by Bjrn Christian Trrissen

Chichn Itz

Many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century, like the Greeks and the Romans, but of all the worlds 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 cities: Chichn Itz.

Chichn Itz was inhabited for hundreds of years and was a very influential center in the later years of Maya civilization. At its height, Chichn Itz 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 Chichn Itz 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 Chichn Itz revealed that offerings to the Maya rain deity Chaac (which may have included people) were tossed into the sinkhole.

Although Chichn Itz was around for hundreds of years, it had a relatively short period of dominance in the region, lasting from about 800-950 CE 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 Chichn Itz 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. Chichn Itz was partially abandoned in 948, and the culture of the Maya survived in a disorganized way until it was revived at Mayapn 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.

Mayapn

A panoramic view of Mayapn

Early Mayapn was closely connected to the overshadowing power of the region at the time: the mighty trading city of Chichn Itz. Mayapn emerged first as a minor settlement in the orbit of Chichn, but it slowly came to replace it after the larger city's trade connections with the Toltecs of Tula crumbled and it suffered a staggering defeat by Mayapn's armies. The building styles and art in their city show both admiring references to the great Chichn Itz as well as an attempt to position Mayapn as a more orthodox heir of Maya tradition. At the same time, they emulated many features and could not escape the tremendous influences - especially in religion - of Chichn. This is seen in the fact that many of the most important buildings in the new city appear to be small-scale reproductions of ones in Chichn.

Due in part to the fact that it has long been overshadowed by Chichn Itz, a lot excavation and scholarly research on the site has only come about in recent decades, and even though there is still plenty of work to do, a lot of information about life in Mayapn has been unearthed. At its height, Mayapn may have boasted a population of over 15,000, and archaeologists have had their hands full trying to discover and restore the several thousand buildings both inside Mayapns walls and outside them as well.

Tikal

Tikals main plaza during the Winter Solstice. Picture by Bjrn Christian Trrissen.

The Maya maintained power in the Yucatan for over a thousand years, and at the height of its Classical era (3 rd -9 th centuries CE), the city of Tikal was one of the power centers of the empire. Archaeologists believe Tikal had been built as early as the 5 th or 4 th century BC, and eventually it became a political, economic and military capital that was an important part of a far-flung network across Mesoamerica, despite the fact it was seemingly conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4 th century CE. It seems the foreign rulers came to assimilate Mayan culture, thus ensuring Tikal would continue to be a power base, and as a result, the city would not be abandoned until about the 10 th century CE.

As one of the Ancient Mayas most important sites, construction at Tikal was impressive, and even though it was apparently conquered, the citys records were unusually well preserved. This includes a list of the citys dynastic rulers, as well as the tombs and monuments dedicated to them. Thanks to this preservation, Tikal offers researchers their best look at the Ancient Maya and has gone a long way toward helping scholars understand Mayan history.

Uxmal

Palimp Sestos picture of the ruins of Uxmal

During the Mayas Classical era, the city of Uxmal was one of its most noteworthy places. While it was not as powerful as cities like Tikal, Uxmal was apparently at the forefront of Mayan culture, particularly when it came to architecture. However, while Uxmal used high ground to display its prominence, and the ruins are still among the most popular places for tourists in the region, the site is still shrouded in mystery. Even as scholars continue to work on the site to further interpret it, its still unclear when exactly Uxmal was founded, how many people called it home, and when it was abandoned, despite the existence of Mayan chronicles and oral legends.

What is apparent, however, is the skills of Uxmals artisans, whether through constructing structures like the five-level Pyramid of Magicians and the expansive Governors Palace or adorning the structures with precisely detailed art and sculptures. In fact, the craftsmanship can be credited with helping to preserve Uxmal itself.