The Aztec and Mayan pyramids excite the minds of not only various researchers. To amazed tourists, guides tell stories related to a long-gone civilization, from which blood runs cold. These amazing architectural monuments are reluctant to share their secrets, so humanity can only summarize all the information that is known about the pyramids.
Where are the Mayan pyramids located
From the history course taught at the school, three civilizations of ancient America are known . This is Maya, Aztecs, Incas. Each of these peoples occupied its territory. The central part of Mexico was occupied by the Aztecs, the southern, as well as Salvador, Guatemala, the western part of Honduras - Maya. In the west of South America, the Incas were located, which, according to scientists, were not seen in the construction of the pyramids.
Where are the Mayan pyramids? The path to them passes through the jungle to the abandoned ancient cities, from which little is left. One of these settlements is Chichen Itza. However, researchers among themselves call it Disneyland. Not only archaeologists, but also restorers have already managed to work on this complex. It’s already quite difficult to figure out where, among all this magnificence, reconstruction, and where are ancient buildings. This fact does not stop the hordes of tourists who want to touch an incomprehensible ancient culture.
Differences from Egyptian "sisters"
Mayan pyramids have their own characteristics that sharply distinguish them from the Egyptian. First you need to pay attention to the fact that they are stepwise. There are no sloping faces and there is always a staircase. She leads to the top. Another interesting difference of the Mayan pyramids is the presence of additional structures. Scientists do not exactly know their functional purpose, but agreed to consider them temples. Generally speaking, this entire complex was not intended for the burial of rulers. At the very top, brutal bloody rituals were carried out with human sacrifices.
The angles of inclination of the faces in the Mayan pyramids are greater than those of the Egyptian ones. Also, in terms of construction technology, they are significantly inferior in their simplicity to the analogues in Egypt.
Chichen Itza
In Mexico, is the ancient city of Chichen Itza. This vanished civilization possessed deep knowledge in astronomy, mathematics, and architecture. Judging by the information that has reached our times, more than 30,000 people lived in the city. Among the lush vegetation of the jungle, the ruins of more than 30 buildings with the most important sights, along with the Mayan and Chichen Itza pyramids: the Kukulkan temple and the Well of victims (or death) have been preserved.
Huge reserves of limestone, ubiquitous throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, supplied the necessary material for construction. Archaeologist Memo de Anda found irrefutable evidence of limestone mining just 500 meters in the jungle of the Temple of Cuculcan. To represent the full scale of architectural monuments, it is necessary to give a brief description of them.
Well of Victims (Holy Cenote)
At the heart of the temple of warriors is another Mayan pyramid, which has 4 levels. The size of its base is 40 by 40 meters. But the world is better known for its natural reservoir - the so-called Well of victims (death). His Indians endowed with mystical properties. This funnel-shaped depression 60 meters in diameter was first described by Bishop Diego de Landa. He described a strange rite of Indians who threw young beautiful girls and precious stones into this pond. All these actions were aimed at appeasing the bloodthirsty gods.
Thanks to the efforts of the tireless American researcher Edward Thompson, these data were confirmed. He had the courage to immerse himself in the mysterious waters of a mystical well at the beginning of the 20th century. Now, many careless tourists throw coins there. According to legend, you can make a wish in this pond. Only the price of its execution will be much more expensive, and you can’t get off with one coin.
Kukulkan Temple
The photo of the Mayan pyramid dedicated to the winged snake deity Kukulkan is the most recognizable in the world. This grandiose construction has recently again attracted the attention of numerous researchers. Scientist Rene Chavez Segura applied 3D imaging of electrical tomography. What he discovered there made it possible to call his discovery "Mayan Matryoshka."
It all started with the fact that the archaeologist wanted to know the real thickness of the visible walls. Suddenly, the scanner detected the presence of secret rooms. There are three in total. Each of these buildings is located in a pyramid according to the principle of nesting dolls. Under the processed facade of the ancient Mayan pyramid is a layer of rubble. And below it is an even more ancient structure - a pyramid. His staircase leads to a sacred temple with two rooms. In the center is a throne in the form of a jaguar, which has jade eyes. In addition, there is a statue of a man - Chuckmole.
Experts attribute this to the fact that the ancient Mayans did not practice the demolition of old structures. They simply started new construction already on top of the existing one.
But this is not all the discoveries associated with this temple. A karst funnel with a lake about 20 meters deep was also discovered.
Incomprehensible sarcophagus
It is generally accepted that the Mayans used their grandiose structures, unlike the Egyptians, exclusively as temples, and not as tombs. This is not entirely true. Mayan pyramids are located in the impenetrable jungle in the territory of the ancient once abandoned cities, but interconnected by excellent land communications, including bridges, roads and even road stations. The capital of this empire is considered to be the city of Palenka, where an artifact was found, which, according to Erich von Deniken, is another proof of people's contacts with aliens.
Until 1949, it was believed that the Mayan pyramids in Mexico were exclusively objects of worship. At their peak, terrible bloody sacrifices took place. Thanks to the accidental discovery of the hatch leading to the burial chamber, another secret of the vanished civilization was revealed to the world. In this chamber, in addition to the remains of people - victims of numerous ceremonies, a sarcophagus was found. Scientists could not resist and opened its lid weighing 5 tons. Under it was found the corpse of a rather large man and a lot of jade jewelry.
But most of all the noise was made by the stone bas-relief and the restored posthumous mask of the deceased. In the bas-relief drawing, according to Erich von Deniken, Alexander Kazantsev and a number of other researchers, one can easily recognize an unknown-purpose manned vehicle by some person. This is a rather controversial opinion, but what is surprising is the death mask.
If you believe the Mexican scientists, who restored the appearance of its owner, it turns out that this is a man whose nose begins on the forehead just above the eyebrows. Such "nasolobny" do not belong to any of the known races of people.
Be that as it may, the Mayan pyramids will be the subject of thorough research and heated debate for a long time to come. It is too early to put an end to this question.