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Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in Yucatán, Mexico (20°40`N, 88°34`W) built by the Maya civilization. Chichen contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation; the buildings were formerly used as temples, palaces, stages, markets, baths, and ballcourts.

The Yucatán has no above-ground rivers, so the fact that there were three natural sink holes (cenotes) providing plentiful water year round at Chichen made it a natural spot for a center of population. Two of these cenotes are still in existence, the most famous being the legendary Cenote of Sacrifice, which was sacred to the Maya rain god Chaac. Offerings of jade, pottery, and incense were thrown into the great well as offerings to Chac, and occasionally during times of desperate drought a human sacrifice -- however there is no confirmation in either ancient chronicles nor the archeological dredging of the cenote to confirm the lurid tales of some tour guides claiming that great numbers of beautiful, young, virgin women were regularly cast into the well. The Sacred Cenote was long a place of pilgrimage Yucatán.

In 1839 United States travel writers Benjamin Norman, followed the next year by John Lloyd Stephens, visited and published accounts of the ruins of Chichen Itza. Various other expeditions made further examinations of the ruins in the following decades. In 1901 the United States Consul to Yucatán, Edward H. Thompson bought Chichen Itza (as the ruins had no protected status then) and moved there with his Maya wife, and spent some 30 years doing amateur archeology there, including dredging the first artifacts out of the Sacred Cenote.

In 1924 the Carnegie Institution and Harvard University began a 20 year excavation project directed by Sylvanus G. Morley, which included restoring two sides of the Castillo. In 1961 the Sacred Cenote was dredged more thoroughly by Mexico`s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). In the 1980s INAH excavated some additional buildings and restored the other two sides of the Castillo.

Chichen Itza is today a World Heritage Site and is a very popular tourist destination; it is the most visited of the major Maya archaelogical sites. Many visitors to the popular tourist resort of Cancún make a day trip to Chichen Itza, usually with time to view only a portion of the site.

• Chichen Itza - Calle 15a No. 45 Piste, Chichen Itza, Mexico
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Chichen Itza is located in Mexico. Search, find, choose and compare our list of luxury five star Chichen Itza, Mexico, resorts, comfortable four star Chichen Itza, Mexico, hotels, clean three star Chichen Itza, Mexico, lodges, convenient two star Chichen Itza, Mexico, inns, and budget one star Chichen Itza, Mexico, motels to find rooms available for lodging accommodations in Chichen Itza, Mexico. Book a Mexican hotel room and make reservations in Chichen Itza, Mexico.

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# posted by gamweb @ 11:06 PM