Unlocking the secrets of the mysterious ruins of Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza rose to power during the Terminal Classic period of Maya history, with its major development beginning in the late 9th or early 10th century AD.

Over the following two hundred years, it expanded into one of the largest and most influential city-states in northern Yucatán.

At its height, the city may have housed between 35,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, a population supported by fertile lands, tribute, and control of trade routes.

The name “Chichen Itza” translates as “at the mouth of the well of the Itza,” a reference to the Sacred Cenote located nearby, which was both a water source and as a site for religious offerings and sacrificial rituals believed to connect the mortal world with the underworld. 

Maya chronicles and archaeological layers indicate that Chichen Itza experienced several phases of development.

At first, the city’s design followed the Puuc style typical of earlier Maya centres, but later buildings introduced columns, serpent imagery, and reliefs showing human sacrifice and military conquest, which closely resemble Toltec features from central Mexico.

This blend of cultural elements suggests that the arrival of Toltec migrants or messengers from Tula, possibly inspired by legends surrounding the figure of Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, a mythical Toltec ruler. 

Some scholars believe that military conquest may have accompanied this cultural blending, though the evidence remains contested. 

By the beginning of the 11th century, Chichen Itza had transformed into a significant regional power with a large population, extensive trade connections, and monumental architecture that demonstrated the wealth and authority of its elite.

Markets, platforms, temples, and residential zones filled the city, and merchants travelled from distant lands to exchange obsidian, jade, salt, textiles, and other goods that enriched the city’s economy.

The elite class was supported by tribute and controlled access to knowledge and religious ceremonies and, a such, maintained their position through displays of force and by orchestrating elaborate rituals.

Structures such as the Great Ball Court, the Platform of the Skulls (Tzompantli), and the Temple of the Jaguars reinforced the intertwining of spectacle, religion, and politics. 

The most iconic structure in Chichen Itza is the Pyramid of Kukulcan (El Castillo), which appears to have been a temple and a precise calendrical monument that reflected the Maya understanding of time and astronomy.

The pyramid features four staircases with 91 steps each, which, when added to the platform at the summit, total 365: the number of days in a solar year, which was a deliberate design that confirms the Maya's advanced knowledge of solar cycles and ritual timing.

This calculation aligned with the Haab’ solar calendar, one of several systems that included the ritual Tzolk’in.

Although the Long Count calendar played a major role in other regions, it appears only sporadically at Chichen Itza. 

The pyramid was designed to align with the sun during the spring and autumn equinoxes around March 20–21 and September 22–23 and casts a series of shadows on the northern staircase that form the shape of a serpent slithering toward a carved serpent’s head at the base.

This visual spectacle connected sky movement with the deity Kukulcan, the feathered serpent god tied to the cycles of life and symbols of divine authority.

The ability to design such precise alignments required long-term observation of solar patterns, a deep understanding of geometry, and architectural planning that placed astronomical symbolism at the heart of public ritual. 

Archaeologists have uncovered earlier temple structures and evidence of a natural cenote directly beneath the base after conducting radar scans, which may have support the belief that the pyramid connected the heavens, the surface world, and the watery underworld below.

These various findings indicate that the pyramid expressed the Maya worldview and the sacred geography of their religion. 

East of the Pyramid of Kukulcan, the Temple of the Warriors rises on a stepped platform and features a broad colonnade that is filled with stone pillars that bear carvings of warriors in headdresses who carry weapons and shields, suggesting that military authority and conquest played a major role in the city’s ruling ideology.

These images, combined with murals and wall reliefs showing prisoners and ritual combat, suggest that the temple functioned as a ceremonial stage for asserting power and performing rituals associated with warfare, sacrifice, and divine kingship. 

At the top of the temple sits a chacmool figure, which is a statue that reclines with a bowl on its stomach and likely received offerings such as food, incense, or human hearts, placed there during sacrificial ceremonies carried out by the priesthood.

The chacmool’s placement and the warrior imagery reinforce the message that divine favour depended upon violence, tribute, and obedience, and that the ruling class maintained its authority through fear. 

Archaeologists have found traces of red and blue pigments on the columns and walls, with some evidence suggesting the presence of yellow, indicating that the temple once featured brightly coloured surfaces.

The combination of architectural scale, symbolic sculpture, and colourful paintwork turned the Temple of the Warriors into a public stage for reinforcing the sacred nature of war and the supernatural power of the elite. 

The observatory at Chichen Itza, which is known today as El Caracol, features a round tower atop a rectangular platform, with narrow windows and sightlines that align with key astronomical events such as the movements of Venus and possibly the solstices and equinoxes.

This building is quite unusual in its shape and orientation compared to other Maya structures. 

The cycles of Venus, which appears as both the morning and evening star, carried deep meaning in Maya cosmology, and priests would have used El Caracol to determine the correct dates for rituals, planting, warfare, and political ceremonies.

Venus was often linked with warfare, and some leaders scheduled campaigns at its first appearance in other Maya cities.

The priests or astronomer-priests who used the observatory played a critical role in interpreting sky signs and maintaining ritual order, aligning ritual schedules with sky cycles to maintain sacred harmony. 

By the end of the 12th century, Chichen Itza began to decline in political and economic influence, and over the next century, it lost its position as the dominant city in the region.

The reasons for this decline are still debated, and scholars have proposed multiple factors, including prolonged drought, internal strife, population pressure, or the shifting of trade routes that diminished the city’s economic strength. 

No single cause appears in the archaeological record, and unlike other cities that fell due to warfare or natural disaster, Chichen Itza seems to have experienced a gradual decline.

The rise of rival centres such as Mayapan may have disrupted the alliances and networks that had supported Chichen Itza’s success, and the collapse of the ruling elite likely removed the organising force that had maintained large-scale building projects and tribute systems. 

Although the city fell out of political use, the Sacred Cenote and other religious sites continued to attract pilgrims well into the Postclassic period, as offerings have been found that date long after the decline of urban life.

Archaeologists such as Edward Herbert Thompson dredged the Sacred Cenote in the early 20th century, recovering gold, jade, pottery, and human remains, including those of children.

When the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, they recorded that the ruins still held sacred meaning for local Maya communities, and even today, the ruins are a cultural symbol that continues to inspire wonder.

In recognition of its importance, UNESCO designated Chichen Itza a World Heritage Site in 1988, and in 2007 it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.