Chichen Itza

Report Form

Name ______Date ______

CHICHEN ITZA

Use your research skills to answer the questions.

1. Where is Chichen Itza located? ______

2. How tall and wide is El Castillo de Chichen Itza? ______

3. How many steps does El Castillo have, and what do they symbolize? ______

4. El Castillo was recently voted one of seven what? ______

5. Who built Chichen Itza? ______

6. When was El Castillo de Chichen Itza built? ______

7. What is an interesting fact about Chichen Itza? ______

8. Would you like to visit Chichen Itza? Why or why not? ______

ANSWERS TO EL CASTILLO DE CHICHEN ITZA:

1. Chichen Itza is located in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

2. El Castillo de Chichen Itza is 24 meters (about 79 feet) high, plus a 6 meter tall (19.6 feet) temple on top. The square base is 55.3 meters (181.4 feet) long on each side.

3. El Castillo has 365 steps (91 on each of three sides, 92 on the fourth). They symbolize the 365 days of the year.

4. El Castillo was recently voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

5. Chichen Itza was built by the Mayan Civilization.

6. El Castillo de Chichen Itza was built sometime between the 10th and 13th centuries AD. However, Chichen Itza was already inhabited and an important pilgrimage destination in the 1st century BC.

7. Possible interesting facts (accept all true stories) about this landmark include: As is common for Mesoamerican cultures, the El Castillo de Chichen Itza pyramid is built atop an older pyramid. Human sacrifice was practiced at Chichen Itza. There are several ball courts at Chichen Itza where a ball game was played. The largest is quite impressive, measuring 540 ft × 220 ft, with walls 39 feet high. The rules of the game are not known, but it is believed to have resembled racquetball or volleyball, and to have involved human sacrifice at times. El Castillo de Chichen Itza is also known as the Temple of Kukulcán, a feathered serpent-god. Every spring equinox, thousands of tourists visit the site to watch the changing shadows, which some think look like the feathered serpent god crawling down the side of the pyramid. Chichen Itza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

8. Answers will vary. Accept reasonable answers.