When you say “pyramid”, most people assume you are talking about the big three, the Great Pyramids in Egypt. They imagine windswept Saharan desert, camels, the Nile and the Sphinx. They do not imagine jaguars, jungle, grasslands, and cenotes.

The famous Mayan pyramid at Chichen Itza are a well-known site of the ancient civilization of the Maya people, whose descendants still live in the area.

The science and engineering behind their construction is mind-boggling. Although the Maya civilization could build a perfectly circular tower, they never invented the wheel. They had amazing astronomical precision, building this pyramid on the identical latitude as the Great Pyramids of Egypt. The acoustic features are just as remarkable. This side of the main pyramid echoes and amplifies sound for public gatherings.

Chichen Itza

While you may admire the genius and precise engineering of the architecture, the history and purpose of many of the buildings was to be the sites of human sacrifice.

Unwilling sacrifice victims were brought to this temple. The statue at the top of the stairs symbolizes “Repent”. His lap was the last place that victims would ever lay down their heads.

Willing sacrifice victims drowned themselves in the local cenotes, which are deep underground wells of fresh water that sustain all the plant life in the Yucatán region. I descended into one of these caverns, despite my intense dislike of being underground. It was one of those places that was too quiet. The bats slept above my head and catfish patrolled the waters below.

The grim theme continues at the arena ruins across the yard. This was where the Maya played a sport similar to basketball. Except the ring is sideways and the winners are executed.

The Maya honoured and memorialized their greatest athletes and warriors through execution. After decapitating the winners, they chiseled the likenesses of their skulls into the walls of the arena.

MVPs for the Maya Deadly Basketball League

It was thought that these champions earned a good afterlife, so there was fierce competition to win these tournaments. Only the best warriors from the prominent families could enter. The peasant and slaves classes were doing all the labour for building and farming.

Much like the Great Pyramids, today we can only guess how these societies determined precise astronomical and geographical alignment of their buildings.