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More than 80 different theories or variations of theories attempting to explain the Classic Maya collapse have been identified. [12] From climate change to deforestation to lack of action by Maya kings, there is no universally accepted collapse theory, although drought has gained momentum in the first quarter of the 21st century as the leading explanation, as more scientific studies are conducted.
Sylvanus G. Morley proposed that after the Maya buildings in Chichen Itza were constructed, the leaders of Chichen Itza, the Itza, abandoned Chichen Itza. After they abandoned Chichen, the Itza wandered for a time, found a renegade group of Toltecs led by Kukulcan, and subsumed them, learning new crafts and traditions in the process.
The Maya name "Chichen Itza" means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza." This derives from chi' , meaning "mouth" or "edge", and chʼen or chʼeʼen , meaning "well". Itzá is the name of an ethnic-lineage group that gained political and economic dominance of the northern peninsula.
Chichen Itza, in the north, became what was probably the largest, most powerful and most cosmopolitan of all Maya cities. [53] One of the most important cities in the Guatemalan Highlands at this time was Qʼumarkaj , also known as Utatlán, the capital of the aggressive Kʼicheʼ Maya kingdom .
Chichen Itza rose to prominence in the north in the 8th century AD, coincident with the abandonments occurring in the south, which underlines the economic and political factors involved in the collapse. [73] Chichen Itza became what was probably the largest, most powerful and most cosmopolitan of all Maya cities. [80]
In 1967, an underground cistern known as a chultun was discovered near a sacred body of water at Chichen Itza, an important ancient Maya city on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Skeletal remains of ...
The Spanish bombardment caused heavy loss of life on the island; [203] the surviving Itza abandoned their capital and swam across to the mainland with many dying in the water. [204] After the battle the surviving defenders melted away into the forests, leaving the Spanish to occupy an abandoned Maya town. [ 194 ]
El Castillo (Spanish pronunciation: [el kas'tiʎo], 'the Castle'), also known as the Temple of Kukulcan is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán. The temple building is more formally designated by archaeologists as Chichen Itza Structure 5B18.