Chichen Itza

(Yucatan
Peninsula,
Mexico)

Chichen Itza
Pavel via Flickr
Creative
Commons BY-
NC-ND 2.0
The genius and
adaptability of
Mayan culture
can be seen in
the splendid
ruins of
Chichen Itza.
This powerful
city, a trading
center for
cloth, slaves,
honey and salt,
flourished from
approximately
800 to 1200,
and acted as
the political
and economic
hub of the
Mayan
civilization. The
most familiar
ruin at the site
is El Caracol, a
sophisticated
astronomical
observatory.