© Copyright Lorena Loo
Chichen Itza
and the Mayan Doomsday Prophecy
©Lorena Loo
and the Mayan Doomsday Prophecy
©Lorena Loo
Chichen Itza was the capital of the Mayan civilization. Its most famous structure is that of the Pyramid of Kukulkan. Kukulkan was the Mayan name for the great Feathered Serpent God. The Aztecs called this same god Quetzalcoatl.
The Kukulkan pyramid is a square-based one the Mayans built on top of the foundations of previous temples circa 1000-1200 AD. Axes that run through the northwest and southwest corner are aligned to the points of the rising sun at summer solstice and the setting sun at winter solstice.
There are nine terraces on this pyramid and each side of the pyramid has a stairway of 91 steps. Added to the last step or platform at the pinnacle, that makes 365 steps which is the number of days in a mean solar year or tropical year on Earth. The stairways also divide the terraces on each side into 18 segments. These segment supposedly represented the 18 months in the Mayan calendar. The Kukulkan pyramid thus was a 3-dimensional calendar for the Mayans.
During the equinoxes, the pyramid is the setting for a unique shadow play of the setting sun's rays. At these times, the western balustrade is bathed in sunlight, causing the appearance of 7 isosceles triangles. These triangles form the body of a serpent extending 37 yards in length and which creeps down the pyramid's face until it unites with a large stone serpent's head at the base of the stairway.
The Great Pyramid at Giza also has the number of days in a mean solar year of the Earth built into its design. If you divide the length of the side of the pyramid's base by the sacred unit of measurement used by the Egyptians, the sacred cubit, you get 365.242 which corresponds to the number of days in a mean solar year to 3 decimal place accuracy. In turn, the sacred cubit is tied to the dimensions of the Earth as it is equal to one-ten millioneth the mean polar radius of the Earth in inches. Curious how two vastly different ancient civilizations separated by great distances geographically and epochs of time would built such stone monuments linked to time.
There are some fascinating possibilities in terms of sacred geometry as it pertains to the structure of the Pyramid of Kulkulkan. These await the opportunity for me to obtain detailed stats regarding its design.
For a FlashEarth/Google Maps view of the location of Chichen Itza, click here.
Below is an interesting History Channel Documentary from its Decoding the Past series. This one is called The Mayan Doomsday Prophecy. Enjoy.
The Kukulkan pyramid is a square-based one the Mayans built on top of the foundations of previous temples circa 1000-1200 AD. Axes that run through the northwest and southwest corner are aligned to the points of the rising sun at summer solstice and the setting sun at winter solstice.
There are nine terraces on this pyramid and each side of the pyramid has a stairway of 91 steps. Added to the last step or platform at the pinnacle, that makes 365 steps which is the number of days in a mean solar year or tropical year on Earth. The stairways also divide the terraces on each side into 18 segments. These segment supposedly represented the 18 months in the Mayan calendar. The Kukulkan pyramid thus was a 3-dimensional calendar for the Mayans.
During the equinoxes, the pyramid is the setting for a unique shadow play of the setting sun's rays. At these times, the western balustrade is bathed in sunlight, causing the appearance of 7 isosceles triangles. These triangles form the body of a serpent extending 37 yards in length and which creeps down the pyramid's face until it unites with a large stone serpent's head at the base of the stairway.
The Great Pyramid at Giza also has the number of days in a mean solar year of the Earth built into its design. If you divide the length of the side of the pyramid's base by the sacred unit of measurement used by the Egyptians, the sacred cubit, you get 365.242 which corresponds to the number of days in a mean solar year to 3 decimal place accuracy. In turn, the sacred cubit is tied to the dimensions of the Earth as it is equal to one-ten millioneth the mean polar radius of the Earth in inches. Curious how two vastly different ancient civilizations separated by great distances geographically and epochs of time would built such stone monuments linked to time.
There are some fascinating possibilities in terms of sacred geometry as it pertains to the structure of the Pyramid of Kulkulkan. These await the opportunity for me to obtain detailed stats regarding its design.
For a FlashEarth/Google Maps view of the location of Chichen Itza, click here.
Below is an interesting History Channel Documentary from its Decoding the Past series. This one is called The Mayan Doomsday Prophecy. Enjoy.
Text copyrighted © by Lorena Loo