El Castillo
Quick Summary
El Castillo, meaning "the Castle," is a prominent pyramid located in the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Built by the Toltec-Maya between 1050 and 1300 CE, it is renowned for its astronomical alignments and architectural features.12
Each of the pyramid's four sides has 91 steps, and with the top platform, the total sums to 365, representing the days in the Maya solar year. During the spring and fall equinoxes, the setting sun creates a shadow on the northern staircase that resembles a serpent slithering down the steps, a phenomenon linked to the god Kukulcán.1
Archaeological explorations have revealed that El Castillo is not a single structure but contains two earlier pyramids within it, with evidence suggesting a third, even older pyramid lies at its core. These nested structures suggest a practice of building over existing temples, possibly to surpass predecessors. Beneath the pyramid, there is evidence of a cenote, or sinkhole, which the Maya believed to be an entrance to the underworld, Xibalba. This suggests El Castillo may have served as a symbolic axis mundi, connecting the earth, heavens, and underworld.1
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