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El Castillo (Spanish pronunciation: [el kas'tiʎo], 'the Castle'), also known as the Temple of Kukulcan is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán. The temple building is more formally designated by archaeologists as Chichen Itza Structure 5B18.
Approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) south east of the Chichen Itza archeological zone are a network of sacred caves known as Balankanche (Spanish: Gruta de Balankanche), Balamkaʼancheʼ in Yucatec Maya). 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.
El Castillo, Chichen Itza. Mesoamerican pyramids form a prominent part of ancient Mesoamerican architecture.Although similar in some ways to Egyptian pyramids, these New World structures have flat tops (many with temples on the top) and stairs ascending their faces, more similar to ancient Mesopotamian Ziggurats.
Chichen Itza is known for its stunning architecture, including an impressive pyramid structure now called El Castillo. Nearby is a sacred water-filled sinkhole called a cenote, where the bodies of ...
Chichen Itza is a renowned Maya city archeological site and World Heritage Site in Yucatán state, Mexico. Pages in category "Chichen Itza" The following 10 pages are in this category, out of 10 total.
It was active from the mid-16th to the 19th centuries and stretched over 2,600 km (1,600 mi) from north of Mexico City to Santa Fe in today's New Mexico. This serial site comprises the Mexican part of the route, in the length of 1,400 km (870 mi), with an ensemble of 59 properties, such as mines, towns, former convents, bridges, and former ...
A panorama of the Mayapan excavations from the top of the Castle of King Kukulcan. The ethnohistorical sources – such as Diego de Landa's Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, compiled from native sources in the 16th century – recount that the site was founded by Kukulcan (the Mayan name of Quetzalcoatl, the Toltec king, culture hero, and demigod) after the fall of Chichen Itza.
El Castillo, Chichen Itza served as a temple to Kukulkan. During the spring and fall equinoxes the shadow cast by the angle of the sun and edges of the nine steps of the pyramid combined with the northern stairway and the stone serpent head carvings create the illusion of a massive serpent descending the pyramid.