Chichen ItzaChichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The archeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico, between the cities of Valladolid and Mérida. Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the Northern Maya Lowlands from the Late Classic (c. 600–900 AD) through the Terminal Classic (c. 800–900 AD) and into the early portion of the Postclassic period (c. 900–1200 AD).
UxmalUxmal (Yucatec Maya: Óoxmáal) is an ancient Maya city of the classical period located in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture, along with Palenque, Chichen Itza and Calakmul in Mexico, Caracol and Xunantunich in Belize, and Tikal in Guatemala.
Yucatec Maya languageYucatec Maya ( ; Spanish: yucateco), referred to by its speakers as mayaʼ or maayaʼ t’aan (pronounced), is a Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula, including part of northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic community of Yucatec Maya speakers in San Francisco, though most Maya Americans are speakers of other Mayan languages from Guatemala and Chiapas.
Maya civilizationThe Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. Known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script), the civilization is also noted for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system. The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas.Carnegie Institution for ScienceCarnegie Science, also known as Carnegie Institution for Science and formerly the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1902 to fund and perform scientific research. The institution is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its three interdisciplinary scientific divisions focus on life and environmental science, Earth and planetary science, and astronomy and astrophysics.
MexicoCountry in North AmericaMexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, bordering the United States of America to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast, while having maritime boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.
Mérida, YucatánMérida (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmeɾiða] ; Yucatec Maya: Joꞌ) is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán. The city is also the seat of the eponymous municipality. It is located slightly inland from the northwest corner of the Yucatán Peninsula, about 35 km (22 mi) from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In 2020, it had a population of 921,770 while its metropolitan area, which also includes the cities of Kanasín and Umán, had a population of 1,316,090.
Tecoh MunicipalityTecoh Municipality is a municipality in the Mexicanstate of Yucatán. It is located 40 km south-east of Mérida, Yucatán. It has a municipal capital of the same name. As of 2003, the city Tecoh had a population of about 8,500 people. Most of the population is Maya. A number of buildings in the town were built atop older Pre-Columbian foundations. "Tecoh" means "Place of the Puma" in the Yucatec Maya language, which is still widely spoken here.
Spanish languageSpanish (español) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It originated in the Kingdom of Castile, a historical kingdom in north-central Spain. Today, it is a global language with 519 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain, and about 636 million speakers total, including second-language speakers.YucatánYucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. Located on the northern part of the Yucatán Peninsula, it is bordered by the states of Campeche to the southwest and Quintana Roo to the southeast, with the Gulf of Mexico off its northern coast.
KukulkanKukulkan, also spelled K’uk’ulkan (; lit. 'Plumed Serpent', 'Amazing Serpent'), is the serpent deity of Maya mythology. It is closely related to the deity Qʼuqʼumatz of the Kʼicheʼ people and to Quetzalcoatl of Aztec mythology. Prominent temples to Kukulkan are found at archaeological sites in the Yucatán Peninsula, such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Mayapan. The depiction of the Feathered Serpent is present in other cultures of Mesoamerica.
Pre-Columbian eraThe Americas prior to European influenceThe Mayan Temple of Kukulcán (top), the Aztec sun stone (middle) and the Inca city of Machu Picchu (bottom) are amongst the longest standing objects by pre-Columbian civilizations.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.