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Maya ruins in CancunMaya ruins and its culture can be found in Cancun on the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico.
Scholars and archeologists divide the Maya development into three main periods for over 2,500 years. This Mesoamerican civilization covered a vast territory and reached its zenith between 250-900 AD in present-day south-eastern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Their legacy includes some of the finest jewels in today´s world of archeology: Palaces, Observatories, Temple-pyramids and Ceremonial sites like Chichen Itza. Many of these sites are still, over a thousand years later, in excellent conditions for you to discover and explore.
means "in the mouth at the Itzae´s Well", was, in its time of grandeur (between 800 and 1200 A.D.), the centre of political, religious and military power in Yucatan, if not all of South-eastern Meso America.
In its architecture one can observe a gradual change in style, starting with the Puuc style, also shared with Uxmal and other sites in the Penninsula and cluminating with the so-called Toltec style, due to the architectural similiarities with Tula, capital of the Ancient Toltecs, and with other sites in Central Mexico, such as Oaxaca and the Gulf Coast. Chichen Itza was a large city with a great many inhabitants, distributed around the architectural nucleii which we observe as ruins, who had a relatively easy access to the water coming from the various caves and Cenotes of the region. Chichen Itza is a magical place, with the massive Pyramid of Kukulcan (El Castillo) as centerpiece.
Period (600-900 A.D.) it was at one time a very large city spread over 80 square kilometers. The main pyramid, Nohoch Mul meaning "large hill", is 42 meters tall (138 feet) and is the highest in the Yucatan peninsula. Another pyramid known as Templo de la Iglesia, "Temple of the Church", is second in height at Coba and from its summit there is a spectacular view of lake Macanxoc.
Archeologists have discovered many links, including similar architecture carvings, decorations, to the great city of Tikal (Guatemala) and it is believed that noble and royalty from both cities married in order to strengthen political power. Its control over the Yucatan trade routes gave the city a commercial sphere of influence aiding it to thrive. During the PostClassic (1000-1200 AD) Coba lost its dominance to cities like Tulum as its political and commercial influence crumbled. If you have a chance of visiting Coba you will discover what may have been one of the largest of all Maya cities.
of the Riviera Maya in Mexico.Tulum means wall, trench or fence in the Maya language.
By the time the Toltecs had annexed the lands to their vast territories, Tulum was a thriving merchant port and remained so until the Spanish arrived there in 1518. The city reached its splendor in around 1200 AD as a characteristic example of the late PostClassic era. The conquerors were amazed by the beauty, size and strength of this ancient fortress built on a cliff overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean below.
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