By Carlyle Warner for 5th Grade
The Mayans were a culture that lived in the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Chichen Itza is a structure that was made by the Mayans a long time ago. This paper will be discussing when Chichen Itza was built, how it was built, and how the Mayans came up with the design of the structure.
Chichen Itza was created thousands of years ago, maybe around the early years of 400 A.D, some people believe it was made in 600 A.D, but not many people really know for sure. Chichen Itza has been around for so long that people have rebuilt some of it since it was in bad shape. It is generally believed that Chichen Itza was built around those years because some people use a method on a sample of Chichen Itza to find when it was made. The method they used is usually used to find the year pottery was made. In 400 A.D the Mayan city of Teotihuacan took ownership of the Mayan Highlands. In 600 A.D the city of Teotihuacan declined and was no longer a cultural place, also in 600 A.D The city of Caracol became a pretty powerful force.
While Chichen Itza had been created a long time ago, we should talk about how it was created. The material it is made with is limestone. The Mayans would carve the limestone into its design. Chichen Itza must have taken a long time to build since it’s seventy-nine feet tall, they had to gather all the limestone, and carve the design for it. One of the reasons Chichen Itza was built with limestone is because when they clapped it would make a chirping sound, which the Mayans supposedly believed gods were talking to them. The Mayans built Chichen Itza where it is probably because of the cenotes there, which the Mayans used for sacrifices to their gods.
The Mayans did carve Chichen Itza, but how did they come up with the design for how it was going to look? Chichen Itza uses a couple of different architectural styles, which are called “Puuc,” and “Chenes,” which were invented by the Mayans. The Mayans built Chichen Itza to use the natural environment in its design. Chichen Itza was actually designed with 365 steps, for each day of the year. Chichen Itza actually has a special event every equinox, which is where the shadows will make it look like a serpent is climbing down the stairs of Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is actually made up of nine levels, which are meant to represent the nine levels of the afterlife.
What has been discussed is the time period of when Chichen Itza was built, the process of how it was made, and the thought process of how Chichen Itza’s design was going to be. Chichen Itza was built around the time periods of 400 – 600 A.D. A method mostly done on pottery was used to find the year Chichen Itza was built. Chichen Itza was made with limestone, probably because it was abundant in the area. Once they got the limestone it was carved into Chichen Itza’s shape, and design. Chichen Itza was built where it is, probably because of the cenotes nearby, the cenotes were important to the Mayans because they used them to sacrifice to their gods. Chichen Itza has multiple different architectural styles, which are the Puuc, and Chenes styles. Chichen Itza has some different features, an example of one is, how every equinox, a shadow makes it look like a serpent is climbing down the building. Chichen Itza has been around for a very long time, it has been through lots of things, and changes, that it is still a mystery to many.
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