Mayan Pyramids of Chichen Itza | Lost Temples

While Europe lingered in the dark ages, the splendor of the Maya world was reaching its zenith. Their temples soared hundreds of feet into the heavens. They developed a system of hieroglyphic writing. Works of art and sculpture displayed the Maya's intricate sense of style. And here in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, they built the great city of Chichen Utza. The city takes part of its name from the large wells that were its only permanent source of water. Spanish records report that live victims were thrown into this sacred well as a sacrifice to the rain god Choc, who lived in its depths. The Maya also built this circular building believed to be an observatory. By carefully watching the stars, the Maya developed a 365-day calendar and could even predict solar eclipses. Chichen Utza was also influenced by other cultures. Around the year 1000, experts believe this famous Mayan city was invaded by foreigners, among them possibly the Toltec of central Mexico and the Utza people. It was the Utza who built the city's most famous building, a pyramid the Spanish called El Castillo, or the castle. This 79-foot pyramid has a total of 365 steps, the same number as the days in a solar year. And it guards another secret, testament to the Maya's skill at math and astronomy. Twice a year, on the day of the spring and autumn equinoxes, a shadow falls on El Castillo in the shape of a serpent. As the sun sets, the snake appears to wriggle down the steps of the pyramid until it finally joins the serpent's head at the base of the staircase. Chichen Utza's ball court is the largest known ancient ball court in the Americas. Here, players would strive to hit a 12-pound rubber ball through the scoring rings set high on the parallel walls. At the end of this deadly, serious game, the losers would be sacrificed. A bustling trading center past the year 1000, Chichen Utza endured long after other Mayan cities had been abandoned. But eventually, it likely fell victim to the same forces that felled other Mayan cities, a combination of prolonged droughts, exhausted soils, and a top-heavy class of royals whose costly wars and lavish rituals overtaxed the Maya people. Sometime in the 1400s, the people of Chichen Utza abandoned their city to the jungle. But today, its imposing ruins still stand amid the rainforest, an impressive and enduring monument to the proud Maya civilization that built it.