Where Is Chichen Itza? by Paula K Manzanero & Who HQ

Author:Paula K Manzanero & Who HQ [Manzanero, Paula K & Who HQ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2020-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Temple of the Warriors

In Chichen Itza, the Temple of the Warriors was built to honor Chaac, the god of rain. Chaac is often pictured carrying an ax that he uses to strike the clouds in order to make rain and thunder. The Temple of the Warriors looks like a flattened pyramid. The four levels were built on top of a smaller pyramid, which was called the Temple of the Chacmool.

Temple of the Warriors Chacmool

Chacmool

Chacmools (or Chac-Mools) are statues of young men, half sitting up, resting on their elbows with their knees drawn in. Their stomachs are flat and may have been used to hold a bowl or plate for offerings. We can’t be sure if they were messengers from the god Chaac, or used to carry offerings to him. There is a Chacmool at Chichen Itza who wears ear ornaments with tiny images of the god Chaac carved into them. Was the plate he carries used to hold sacrifices to the god of rain?

Some scholars believe that it’s not so important what the Chacmools are holding, but what they are looking at. Their heads are always turned either to the right or left. They are never shown looking straight ahead. Often, Chacmools seem to be positioned to “watch” other buildings and maybe even to observe the planets and stars.

These puzzling figures appear not only at Chichen Itza but also from Central Mexico to the Caribbean coast, and were important not just to the Maya but also to the Aztec, another ancient American civilization.

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