Mayan Temples

Positioned in Central American, The Maya civilization is one of the well-known civilizations of the New World. During 250 to 900 AD most Mayan cities attained their highest inhabitants and large-scale development. The most remarkable Mayan ruins from this period are the pyramids that were completed in every Maya area of great importance. Some Maya sites are:

Calakmul

Calakmul is a Pre Colombian site concealed in the jungles of the Mexican state of Campeche. It is one of the largest Mayan cities ever revealed with over 6,500 buildings revealed. Calakmul’s 180 ft high temple is by far the biggest building at the site. Like many other Mayan monuments the volume of the building was boosted by constructing on an older existing temple to attain its recent size.

Palenque

Palenque is an archaeological site that was situated on the western border of the Maya civilization in the present-day state of Chiapas, Mexico. The site is much smaller than several of it Mayan neighboring cities, but it comprises many of the first-class architecture and carvings the Maya ever produced. Nearly all monuments in Palenque date from 7th,8th and 9th century such as the Temple of Inscriptions, one of the few Mesoamerican temple constructed as a memorial building.

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is the most significant of the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula and one of Mexico’s most studied tourist sites. The most renowned landmark of the Mayan city is the temple of El Castillo. The design and style of the pyramid has a particular astronomical importance. Every face of the structure has a stairway with 91 steps, which combined with the mutual step at the top, equals to 365, the number of days in a year. Other interesting structures of the Maya ruins include the Great Ballcourt and El Caracol, a rounded temple which functioned as an astronomical tower.

Lamanai

Located in northern Belize, Lamanai was at one time a major Maya city. The historic ruins are not fully revealed yet. Archaeological efforts has targeted on the analysis and recovery of the larger buildings like the High Temple, a 33 meter tall monument. Since it was still populated by the Maya when the Europeans showed up, Lamanai, which in Maya means "submerged crocodile", is one of a handful Mayan sites to preserve its ancient name.

Uxmal

Uxmal, meaning "built three times" in Maya, is one of the best conserved Mayan sites in Central America. The most recognizable and highest structure at 115 feet is the Pyramid of the Magician. The layers of the pyramid are oval unlike the square layers of various other Mayan pyramids. The temple appears to have been constructed in five stages, beginning from the sixth century.

Coba.

Coba in Mexico was a sizable historic Maya city that was home to about 60,000 Mayans at its height. Many of its structures were created between 500 and 900 AD. Mayan ruins has several large temple pyramids, the tallest, the Nohoch Mul pyramid is about 138 feet tall. Today only a small portion of the site has been cleaned up from the tropical forest and repaired by archaeologists.

Nearly all of the Maya states went into downfall between 900-1000 AD and were ultimately abandoned. There are several potential causes for their downfall including environmental problems such as soil exhaustion, erosion and water losses. Disasters such as earthquakes, sicknesses and conquests by other neighboring people and cultures could also be the explanation of the downfall. Today the Mayan ruins are located in the countries of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.