What is special about the pyramid of Kukulkan?
What is special about the pyramid of Kukulkan?
Built by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries AD, the pyramid served as a temple to the deity Kukulcán, the Yucatec Maya Feathered Serpent deity closely related to Quetzalcoatl, a deity known to the Aztecs and other central Mexican cultures of the Postclassic period.
Where in Mexico is the Pyramid of Kukulcan?
Chich’en Itza
The Pyramid of Kukulcan or Kukulkan (also known as El Castillo, a name given by the Spanish Conquistadors) is the centre of Chich’en Itza, it was built over a preexisting temple between 800 and 900 CE. It is the biggest pyramid in Chich’en Itza; at its base 53.3 meters wide on all four sides.
What is inside the Kukulkan pyramid?
Further excavations revealed that it had nine platforms, a single stairway, and a temple containing human remains, a jade-studded jaguar throne, and a so-called Chac Mool. The Chac Mool is a type of Maya sculpture of an abstract male figure reclining and holding a bowl used as a receptacle for sacrifices.
Why was Kukulkan important to the Mayans?
Kukulkan headed a pantheon of deities of mixed Maya and non-Maya provenance, used to promote the Itza political and commercial agenda. It also eased the passage of Itza merchants into central Mexico and other non-Maya areas, promoting the Itza economy.
Who built the Kukulkan pyramid?
the Maya civilisation
El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulcan, is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid built by the Maya civilisation in around 1000 AD. The pyramid is the central structure of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in Yucatan, Mexico.
Can you go inside Kukulkan?
The Kukulkan Pyramid, also commonly known as El Castillo, is the most impressive building in the Chichen Itza archaeological site, and one of the tallest in all of the Mayan architecture. Unfortunately for visitors, no, Chichen Itza Pyramid is not allowed to climb.
What was Kukulkan god of?
Their chief god was the feathered serpent Kukulcan whose name means just that: feathered (k’uk’ul) and serpent (kan). He was a creator god, and the god of rain, wind, storms, and life.
