Virtual Field Trip:

Pre-1492
After looking through a few of the links I decided to explore Chichen Itza, better known
as the Mayan Ruins located in Yucatan, Mexico. Upon first glance of these beautiful ruins one
cannot help but notice how intricate each piece of architecture was for their time period, their
oldest temple dating back to 869 a.d.e. All their stonework held such detailed hieroglyphics that
gives us insight into how their society was run and what kind of traditions were upheld in their
time. Whether you are looking at the pillars in The Court of the Thousand Columns or examining
the walls of The Great Ball Court, the hieroglyphics gave the opportunity to see the history
present in every corner of Chichen Itza. Casa Colorado, their oldest temple, is one example of
this when looking through the present hieroglyphics you are able to see past rulers as well as
information on their neighboring city Ek Balam.
Each temple that followed in the site all had their own stories to tell and their own
historical value. One temple that I found to be very interesting was the Temple of Warriors,
which depicted warriors on its walls and was believed to connect Chichen Itza to the neighboring
region of Tula. However unlike the temple in Tula, the one in Chichen Itza is constructed on a
much larger scale and is believed to have a Chac Mool (Link (Links to an external site.)) temple
enclosed within. Another great example of the stories the hieroglyphics were able to tell are
located in The Great Ball Court. The hieroglyphics present here gave instructions on how the
game was played and what would happen to the team captain of the losing team. After the game
was played the team captain of the losing team would be decapitated. After learning about this I
decided to do a little research about why this sacrifice was done. The reason for this sacrifice was
to honor the Hero Twins, or the sun and moon, who had defeated the Lords of Death in Xibalba
in order to avenge the death of their father and uncle. They had bypassed every trick that the

Lords of Death had thrown at their uncle and father, which is what killed them, and in the end
wound up killing the Lords of Death. The Great Ball Court had been where the Hero Twins
fathers head had been hung and is considered to be a place that is a portal between life and
death. In short, the sacrifice is done in honor of the Hero Twins and their victory in defeating
death (Link (Links to an external site.)).
Hieroglyphics that were present were also able to show us how significant sacrifice was
in the Mayan society. Unlike some other ancient societies Mayans did not simply focus on the
sacrifice of women, but also practiced sacrificing children. As well as men, which can be seen in
The Great Ball Court mentioned above. However, women and children were sacrificed
somewhere entirely different they were given to the rain god Chaac in the Sacred Cenote
(Link (Links to an external site.)), otherwise known as the Well of Sacrifice. This Well of
Sacrifice, was thought to be the home of the rain god and was thought to be a very sacred place
that determined the season of rain that would approach. Women that were sacrificed were
believed to have married the rain god Chaac in death, but it is still unknown why children were
sacrificed to the rain god. Along with the women and children, it is believed that objects were
also sacrificed to the rain god.
Questions:
1) What was the importance of the Chac Mool in Mayan culture? Why did they dedicate a temple
to him?
2) Why do you think they sacrificed the children to the rain god?