Archaeological sights in Uxmal
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Cuadrángulo de las Monjas
The 74-room, sprawling Cuadrángulo de las Monjas is directly west of the Casa del Adivino. Archaeologists guess variously that it was a military academy, royal school or palace complex. The long-nosed face of Chac appears everywhere on the façades of the four separate temples that form the quadrangle. The northern temple, grandest of the four, was built first, followed by the southern, then the eastern and then the western.
Several decorative elements on the exuberant façades show signs of Mexican, perhaps Totonac, influence. The feathered-serpent (Quetzalcóatl, or in Maya, Kukulcán) motif along the top of the west temple's façade is one of these. Note also the stylized…
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Gran Pirámide
Though it's adjacent to the Governor's Palace, a sign by the steps of the Gran Pirámide warns 'it is dangerous to go up' from the rear of the palace. Most visitors ignore the sign and take the shortcut from the palace's southwest corner. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, retrace your route to go back down the hillside stairs and then keep turning left following the base of the platform until you reach the pyramid's steps.
The 32m-high pyramid has been restored only on its northern side. Archaeologists theorize that the quadrangle at its summit was largely destroyed in order to construct another pyramid above it. That work, for reasons unknown, was never completed…
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Casa del Adivino
As you climb the slope to the ruins, the Casa del Adivino comes into view. This tall temple (the name translates as 'Magician's House'), 39m high, was built in an unusual oval shape. It gives rather a bad first impression of Uxmal to the visitor, consisting of round stones held rudely together with lots of cement. What you see is a restored version of the temple's fifth incarnation.
Four earlier temples were completely covered in the final rebuilding by the Maya, except for the high doorway on the west side, which remains from the fourth temple. Decorated in elaborate Chenes style (a style that originated further south), the doorway proper forms the mouth of a gigantic Ch…
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Casa de las Tortugas
To the right at the top of the stairs is the Casa de las Tortugas, which takes its name from the turtles carved on the cornice. The Maya associated turtles with the rain god, Chac. According to Maya myth, when the people suffered from drought so did the turtles, and both prayed to Chac to send rain.
The frieze of short columns, or 'rolled mats,' that runs around the temple below the turtles is characteristic of the Puuc style. On the west side of the building a vault has collapsed, affording a good view of the corbeled arch - remember that the Maya never mastered keystone arch design - that supported it.
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Uxmal
Pronounced oosh-mahl, Uxmal is one impressive set of ruins, easily ranking among the top Maya archaeological sites. It is a large site with some fascinating structures in good condition and bearing a riot of ornamentation. Adding to its appeal is Uxmal’s setting in the hilly Puuc region, which lent its name to the architectural patterns in this area. Puuc means ‘hills, ’ and these, rising up to about 100m, are the first relief from the flatness of the northern and western portions of the peninsula.
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El Palomar
West of the Gran Pirámide sits a structure whose roofcomb is latticed with a pattern reminiscent of the Moorish pigeon houses built into walls in Spain and northern Africa - hence the building's name. The nine honeycombed triangular 'belfries' sit on top of a building that was once part of a quadrangle. The base is so eroded that it is hard for archaeologists to guess its function.
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Casa de la Vieja
Off the southeast corner of the Palacio del Gobernador's platform is a small complex, largely rubble, known as the Casa de la Vieja. In front of it is a small palapa (thatched-roof shelter) sheltering several large phalluses carved from stone. Don't get any ideas; the sign here reads 'Do not sit.'
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