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'en or ch'e'en, meaning "well." Itzá is the name of an ethnic-lineage group that gained political and
economic dominance of the northern peninsula. One possible translation for Itza
is "wizard (or enchantment) of the water.
The name is represented as Chichén Itzá in Spanish and the
accents are sometimes maintained when translated into other languages 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 theYucatec Maya language,
using Chich'en Itza' . 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 word "Itza'" has a high rise final "a" that is followed
by a glottal stop (indicated by the
apostrophe).
There is evidence in the Chilam Balam books that there was another, earlier name for
this city prior to the arrival of the Itza hegemony in northern Yucatán. While
most sources agree the first word means seven, there is considerable debate as
to the correct translation of the rest. This earlier name is difficult to
define because of the absence of a single standard of orthography, but it is
represented variously as Uuc Yabnal ("Seven Great House"), Uuc Hab Nal("Seven Bushy Places"), Uucyabnal ("Seven Great Rulers") or Uc Abnal ("Seven Lines of Abnal"). This name, dating to the
Late Classic Period, is recorded both in the book of Chilam Balam de Chumayel
and in hieroglyphic texts in the ruins.
Location
Chichen Itza is located in the eastern portion of Yucatán state. The northern Yucatán
Peninsula is arid, and the rivers in the interior all run underground. There
are two large, natural sink holes, calledcenotes,
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.A study of human remains taken from the Cenote
Sagrado found that they had wounds consistent with human sacrifice.
History
The layout of Chichen Itza site core developed during its earlier
phase of occupation, between 750 and 900 AD. Its final layout was developed after
900 AD, and the 10th century saw the rise of the city as a regional capital
controlling the area from central Yucatan to the north coast, with its power
extending down the east and west coasts of the peninsula. The
earliest hieroglyphic date discovered at Chichen Itza is
equivalent to 832 AD, while the last known date was recorded in the Osario
temple in 998.
Establishment
The Late Classic city was centered upon the area to the southwest
of the Xtoloc cenote, with the main architecture represented by the
substructures now underlying the Las Monjas and Observatorio and the basal
platform upon which they were built.
Site description
Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities, with the
relatively densely clustered architecture of the site core covering an area of
at least 5 square kilometers (1.9 sq mi). Smaller scale residential architecture
extends for an unknown distance beyond this. The city was built upon broken
terrain, which was artificially leveled in order to build the major
architectural groups, with the greatest effort being expended in the leveling
of the areas for the Castillo pyramid, and the Las Monjas, Osario and Main
Southwest groups. The site contains many fine stone
buildings in various states of preservation, and many have been restored. The
buildings were connected by a dense network of paved causeways, called sacbeob. Archaeologists
have identified over 80sacbeob criss-crossing
the site, and extending in all directions from
the city.
The architecture encompasses a number of styles, including the
Puuc and Chenes styles of the northern Yucatán Peninsula. The buildings of Chichen Itza are
grouped in a series of architectonic sets, and each set was at one time
separated from the other by a series of low walls. The three best known of
these complexes are the Great North Platform, which includes the monuments of
El Castillo, Temple of Warriors and the Great Ball Court; The Ossario Group,
which includes the pyramid of the same name as well as the Temple of Xtoloc;
and the Central Group, which includes the Caracol, Las Monjas, and Akab Dzib.
South of Las Monjas, in an area known as Chichén Viejo (Old
Chichén) and only open to archaeologists, are several other complexes, such as
the Group of the Initial Series, Group of the Lintels, and Group of the Old
Castle.
Architectural styles
The Puuc-style architecture is concentrated in the Old Chichen
area, and also the earlier structures in the Nunnery Group (including the Las
Monjas, Annex and La Iglesia buildings); it is also represented in the Akab
Dzib structure. The
Puuc-style building feature the usual mosaic-decorated upper facades
characteristic of the style but differ from the architecture of the Puuc
heartland in their block masonry walls, as opposed to the fine veneers of the
Puuc region proper.
At least one structure in the Las Monjas Group features an ornate
facade and masked doorway that are typical examples of Chenes-style
architecture, a style centered upon a region in the north of Campeche state,
lying between the Puuc and Río Bec regions.
Those structures with sculpted hieroglyphic script are
concentrated in certain areas of the site, with the most important being the
Las Monjas group.
Old Chichen:
Old Chichen (or Chichén Viejo in Spanish) is the name given to a
group of structures to the south of the central site, where most of the
Puuc-style architecture of the city is concentrated. 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 square kilometres (1.9 sq mi) and
several outlying subsidiary sites.
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