Rise of Chichén Itzá
While the great cities of the southern lowlands were being abandoned, the northern Yucatán Peninsula experienced a florescence of urban culture centered on Chichén Itzá. Its dramatic expansion and iconic monuments — El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan), the Great Ball Court, the Temple of the Warriors, and the Caracol observatory — took place between roughly 900 and 1200 CE. At its height, Chichén Itzá was likely the largest city in the Maya world, with a population estimated at 35,000 to 90,000. The site's architecture and iconography share striking parallels with Tula, the Toltec capital in central Mexico. Recent scholarship leans toward explaining these parallels through shared artistic conventions and long-distance trade rather than military conquest. The sacred cenote at Chichén Itzá — a natural sinkhole 60 meters in diameter — was the site's most important ritual location, receiving offerings of jade, gold, incense, ceramics, and human sacrifices over centuries.
- Year: 900 CE
- Category: Cultural
