Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 44 views

    The Astronomy of Chitzen-Itza

    Uploaded by

    amarch619
    The document summarizes Alexa March's visit to the ancient Mayan city of Chitzen-Itza in Mexico. The Mayans had a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, as evidenced by structures like the El Castillo pyramid where the shadow of the sun creates the illusion of a snake moving down the pyramid at the spring and autumn equinoxes. Another building, the Caracol, functioned as an observatory and had windows aligned with astronomical events. The Platform of Venus was dedicated to the planet Venus and used for ceremonies related to astronomy.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    The Astronomy of Chitzen-Itza

    Uploaded by

    amarch619
    44 views20 pages
    The document summarizes Alexa March's visit to the ancient Mayan city of Chitzen-Itza in Mexico. The Mayans had a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, as evidenced by structures like the El Castillo pyramid where the shadow of the sun creates the illusion of a snake moving down the pyramid at the spring and autumn equinoxes. Another building, the Caracol, functioned as an observatory and had windows aligned with astronomical events. The Platform of Venus was dedicated to the planet Venus and used for ceremonies related to astronomy.

    Original Description:

    College powerpoint project

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document summarizes Alexa March's visit to the ancient Mayan city of Chitzen-Itza in Mexico. The Mayans had a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, as evidenced by structures like the El Castillo pyramid where the shadow of the sun creates the illusion of a snake moving down the pyramid at the spring and autumn equinoxes. Another building, the Caracol, functioned as an observatory and had windows aligned with astronomical events. The Platform of Venus was dedicated to the planet Venus and used for ceremonies related to astronomy.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    44 views20 pages

    The Astronomy of Chitzen-Itza

    Uploaded by

    amarch619
    The document summarizes Alexa March's visit to the ancient Mayan city of Chitzen-Itza in Mexico. The Mayans had a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, as evidenced by structures like the El Castillo pyramid where the shadow of the sun creates the illusion of a snake moving down the pyramid at the spring and autumn equinoxes. Another building, the Caracol, functioned as an observatory and had windows aligned with astronomical events. The Platform of Venus was dedicated to the planet Venus and used for ceremonies related to astronomy.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 20

    The Astronomy of Chitzen-Itza

    By: Alexa March

    Overview
    Over spring break I went to Mexico with my family. We were very lucky to get the opportunity to visit Chitzen-Itza during our vacation. It was a great experience and I was surprised and excited to learn of how involved in astronomy the Mayans were. I learned a lot and glad Im able to share that information with you in this powerpoint presentation including the pictures of the city I took myself. Enjoy!

    History of Chitzen-Itza
    Originating in the Yucatan around 2600 B.C., they rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in presentday southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize and western Honduras. Building on the inherited inventions and ideas of earlier civilizations such as the Olmec, the Maya developed astronomy, calendrical systems and hieroglyphic writing. The city started to decline around A.D. 900 when - for reasons which are still largely a mystery - the southern Maya abandoned their cities.

    EL CASTLLO, The Pyramid of Kukulkan

    The temple is 91 ft. high, with two sides completely restored and the other two in the original state There are 91 steps on each side plus the platform at the top as the final step makes the of 365 steps to represent each day of the solar year

    On the spring and autumn equinox, the shadow of the Sun on the stars causes the illusion of a snake moving down the pyramid. At the top of the pyramid in the temple are carvings of Chac, the rain god and Quetzalcoatl, the serpent god Every year tens of thousands of people flock to see this

    THE CARACOL, The Observatory

    The intense interest of the Maya in the annual travels of the sun across the sky is evident in many structures at Chichn-Itz and other Mayan Sites. Thought to house the oldest constructions, the Nunnery and the Church, were believed to be responsible for holding up the heavens.

    Several of its windows point towards the equinox sunset and the southernmost and northernmost points on the horizon where Venus rises. Tower was used for astronomy; its windows were aligned with the four cardinal directions and the position of the setting sun at the equinoxes. One window marks an appearance of Venus at a particular point on the horizon that takes place, like clockwork, once every eight years.

    THE PLATFORM OF VENUS

    A platform dedicated to the planet Venus located near the grave of the High Priest The function of this platform was probably for ceremonies, rites, and dances

    More pictures of the Mayan city

    The Ball Court

    The Nunnery

    The Cenote

    THE END

    You might also like