Faiza Rehman

The
Mysterious
Maya

FAIZA REHMAN

FAIZA REHMAN
faiza_r@live.com

Faiza Rehman

ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHEOLOGY

The Maya were master builders.
Of all the objects created by the Maya, the
largest most striking are their buildings.
They did not have metal toolsthey used
stone, bone, and wood tools to build
hundreds of magnificent cities.
The Maya used soft limestone that was
found in many parts of their land and was
relatively easy to quarry and shape.
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 Archaeologists have identified the remains of at

least 83 Maya cities.

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Mayan Cities
Every Maya city had

an impressive palace for its ruler,

a bustling marketplace,
an open-air plaza where people could gather,
at least one huge pyramid,
a large temple,
and one ball court similar to the stadiums
we have today.
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MAYAN CITIES

Mayans built huge temples and

pyramids for religious purposes
These temples and palaces
were surrounded by large
plazas
Adjacent to the plaza (above)
were homes of important
officials, with the homes of
lower class people
on the outer
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 Archaeologists have identified the remains of at

least 83 Maya cities.

Some of the most

important cities
were:

Tikal
Palenqu
Chichn Itz
Copan
Coba
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Mayan cities in
Yucatan Peninsula
Mexico

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Chichn Itz

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Chichn Itz was more

than a religious and
ceremonial site. It was
also a sophisticated
urban center and hub
of regional trade.

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But after centuries of

prosperity and
absorbing influxes of
other cultures like the
Toltecs, the city met a
mysterious end.

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"El Caracol" observatory temple

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Columns in the Temple of a Thousand Warriors

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each column showcasing carvings.Though many of the columns have destroyed over time, visitors still see
and even feel the faint impressions of the carved images that represent the soldiers

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The temple has 365 stepsone for each day of the year. Each of the temples four sides has 91
steps, and the top platform makes the 365th.
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The most recognizable structure in Chichn Itz is the Temple of Kukulkan, also known as El Castillo

feathered serpent god

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The structure embodies Mayan myth along with natural astronomical cycles

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Palenqu
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Distinguished by its highly expressive relief sculpture, Palenque

comprises temples, terraces, plazas, altars, burial grounds, and a ball
court

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PACALS
TOMB

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COBA

COBA

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Nohoch Mul
pyramid

Coba
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Ballcourt

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Tikal

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The site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in

1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site

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The heart of the site is the

Grand Plaza, which is
surrounded by the Central
Acropolis, the North Acropolis,
and Temples I and II. In the
North Acropolis alone, 100
buildings lie piled atop one
another. Temple I is 145 feet tall,
but it is dwarfed by Temple IV.
At 212 feet, Temple IV, built
around 741, is the tallest preColumbian structure in the
Western Hemisphere.

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the Temple of the Giant Jaguar

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Ocellated Turkey, Tikal

National Park, Peten,
Guatemala

The rare Kit Fox

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Mystery Of The Mayan Calendar

The date December 21,2012
A.D., represents an extremely
close conjunction of the
Winter Solstice Sun with the
crossing point of the Galactic
Equator (Equator of the
Milky Way) and the Ecliptic
(path of the Sun), what that
the ancient Maya recognized
as the Sacred Tree.
It will come to resolution at
exactly 11:11 am GMT.
This date represents the end
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of the Maya calendar.

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