12. Post Classic

Question 1

The toltecs and tula

Answer 1

Toltecs were a Nahua-speaking group who
resided at Tula

Tula located 80 km NE of central mexico

distinctive style: Toltec warrior with distinctive pillbox head dress , stylized bird or butterfly on chest
Architectural reliefs of prowling jaguars and
coyotes, eagles eating hearts

Question 2

Chichen Itza and the toltecs

Answer 2

Early Colonial period sources speak of
arrival into the Maya area from the west
of a man calling himself K’uk’ulkan
(k’uk’ul = “feathered” and kan )

Accounts of this event may be confused
or intentionally obfuscated for political
purposes

Regardless, “arrival” of Toltecs (whether
real or a story) at Chichen Itza is
documented in artwork and other
artifac

Question 3

Chichen Itza Murals

Answer 3

Depicts toltecs warriors arrival from sea. In next scene, mayan are seen coming out in rafts and being defeated by toltec warriors. Battle moves to land where the mayan are again beaten by the toltec.

Question 4

Postclassic Chichen Itza

Answer 4

new architectural
techniques and motifs were
imported by Toltec Mexico
and synthesized with Puuc
Maya forms

Question 5

Temple of the warriors

Answer 5

emple of the Warriors has square
columns, decorated on all four sides
with reliefs of Toltec warriors

A Chacmool looks out into the main
plaza
(Chacmools are ubiquitous at Chichen Itza and Tula but appear as far south
as Costa Rica in the Postclassic)

Question 6

El Castillo

Answer 6

Four-sided temple-pyramid
dedicated to K’uk’ulkan

Four stairways leading to single
temple building

Around spring and autumn
equinoxes, the late afternoon sun
strikes the northwest corner of
the temple and creates a series of
shadows, creating the illusion of
a feathered serpent

Terminal form of El Castillo
encases an earlier pyramid
and temple, which is well
preserved

Superstructure contained
stone throne in the form of asnarling jaguar, painted redand inlayed with shell and
jade

Question 7

Great Ball Court

Answer 7

Largest ballcourt in Mesoamerica

I-shaped playing field, with small
temples at each end of the playing field

Large rings used for scoring
Reliefs show players being decapitated

Question 8

Sacred Cenote

Answer 8

Numerous objects found inside the Sacred Cenote, including jade,
turquoise, and gold objects in Toltec style

Sacred cenote also has objects from as far away as Panama and from all
time periods of Mesoamerican history
Towards Spanish contact period it was used for human sacrifice

Question 9

Post Classic Chichen Itza

Answer 9

Postclassic Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza dominated the Yucatan from about 900 – ca. 1200 CE. Engaged in coastal trade with port settlements along cost.
Most monumental architecture had
been constructed by 1100 CE and city
went into decline shortly thereafte

Question 10

Books of Chilam Balam

Answer 10

17th and 18th century collections of Maya
writing

Attributed to legendary author called Chilam
Balam

Each book is named after small Yucatan
towns where they were originally kept
Preserve important traditional knowledge on
history, prophecy, religion, ritual, literature,
the calendar, astronomy, and medicine
Written in Yucatec using the Latin alphabet
Provide a valuable retrospective account of
the history of the northern Yucatan in
Postclassic times

Question 11

Postclassic Political
Dynamics: The Itza

Answer 11

The Itza are a Maya ethnic group, still
living in Peten district of Guatemala

while the Toltecs were at Chichen
Itza, the Itza were settled on the coast of
Campeche at Champoton

while the Toltecs were at Chichen
Itza, the Itza were settled on the coast of
Campeche at Champoton
Driven from this town ca. 1200 CE, they
migrated to the Peten of Guatemala to
area near Lake Peten Itza

In time, a group of Itza moved east and
travelled inland north, arriving at ruined
city that upon their arrival took on the
name Chichen Itza (1224-1244 CE)

Question 12

Mayapan

Answer 12

Between 1263-1283 CE, the Itza founded Mayapan, while some
members of the group remained
behind at Chichen Itza

The founder of Mayapan, named
K’uk’ulkan II, populated the city
with provincial rulers and their
families

Question 13

Mayapan Contd

Answer 13

Mayapan is the major Late
Postclassic center and the last
great Maya city
15,000 - 17,000 populations
Mayapan has no ballcourt but has temple of kukulkan at its centre (smaller immitation of el castillo)

Question 14

Round Temple

Answer 14

Next to the Temple of
K’uk’ulkan
Round structure on top of a
rectangular platform
Entrances on four sides
aligned with cardinal
directions
Likely a scaled-down version
of Chichen Itza’s Caracol
observatory

Question 15

Daily Life in Mayapan

Answer 15

Mayapan was a major commercial center,
trading luxury goods such as cotton, salt, and
honey for obsidian and metals (which they
forged

Craftspeople made copper objects (bells,
miniature axes, fishhooks, other items of
adornment

Food grown in fields outside the city walls
though it was also likely traded in
Controlled salt production on north coast of
Yucatan

Question 16

Ritual Practice in the late postclassic

Answer 16

By the Late Postclassic, ritual practice was
largely occurred at the house, in smaller shrines
and oratories

Large, molded ceramic censers in shapes of
deities are common (incense burners

Question 17

Downfall of the Mayapan: The Kokom and the Xiu Lineages

Answer 17

Shortly after the death of Mayapan’s founder, a new leader named Hunak Keel of the Kokom lineage (an offshoot of the Itzas) seized power and ruled as an autocrat

He then attacked Chichen Itza, establishing Kokom dominance over the Yucatan

After Kokom rule of Mayapan (for some time), a revolt broke out, led by the Xiu lineage, and all members of the Kokom ruling house were killed

After this event, much of the city is said to have been destroyed

Colonial accounts put the revolt between 1420 and 1446 CE

Question 18

Independent states of yucatan

Answer 18

fter the fall of Mayapan, the Yucatan is
breaks up into independent rival
provinces, each ruled by a prominent
lineage
Provinces constantly at war with each
other, well into the Spanish contact
period
Few archaeological sites attributed to this
period

Question 19

spanish contact

Answer 19

The Yucatan was “discovered” in
1517 by Hernández de Córdoba, who
died of wounds inflicted by Maya
warriors off the coast of Campeche
Hernán Cortés arrives in 1519, but
the Yucatan was largely left alone as
the Spanish were drawn to the gold of
Central Mexican culture