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Zane Paxton | all galleries >> Yucatan Quest >> Chichen Itza > Temple of the Bearded Man
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09-OCT-2005 Zane Paxton

Temple of the Bearded Man

Chichén Itzá, Yucatan, Mexico

The North temple of the ball court has a platform 14 meters long and 8 meters wide. On top of this is a base with inclining walls and a central staircase. The staircase panels are decorated with trees, butterflies and birds topped by a square panel with figure of Kukulcán representing the man-bird serpent.

The temple itself is 10 meters long and 6 meters wide and consists of a single room with a vaulted roof. The front has a sloping wall face and a vertical wall. These architectural elements are common in other parts of Central Mexico and may bave been introduced by the Itzá.

The back wall of the temple itself is decorated with a variety of religious scenes showing a bearded lord and the serpant god Kukulcán. There are also warriors with arrows and several seated dignitaries in the guise of eagles.

Nikon D2x ,Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S
1/90s f/6.3 at 19.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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