Athena Review Image Archive ™
The Iglesia at Chichén Itzá
Façade of the Iglesia at Chichén Itzá (photo: Athena Review)
One
of the earliest structures in the Late Classic zone of Chichén Itzá,
the Iglesia ("church" in Spanish) dates from about AD 600-700, based on
radiocarbon dates from wooden lintels. Located by the east end of the
Nunnery Complex, the Iglesia's exterior frieze and roofcomb are
decorated in the elaborate Puuc style, with a limestone masonry veneer
made up of typical Puuc mosaic elements including Chac masks, stepped
frets, zigzag lines, and pilasters.
Panels flanking the doorways
have four bacabs (Maya bearers of the heavens), along with a crab,
armadillo, snail, and tortoise. The curved appendages sticking out from
the corners are "noses" of the Maya rain god Chac, whose masks are
ubiquitous on Late Classic buildings in the Puuc ("hill") zone of
northern Yucatán. The relatively small (8 x 4.5 m, by 11.3 m high)
Iglesia was used by Catherwood and Stephens during their visit in 1841
as an early darkroom:
"The interior...consists of a single
apartment, once covered with plaster, and along the top of the wall
under the arch are traces of a line of medallions or cartouches in
plaster, which once contained hieroglyphics. ...This chamber, by the
way, was the best we had found for our daguerrotype operations; having
but one door, it was easily darkened..." (Stephens 1843, v2).
Copyright © 1996-2019 Rust Family Foundation (All Rights Reserved).