Traveling to Maya Ruins in Central America

"Pathway to the Ruins" MM Sikes

Last year, as I researched the Maya ruins in Central America for a novel I was writing, I came across the Temple of Xtoloc. The remains of this small temple are located on the edge of the famous cenote at Chichen Itza known an the Well of Sacrifice.

According to my research, this cenote is quite large, covering a surface of about one acre. The well was used for perhaps as long a period as 500 years and contained not only treasures but also the skeletons of people of many different ages, including children, who were sacrificed in rituals. This information came from A Guide to Ancient Maya Ruins by C. Bruce Hunter which shows a photograph of the well with the temple in the background. From the Internet, I found a description saying that there are actually two cenotes at Chichen Itza and that the one the temple is on is not the sacrificial one but may have served as the source of fresh water supply for the people.

Chichen Itza is a Maya ruins site we visited a few years ago. The well was one of the locations on our tour. I later created a large series of paintings from photographs taken of the many excavated buildings. The painting on the right is one of the series. I made a very large painting of the Well of Sacrifice but not of the Temple of Xtoloc.

Because 2012 is said to be the year the Maya calendar ends, I am especially fascinated with the ruins and why and how this amazing, advanced civilization came to an end. Copan in Honduras, where many of the most intriguing ruins are found, may have been settled as long ago as 2000 BC. Stela B, a large stone carving found at Copan, contains images some people believe are elephants. Sad we know so little of the true history of this part of our world.

Have you visited any of the Maya ruins? If so, what was your reaction? 

(My large series of Maya paintings will be on view in Gallery One at Crossroads Art Center opening May 18. If anyone knows of a expert on the Maya who would like to make a talk about the civilization and the ruins during my gallery exhibition, I would welcome knowing about them.)

Monti

Mary Montague Sikes