New York State Archives, NYSA_A3045-78_13344
Document Description
The Temple of Kukul Can, also known as the Castle or El Castillo, at the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan. Photograph taken in 1925.
Questions
Where is Chicen Itza?
Who built the city? When did people live there?
What kind of structure is shown in the photograph?
What other ancient cultures built structures like these?
Why do you think people visit Chichen Itza today?
Historical Challenges
Create a map of Mayan civilization at its height.
Interdisciplinary Connections
Math: What contributions did the Maya make to mathematics?
Math: What number was Mayan math based on? What number is our math based on?
Science: What contributions did the Maya make to science?
English Language Arts: Write a poem from the point of view of a Mayan child about the shadow of the Feathered Serpent descending the steps of the Temple of Kukulcan.
Resources
Goodwin, William. Mexico (Modern Nations of the World). San Diego: Lucent, 1999.
Heinrichs, Ann. Mexico (A True Book). Danbury: Children's Press, 1997.
Jermyn, Leslie, and Mary-Jo Reilly. Mexico (Cultures of the World). New York: Benchmark, 2002.
Baquedano, Elizabeth. Aztec, Inca & Maya (DK Eyewitness Books). New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2000.
Bell-Rehwoldt, Sheri. Amazing Maya Inventions You Can Build Yourself. White River Junction, VT: Nomad, 2006.
Coulter, Laurie. Secrets in Stone: All About Maya Hieroglyphs. Boston: Little Brown, 2001.
Fisher, Leonard, Everett. Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Maya. New York: Holiday House, 1999.