Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza (pronounced /tʃi�ˈtʃɛn i�ˈtsɑ�/;[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.Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classicthrough the Terminal Classic and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period. 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. 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.The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH). The land under the monuments had been privately-owned until March 29, 2010, when it was purchased by the state of Yucatan.[3]he Maya name “Chich'en Itza� means “At the mouth of the well of the Itza.� This derives fromchi', 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 moNorthern Yucatán is arid, and the rivers in the interior all run underground. There are two large, natural sink holes, called cenotes, that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichen, making it attractive for settlement.Of the two cenotes, the “Cenote Sagrado� or Sacred Cenote(also variously known as the Sacred Well or Well of Sacrifice), is the most famous. 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. 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.[7] A recent study of human remains taken from the Cenote Sagrado found that they had wounds consistent with human sacrifice.[8]

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