The Archaeology of Chichen Itza

Abstract

This chapter is a comprehensive overview of research at Chichen Itza written from an archaeological perspective. The authors present a historical review of excavations, settlement pattern studies, the interpretation of ethnohistoric sources, and the decipherment of hieroglyphic texts. They also discuss some of the main points of contention in Chichen Itza archaeology: its ceramic and architectural sequences, the timing of the end of construction, and the question of whether to consider it a Terminal Classic or Postclassic site. Based upon a careful consideration of multiple lines of evidence—including new data about ceramics, stratigraphy, and paleoclimatology—they conclude by offering a succinct picture of the urban growth of Chichen Itza, the development of its artistic and architectural programs, and its interactions with surrounding sites.

Heads, Skulls, and Sacred Scaffolds. New Studies on Ritual Body Processing and Display in Chichen Itza and Beyond

“…Skeletal Discard in the Subsoil Great Platform Near the Castillo Abundant bone discard littered the subsoil in the immediate vicinity of the Castillo, trenched extensively during a recent archaeological effort led by Cobos (Braswell and Peniche May 2012;Cobos et al 2016). Especially in close range of the Castillo, such culturally processed human remains blended with faunal remains in the fills of Layer IV, which has been radio-carbon-dated between a.d. 886 and 981 (Ringle 2017:130, Figure 9; Volta and Braswell 2014). Except for a partly articulated cervical spine from Test Pit 119, all documented anatomical fragments appeared isolated and highly commingled.…”