Mayapan

History

Known as the “Standard of the Maya” the walled city of Mayapán is considered the last great Mayan capital and although there are no monumental constructions, over four thousand architectural structures have been discovered in the zone.

At its peak (DC 1200 – 1450) it is thought to have had a population of 12,000 who, inspired by Kukulcán, built a wide, stone wall around the city, suggesting the city was in a war zone. At the center of the enclosed area they built their temples, the largest of these being a replica of the Castle of Chichén Itzá but smaller, and which they named Kukulcán. There are also civic, administrative and religious buildings, as well as the houses of the governing class. The round buildings known as “observatories” and the small sanctuaries are very representative of this city.

Towards the middle of the 15th century Mayapán was burned in a civil war, occasioning its sudden abandonment. Today, the majority of its temples have been restored, and a light and shadow phenomenon can be observed, identical to that which occurs in Chichén Itzá during the spring and autumn equinoxes except that in Mayapán it takes places in the winter solstice (21 December) when the sun is at its lowest in the south. The phenomenon can be seen on the northeast side of Kukulcán, demonstrating once more the geometrical, mathematical and astronomical knowledge that these people possessed.