The ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza has a great deal of history, mathematical and astronomical genius, and time hidden behind the limestone and aged walls in south central Yucatan of Mexico. Chichen Itza spans an area of about one square mile, which includes several temples and structures such as the Castillo, the cenotes, the Ball Court, and the Temple of the Warriors. A.D. Archeologists used Mayan inscriptions and ceramics in their carbon dating. The Mayans constructed many buildings and pyramids, and most are decorated with the faces of four Mayan rain gods called chacs. Buildings were used as observatories, for sacrificial use, for defense, to worship gods, and to live in.
Pyramids are the most recognizable Mayan structures.
Their basic function was as a raised altar. El Castillo has a mound of one acre in area and rises to a height of 100 feet. The structure was built over an earlier colonnaded palace. In this palace an altar of red stone is in the form of a jaguar and decorated with disks of green jade. On the top of this magnificent structure, the temple Kukulcan stands.