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Chichen Itza

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Chichen Itza

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Also known as Chichén Itzá

pre-Columbian Maya city in Mexico

AI overview

Chichen Itza was a major city built by the Maya people in what is now Mexico, flourishing during the pre-Columbian era before European contact. It remains historically significant as one of the most important archaeological sites for understanding Maya civilization and culture.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The archeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico.

Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the Northern Maya Lowlands from the Late Classic (c. 600–900 AD) through the Terminal Classic (c. 800–900 AD) and into the early portion of the Postclassic period (c. 900–1200 AD). The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico and of the Puuc and Chenes styles of the Northern Maya lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chichen Itza” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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