21ARC 1.

4 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
Dr.R.Jagannathan
THE YELLOW RIVER (CHINESE) CIVILIZATION
in the Yellow River valley (c. 2000 BC -c. 200 BC).
THE YELLOW RIVER (CHINESE) CIVILIZATION
in the Yellow River valley (c. 2000 BC -c. 200 BC).

The Yellow River civilization started with Chinese cities coming up around 2000 BC in the valley of
the Yellow River(Hwang Ho).
Shang Dynasty-1700 BC
Zhou Dynasty-1027 BC

Shaping of settlements
• Natural barriers isolated China from other civilizations-Mountains and desert
• Had to rely on their own food
• Two major rivers: Huang he, Yangtze became the cradle
• The Silk Road was a major part of the agricultural trade and cultural immersion
SHAPING OF SETTLEMENTS
• Chinese civilization began with the
Shang dynasty along the Huang He
(Yellow) river.
Main Ideas:
• China’s physical geography made
farming possible but travel and
communication difficult
• Civilization began in China along the
Huang He and Chang Jiang (Yangzi)
rivers
• China’s first dynasties helped Chinese
society develop and made many other
achievements
• China was separated from the Indian
subcontinent by the Himalayas &
separated from most of Asia by deserts
• Separation resulted in China
developing its own unique culture and
sense of identity without much cultural
diffusion
• Even today, Chinese culture is very
different from “western” society
THE BEGINNING OF CIVILIZATION
• The rivers flood leaving behind a fertile silt that is perfect
for farming
• 7000 BC- farmers grow rice along the middle of the
Chang Jang Valley
• To the North on the Huang He, soil was better for growing
cereals like millet and wheat
• They also fished and hunted with bows and
arrowsDomesticated animals such as pigs and sheep
• Large towns grew along the Huang He River
• Burials like Egyptians with tombs filled with objects
• Wealthy were buried with jade
NIUHELIANG RITUAL CENTER
 NIUHELIANG RITUAL CENTER 3500 BCE

▪ Consisted of at least fourteen burial mounds,

altars, and platform areas spread out over several
hills.
▪ no evidence of village settlements nearby, and
yet its size is clearly much larger than one clan or
village could support. In other words, though rituals
would have been performed here for the elites,
the large area implies that this was a regional
centre attracting supplicants from far afield.
▪ A key building was a structure that is presumed to
have been a Goddess Temple. Sited at near the
top of the hill, it was about 25 meters long and
about 2 meters wide.
▪ Two lobes branched out symmetrically about a
third of the way from the entrance with one
asymmetrical lobe at the rear. The walls, made of
loam reinforced by a web of branches, lean
toward each other to form a type of tunnel,
maybe around 3 meters high at its apex.
▪ From its footings we know that the walls were
ornamented with elaborate geometric designs
made with clay in high relief and painted yellow,
red, and white.
▪ Near the northern end of the tunnel,
archaeologists uncovered parts of a clay figure,
including a head, torso, and arms, with jade eyes
as well as a shoulder and breasts.
Figure 7.33a, b, c, d: (a) general territory showing archaeological sites; (b) map
NIUHELIANG RITUAL CENTER
▪ As the name of the site suggests, the statue
was interpreted by the excavators as a
representation of a goddess. But it would be a
mistake to assume that this was a deity in the
modern sense. It was most probably
a guardian figure.
▪ Furthermore, the structure was most certainly
not a temple since it could not hold many
people.

▪ It was probably a charnel house, where the

dead were stored until the time of a secondary
burial, with the statue not so much a deity as a
protector.
▪ To the south of this structure there was an oval
building of unknown purpose, and to the north
overlooking the temple a large platform where
ceremonial sacrificial activities took place. Pig
remains have been found throughout the site,
and probably were an important element in the
sacrifices.
NIUHELIANG RITUAL CENTER
▪ Many of the Niuheliang tombs are surrounded by
broken pottery cylinders, thousands of them, in
fact. These cylinders were open at both ends and
served as drums with hide stretched over the
openings. In shamanistic terms they were used to
communicate with the spiritual world.
▪ Jade was also associated with shamanistic rituals
as it facilitated the connection between the
deceased. A jade bird, for example, was found
under a skull in one burial. The making of jade
objects was carried out on a large scale by the
Hongshan. Where the jade came from has
not been determined, possibly from the north
Changbaishan region some 500 kilometers to the
east, meaning that it was acquired through trade.
▪ At the entrance to the Niuheliang valley there is
an artificial hill, with a ring of squared, white stones
encircling its base. Another ring of white stones is
embedded in the middle of the height of the
mound, and a third was placed near the top.
Artefacts found near the top of the
mound include crude clay crucibles used for
smelting copper. Since the top of a hill is a
surprising place to melt copper, the structure
seems to have been meant for ritual events
involving smelting.
 BANPO- YANGSHO CULTURE
▪ Banpo, located in the Yellow River valley (near the modern-day city of Xi'an) and dating
from about 4500 BCE, was one of several large, well-organized settlements belonging to the
Yangshao Culture, which developed to the south of Niuheliang along the Yellow River.

▪ It was surrounded by a ditch or moat 5 to 6 meters wide,

probably for drainage and defense.

▪ The homes were circular mud and wood structures with

overhanging thatched roofs, all raised on shallow
foundations with fire pits at the center.

▪ Entrance ramps sloped down into the dwelling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMQUxjC7sDY&ab_channel=Archaeosoup
▪ The dead were buried either in the
back of nearby caves or in simple pits
outside the village in a communal
burial area. Children, it seems, were
interred in urns, just outside their homes.

▪ Within the town are structures

with large open plazas and
storage holes, which are
indicative of civic hierarchy
and organization.
▪ At the center of the town was
a large house, presumed to
be a community center,
which was built of a heavy
timber construction of a type
that was to become
traditional in Chinese
architecture.
▪ One area of the village was dedicated to the
production of pottery, indicating the emergence of
proto-industrial specialization.
▪ One of the oldest kilns in the world can be found
here.
▪ Pottery was used not only in daily life but in mortuary
rituals.
▪ The principal crop was millet.
THE XIA DYNASTY (2000-1500 BCE)

▪ The Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty in

China. They were likely to be a Bronze
Age society.

▪ Later written stories of the time period tell

of a horrible flood. Yu the Great, the
founder of the Xia Dynasty, dug channels
to drain the water back into the ocean.
It took him over ten years to complete
and created the major waterways of
north China.
▪ Xia dynasty is related to the excavations
at Erlitou in central Henan province,
where a bronze smelter from around 2000
BC was unearthed.
▪ Early markings from this period found on
pottery and shells are thought to be
ancestral to modern Chinese characters.
▪ With few clear records matching the
Shang oracle bones, the Xia era remains
poorly understood and little is known
about the architecture of Xia Dynasty.
▪ According to mythology, the dynasty
ended around 1600 BC as a
consequence of the Battle of Mingtiao.
THE SHANG DYNASTY (1700-1027 BCE)

▪ Also known as YIN dynasty

▪ Took over China in 1600 BC
▪ Ruled China for about 700 years
▪ Took over 1800 city-states
▪ They divided their government ,controlled by loyal governors (Nobles appointed by the king to
preform certain duties & land lords)
 King • Head of political & religious life

• Advisors to King
Nobles • Government & religious officials
• Land Lords
Warriors • From the far regions
leaders
• Pottery
• Clothes
Artisans • Tools
• weapons
• Worked long hours
Farmers • Little pay
• Over taxed
• Lowest rank
Slaves • Important labor
resource
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

▪ They farmed millet, wheat, barley, & rice

▪ They grew silkworms, dogs, pigs, & sheep
▪ They had accomplished metal metal workers &
craftsmen (bronze containers for cooking &
religious ceremonies, axes, knives, jade
ornaments
▪ Military developed bronze body armor,
powerful bows, & war chariots
▪ Astrologers created a calendar based on the
cycles of the moon.
▪ More than 2,000 symbols to express words or
ideas
▪ Today’s Chinese symbols are still based on the
Shang Dynasty symbols
▪ Archeologist have found these symbols on
cattle bones and turtle shells
▪ Priests carved questions about the future on the
bones & shells, heated them up till they
cracked, and then read the oracles or
predictions from the cracks
RELIGION

▪ Polytheistic
▪ Top god was Shang Ti - the
Founder of the Shang
Dynasty began in this
period, as did the sacrifices
to the gods
▪ When Kings died,
thousands of slaves were
executed to serve him in
the after-life.
▪ The kings tomb would be
filled with objects and food
that he would need in the
after-life - like Egyptians.
 SYSTEM

GOVERNMENT KINGS RULED, NOBLES ADVISED

RELIGION KING AT CENTER OF RELIGION, PRIESTS USED

ORACLE BONES TO MAKE PREDICTIONS

SOCIETY ROYAL FAMILY/NOBLES AT HIGHEST LEVEL.

ARTISANS AT MIDDLE LEVEL, FARMERS, SLAVES
AT LOWER LEVELS

ACHIEVEMENTS WRITING SYSTEM, USE OF BRONZE,

CALENDAR, WAR CHARIOTS, AND BOWS
ZHENGZHOU, CAPITAL OF THE
SHANG DYNASTY

▪ Royal person became viewed as a symbol of

cosmic powers.
▪ Zhengzhou, was the first capital of the Shang
Dynasty.
▪ It was an immense city, with east wall
measuring 1.7 kms, surrounded by small
villages, workshop areas and bronze fondries.
▪ Shang moved their center several times, finally
settling in YIN.
▪ The central building complex consisted of a
building with 50 meter wide courtyard.
▪ Behind it was an open air platform at the center
of which rested a square, cosmological centre
where sacrifices were made.
▪ All buildings were ritual structures, regardless of
what practical uses may be ascribed to them.
THE ROYAL CITY OF SHANG DYNASTY
• In the cities people lived in rectangular
houses laid out in rows, built of wood and
rammed earth. In the center of the city,
there was a big palace or temple on a
high earth platform. One building at An-
yang was a big hall with pillars all the
way around it.
• These buildings can be compared to
Greek temples from around 800 BC,
which also have wooden columns all the
way around them and thatched, slanted
roofs.
• There was a city wall of rammed earth
around the Shang capital at An-yang.
These were built by piling up dirt and
pounding it until it was as hard as rock.
Other people at that time were building
rammed earth altars, in circular patterns
like this one to worship Heaven, and
square ones to worship Earth.
• In the summertime, people moved out of
their dark sod houses and lived instead in
a tree-house built on a wooden
platform, with the roof made of poles
and branches. Living high up in the air
kept them safe from animals and snakes
Shang Dynasty
Altar
THE ZHOU DYNASTY

▪ Western Zhou dynasty- 1046 -771 BCE and Eastern Zhou dynasty – 771- 256 BCE
▪ The longest lasting Dynasty in Chinese history- 900 years
▪ Nomadic farmers settled near the Shang Dynasty’s kingdom
▪ They were skilled fighters & farmers
▪ They used iron weapons (stronger than the Shang’s bronze weapons)
▪ These periods were distinguished by
relocation of the capital city from Hao
in the west to Luoyang in Henan
province.
GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
▪ After the Zhou overtook the
Shang Dynasty- they had to get
the people to accept them as
the new kings.
▪ They claimed that heaven
granted the emperors the right to
rule based on their ability to
govern well and fairly.
▪ The Son of Heaven gives the right
to a just ruler
▪ The overthrow of a ruler meant
he had lost the Mandate of
Heaven because he was no
longer worthy of it.

KING GIVES LAND TO THE LORDS

LORDS PREFORM MILITARY SERVICE

LORDS PROTECT THE PEASANTS

PEASANTS WORK THE FARMLAND &

SERVES NOBLES
 RITUAL COMPLEX
▪ Ritual halls became part of the standard architecture vocabulary where elite assembled as
per their status in the social hierarchy.
▪ The components of the temple were a gatehouse, a central court, the ritual hall and its
flanking halls.
▪ A reconstruction of the ritual complex at Fengchu, shows an axially and symmetrically
arranged series of buildings and courtyards framed on three sides by a walled enclosure.
▪ Luoyang, the capital of Eastern Zhou, also known as Wangcheng, or the Ruler’s city.
▪ The master craftsman constructs the state capital. He makes a square nine li of each side;
each side has three gates.
▪ Within the capital are nine north-south and nine east west streets. The north-south streets are
nine carriage tracks in width.
▪ On the left (as one faces south, or to the east) is the Ancestral Temple, and to the right (west)
are the Altars of Soil and Grain.
▪ In the front is the Hall of Audience and behind, the markets.
 CITY PLAN
▪ Drawings of Luoyang from the 15th
and 17th centuries illustrate its
salient features, with the addition of
the inner city walls.
▪ Not far from the temple one finds
soil and grain altars, the private or
sleeping chambers (qin), and the
markets.
▪ In 1038 BCE, the Duke of Zhou
founded a new city, Chengzhou
("The Accomplished Zhou"), to the
north of the Luo River.
▪ The city, which closely resembles
the ideas of the Wangcheng plan,
had a palace at the center, three
markets to the north and to the
south, an ancestral temple, and,
next to it, altars of soil and grain.
▪ It was destroyed in a civil war in 510
BCE and rebuilt with a modified
design and with a new name,
Luoyang, which is its current name.
 ARCHITECTURE
▪ There had been a lot of big palaces and
shrines. These palaces were built mainly of Huge public works, new dikes,
big wooden beams. They had rammed
earth walls, like the buildings of the Shang dams and canals, better
Dynasty. They had courtyards. Archaeology agriculture, transportation,
tells us that some of these buildings had clay and communication
roof tiles.
▪ Rich people's houses had walls around them
and courtyards and more private areas for
the women in the back.
▪ The Zhou emperors made laws about how
fancy house could be. Only the emperors
were allowed to have artists carve their
pillars and paint them red. Only the very
richest families could paint their pillars black.
People who were not so rich painted their
pillars yellow.
▪ Most people were too poor to have any
pillars at all in their house, and they just had
rammed earth walls, whitewashed or
plastered to keep them clean, with a firepit
in the center
 RELIGIONS IN CHINA
Confucianism
▪ Kung Fu-Tzu,the founder lived from 551-479 BC
▪ It is not a religion, but an ethical code of morals
for individuals, society, and government
▪ Primary goals: order, harmony, peace and
happiness on earth
▪ Achieved through education, self-effort, and self-
reflection

Taosim
▪ Lao Tse was the founder of this philosophy. He
lived before Confucius, but his teachings took
longer to take root
▪ Taoism grew as a reaction to the spread of
Confucianism and Buddhism
▪ Tao (Dao) means “The Way” or “The Path”
▪ Focus on achieving balance and harmony in the
universe and your life
▪ Nature represents balance & the way you live
▪ Key concept: “Effortless doing” occurs when
man’s efforts & actions are in harmony with the
universe & not in conflict with the natural order
▪ Harmony with nature
 TYPES OF ANCIENT CHINESE ARCHITECTURE
Classification by structure

▪ Chinese pavilions

▪ Terraces

▪ Storeyed pavilions
TYPES OF ANCIENT CHINESE ARCHITECTURE

CHINESE PAVILIONS
• Chinese Pavilions are
covered structures without
surrounding walls.
• Round, square, triangular
• Practical function:
• used for military and
governmental purposes
• as a place for rest
• as a roof to a stone tablet
 TYPES OF ANCIENT CHINESE ARCHITECTURE
TERRACES
▪ As an ancient architectural structure of
Chinese, the tai was a very much elevated
terrace with a flat top, generally built of
earth and stone and surfaced with brick.
▪ as an observatory
▪ as beacon towers along the Great Wall
▪ in honor of the sincere friendship
TYPES OF ANCIENT CHINESE ARCHITECTURE
STOREYED PAVILLIONS
▪ Storeyed Pavilions were like simple pavilions
stacked on top of each other
▪ used in ancient times for the storage of
important articles and documents
▪ a place where educated men used to gather
to write articles and hold banquets
▪ used for enjoying the sights
MAYAN ARCHITECTURE (PRE COLUMBIAN CIVILIZATION)
Mesoamerican Architecture
 The three major pre-Columbian civilizations that
existed in central and south America were
Maya,
Aztec, and
Inca

The Mayans lived in Yucatan Peninsula.

The Aztecs lived in Central Mexico .
The Incas lived in the Andes mountains and Peru.
 MAYAN - MESOAMERICAN
The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization
developed by the Maya peoples, and noted for its logo
syllabic script—the most sophisticated and highly
developed writing system in pre-Columbian Americas—as
well as for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar,
and astronomical system.

"Maya" is a modern term used to refer collectively to the

various peoples that inhabited this area. They did not call
themselves "Maya" and did not have a sense of common
identity or political unity.

Today, their descendants, known collectively as the

Maya, number well over 6 million individuals, speak more MESOAMERICAN – MIDDLE AMERICA
than twenty-eight surviving Mayan languages, and reside
in nearly the same area as their ancestors.
AZTECS - MESOAMERICAN

The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican culture that

flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic
period from 1300 to 1521.
Their capital Tenochitlan was in the middle of a
lake.
The Aztecs were polytheistic which meant they
believed In many gods.

MESOAMERICAN – MIDDLE AMERICA

INCAS - ANDEAN
The Andean civilizations were complex societies of
many cultures and peoples mainly developed in the
river valleys of the coastal deserts of Peru. The Incas
lived in the Andes mountains and Peru.
They were also polytheistic.
No written languages
Used knots as messages
Practiced animal sacrifice and occasionally
children
Incas used metals for décor.
 MAYAN ARCHITECTURE
The Mayan civilization developed in the region of
Mesoamerica, including the southwest of Mexico,
Guatemala and Belize, and the west of El Salvador and
Honduras.

MESOAMERICAN – MIDDLE AMERICA

MAYAN ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY

Pre classic Period 3500 BCE – 350 CE

• Also called Formative Period, it is considered
that in this period they developed into a
great culture.
• Developed others activities as the metallurgy,
the ceramic and the elaboration of textiles.

Classic Period 300 CE – 900 CE

• In this period the Mayans reached their
maximum developed.
• The construction of large cities and the
occupation in Guatemala and Honduras.
• The soil exhaustion forced them to seek new
lands for Arable farming.

Post classic Period 900 CE – 1521 CE

• Is characterized by the formation of big
empires with politics -expansionist, so they
dedicated to conquering others towns.
• After the Spanish arrived this culture
disappeared mysteriously.
 SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Caste (membership hereditary and movement rare) • Nobles: They were priests, warriors, bureaucrats and
Little known about women, but evidence of city-state queens businessmen. They exercised power. It belonged to
them only by birth.
• Artisans: Elaborated the objects used by the nobility.
• Farmers: They lived around of the cities and taxed a
third of what they produced
• Slaves: Prisoners of war who were sold to do work or to
be sacrificed in rituals.

ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION
• The base of their economics was the corn, cotton and
cocoa.
• There were no coins for trade only barter.
• The maritime transport was very important in the
development of trade.

RELIGION
The Mayans had many gods, and each god represents a
natural phenomenon.

Between the most important Mayan gods are:

• Hunab
• Kukulkán
• Chaak
• Kinch Ahau
• Ah Puch
• Ex Chuah
• They made sacrifices in honor of their gods.
• Initially they made sacrifice with animal but later with humans.
• The Mayans had a holy book, the Popol Vuh where tell about
the origin of the world, the history of the gods and the Quiché
towns.
CULTURE
• Corn (maize), beans, squash, chilies for flavour,
domesticated turkey
• Loved dance, music
• pok-a-tuk (pok-a-tok) Maya ball game
• Losers (including coach) were sacrificed
• Pierced ears, tattoos, body painting, straight black hair,
• Large headdress for importance (Pacal, leader of
Palenque, to right)
TRADE AND ECONOMY

• Salt valued from Yucatan

coast (preserve food,
medicine, religious
ceremonies) from north
• granite from low mountains
of Belize
• Jade, volcanic glass, and
obsidian from Chiapas
highlands of western
Guatemala
• Tikal and Copan
‘middlemen’ cities in trade
• cacao

• Quetzal feathers for nobility

headdress
• Extensive trade over 1000
miles
• Porters carry goods (no
beasts of burden)
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

• Among their other accomplishments,

the ancient Mayas invented a
calendar of remarkable accuracy and
complexity.
• At right is the ancient Mayan Pyramid
Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. The
Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichén Itzá,
constructed circa 1050 was built during
the late Mayan period, when Toltecs
from Tula became politically powerful. AZTEC CALENDAR
• The pyramid was used as a calendar: four stairways, each with 91 steps
The Aztec calendar was an
and a platform at the top, making a total of 365, equivalent to the
adaptation of the Mayan
number of days in a calendar year. calendar. It consisted of a 365-
day agricultural calendar, as
well as a 260-day sacred
calendar. (This is a digital
composite. Color added for
visibility.)

The Maya calendar was

adopted by the other
Mesoamerican nations, such
as the Aztecs and the Toltec,
which adopted the
mechanics of the calendar
unaltered but changed the
names of the days of the
week and the months. An
Aztec calendar stone is shown
above right.
WRITING

• Writing 800 glyphs (picture/symbol represents an object, idea, or

sound
• Read left to right and top to bottom
• Only elite could read as writing considered to be gift from the
gods
• Wrote many books (destroyed by Spanish.
ARCHITECTURE

• Monumental pyramids, platforms, temples, squares, ball courts, processional roads and sacrificial altars
were used as stages for the performance of religious rituals, on which daily life depended.
• The strict social hierarchy of different cities was reflected in large palace compounds, as rulers increasingly
used architecture to promote themselves and ensure their immortality.
• While the majority of the surviving buildings belong to the Mayan civilization, a number of other
Mesoamerican groups such as the Olmec and the Toltec (as well as individual cities such as Teotihuacan)
were responsible for several important architectural innovations.
• The architecture was based on religion, so the cities represented ceremonial centers.

CEREMONIALS PLATFORMS: Used for public ceremonies and religious events as well as to exhibit the heads of
the victims of war.

In this platform Mayan displayed the head of the leader of the team that lose at the ball game.

• All the cities had two types of buildings: the

Temple and the Palace

• Palaces: were the houses of the rich population

and were decorated with paintings and
sculptures and were near the center of the city.

• Pyramids and Temples: Often the most

important religious temples were at the top of
the towering Maya pyramids, because is the
closest place to the heavens.
CEREMONIAL PRECINT, MONTE ALBAN

• The Zapotec site of Monte Alban in the valley of Oaxaca.

• It was planned around a characteristic ceremonial precinct
• Two stone platforms, the Northern and Southern acropolises
enclose a plaza around which other temples, pyramids, funerary
mounds and a ball-court are arranged. All the buildings are
raised above the level of the plaza and accessed by large
stairways.
PYRAMID OF NICHES, EL TAJIN
• The Pyramid of Niches belongs to the Totonac site
of El Tajin. (200 CE – 900 CE)
• The small structure rises in 6 tiers to an upper
sanctuary by means of a wide balustraded
staircase on the Eastern side, decorated with a
step and fret motif that is very common at El Tajin.
• The pyramid is carved on all sides with 365 square
niches, the solar year being a recurring theme of
Mesoamerican architecture.
THE CITY OF TEOTIHUACAN (150-650CE)
• The Tolmec city of Teotihuacan was laid out on a
grid plan with the Pyramid of Sun in the centre and
the Avenue of the Dead as its main axis stretching
2miles(3.2kms) from Pyramid of Moon and
intersecting with a second axis at the level of the
citadel.
• The city was thus divided in to quarters, a plan
imitated by the later Aztecs.
PYRAMID OF MOON, TEOTIHUACAN

• The pyramid dedicated to the moon deity is

a giant structure at the northern end of
Teotihuacan’s major axis.
• A stone staircase cutting through a four
tiered talud-tablero platform at the base led
to a wood-and-thatch sanctuary on the
summit.
THE TALUD-TABLERO PROFILE THE TALUD-TABLERO TERRACING

• The talud-tablero or The talud-tablero profile could be repeated

slope-and-panel profile all the way up the pyramid, as in several
first appeared on the structures at Teotihuacan. This form of façade
buildings of Teotihuacan. terracing is found with regional variations
• The motif consist of an throughout Mesoamerica.
outward sloping section It was both visually effective and economic;
or talud, supporting a the elegant framing members were held
rectangular, vertical together by thin slabs tied into a rubble core.
stucco panel treated as
a frieze and often
framed, sculpted and
brightly painted.
STELAE, TEOTIHUACAN
• The early freestanding votive stones found at Teotihuacan served
a purely religious function.
• They were carved with semi-abstract representation of gods,
including the famous Quetzalcoatl or feathered serpent. Later
Maya stelae were sculpted with realistic representations of kings
and functioned more as secular monuments than as votive
stones.
PALENQUE
also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamha (literally:
"Flat-Place-River"), was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that
perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226
BC to ca. 799 AD.
Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque
▪A steep staircase leads up 9 levels, symbolic of the
levels of the Mesoamerican underworlds, to a
sanctuary with a concrete(solid) mansard-type roof,
characteristics of the buildings at Palenque.
▪A hidden vaulted staircase descends from the temple
to a crypt(vault) at the base of the pyramid, where
king Pascal (616-83) was buried.
▪A stone tube built alongside the inner stairway
allowed the dead king to communicate with the living.

▪In the temple of Inscriptions, the inner sanctum is

protected by a 5-bay vaulted entrance portico,
decorated with stucco figures and the famous
‘inscription’ or 620 hieroglyphs telling the story of
Palenque’s rulers.
SACRIFICIAL CAPTIVES, PALENQUE

▪Sculpted monolithic limestone slabs, representing

captured chiefs kneeling with vivid expression of fear,
decorate the galleries of east courtyard of the palace
of Palenque.
▪The galleries were used for court ceremonies – the
sculptures acting as reminders of homage due to the
rulers.

ROOF COMBS
▪Roof combs or
‘cresteria’, crowned the
summit of most Classic
Maya pyramids.
▪They consisted of two
pierced framework walls
leaning against each
other with attached
stucco relief sculpture
depicting gods and rulers.
CORBEL VAULT
▪One of the chief engineering
achievement
▪Initially narrow chambers were
spanned with rows of stones projecting
gradually over each other.
▪In later vaults, the stepped profile of the
ceiling was turned into the thickness of
the walls, holding it with mortar and
rubble, thereby making the visible
surface of the chamber smooth for
plastering and painting.
EL CASTILLO

▪ La Pirámide, known as the Temple of Kukulcán (or also just

as Kukulcán), is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that
dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site
in the Mexican state of Yucatán.

▪ Built by the pre-Columbian Maya

civilization sometime between the 9th
and 12th centuries CE
▪ The pyramid consists of a series of
square terraces with stairways up
each of the four sides to the temple
on top.
▪ Sculptures of plumed serpents run
down the sides of the northern
balustrade.

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

During the spring and autumn equinoxes, the late afternoon sun strikes
off the northwest corner of the pyramid and casts a series of triangular
shadows against the northwest balustrade, creating the illusion of a
feathered serpent "crawling" down the pyramid.

▪ Each of the pyramid's four sides has 91 steps which,

when added together and including the temple platform
on top as the final "step", produces a total of 364 steps
(which is equal to the number of days of the Haab' year)
▪ The structure is 24 m (79 ft) high, plus an additional 6 m
(20 ft) for the temple. The square base measures 55.3 m
(181 ft) across.
MESOAMERICAN BALL GAME COURTS: these courts are the places were Mayan played the ball game.

OBSERVATORIES: The Maya were keen astronomers and had mapped out the phases of celestial objects,
especially the Moon and Venus. Many observatories had windows and doors lined with stars and planets
Mayan Cities
• The most important cities were located in Copan,
Piedras Negras, Tikal, Palenque and Chichen Itza.
• Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the Northern
Maya Lowlands from the Late Classic (c. AD 600–900)
through into the early portion of the Post classic period
(c. AD 900–1200).
• Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it
was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities,
or Tollans, referred to in later Mesoamerican literature.
• The city may have had the most diverse population in
the Maya world, a factor that could have contributed to
the variety of architectural styles at the site.

Sculpture
• The Mayan sculpture is very varied: Gods in
different aptitude and forms, busts, masks,
and tables.
• The tools that used to sculpt were a chisel
fabricated of basalt or diorite.
• His principal material was the limestone similar
to the marble. Also used the clay and the
wood to carve and shape heads.
Contributions
• The most important contribution the Mayan mathematicians was the creation of the number zero.
• The zero was represented with a shell. Also was used the point to represent the numbers 1 to 4 and
finally the rays that had a value of 5.

Astronomy
• Describing the positions of the Sun, Moon
and Mars.
• Known phases of the moon, the lunar year
duration and setting of the solar year.
• They built observatories.
• Prediction of eclipses: August 11, 1999, total
solar eclipse.
• Discovery of the equinoxes and solstices.