Uxmal, a name that means “built three times” or “three harvests”, is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Mayan culturealong with those of Chichen Itza Y Tikal. It is located in the state of Yucatan, Mexico, in the so-called Puuc zone. In 1996 it was declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO.
Its space comprises two principles: firstly, the buildings are oriented in relation to astronomical phenomena, such as the rise and fall of Venus, and secondly, they are adapted to the topography of the place, made up of a series of hills. It came to have an area of 12 km2 and a population of about 20,000 inhabitants. The archaeological zone of Uxmal is made up of fifteen groups of buildings built around patios on a north-south axis. The most prominent are:
Pyramid of the Magician: It is also known as the Sorcerer or the Dwarf, which was given due to a story known as «The Legend of the Dwarf of Uxmal». It has a symbolic meaning, since it represents the thirteen levels that the Mayans considered the sky to have and was related to the movement of the stars.
Ball game: The ball game courts are not common in the cities of the Puuc area. The ball game had a religious connotation, and was related to the movement of the stars.
Governor’s Palace: It is composed of three independent bodies. It contains a widely decorated fretwork with masks of chaakthatched-roof huts, garlands, columns, thrones and feathered headdresses
Turtle House: The building has an ornamentation based on turtles. It has three rooms in the center and two on each side of the building.
Jaguars Platform: In it is a sculpture of two jaguars joined by the thorax. At the foot of the base where the representation of the jaguars is located, the path or sacbé that goes to Kabáh begins.
The Great Pyramid: It consists of nine stepped bases that give access to the building, in the center of which there is a large figurehead of Chaac and a decoration with macaws, a bird associated with the sun.
Chime structure: It had two levels, of the second there are some in the northern part. The decoration of the facade is based on geometric figures reminiscent of a cypress.
The arc: Only its base remains. Due to the resignations of the same it is estimated that the height of the construction could be about 6 meters, with a width of 3 meters.
Pyramid of the Old: It is located near the southwest corner of the Governor’s Palace. Despite its poor condition, remains of the temple that it had on its upper part and another building at its base can still be seen.
Cemetery Quadrangle: The ornamentation based on skulls and bones gave it the name of Cemetery.
Structure of the Phallus: It has smooth facades with a cornice with phallus-shaped structures that must have had the function of draining rainwater.