Credit: Digitized Sky Survey, ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator.
Author: Davide De Martin (www.skyfactory.org)
C-1: Orion’s Belt. Maya obsession with the cosmos and time helped their technology evolve.
C-2: The grand cathedral in Mérida was constructed from stone taken from Maya buildings. If you look closely, you can still see the evidence.
C-3: The facade of dragon mouth architecture exhibits the talents of the Maya sculptors at Chicanná.
C-4: Masks of Choc carved in stone create an intricate facade at Kabah.
C-5: Interior view of room in Xtampak palace with Maya vault. Plaster covers the wall, and 1,400-year-old timber thrust beams and lintels survive.
C-6 (above): Carved facade at the triumphant, long-span arch at Kabah.
C-7 (right): The grand portal arch that marked the entrance to the sacbe from Labná to Uxmal.
C-8: Five-story Edzná palace with stepped structural arch configuration.
C-9 (above left): Edzná vault stair bridge. Maya arched vault supports stairs over interior passageway at multistory palace at Edzná.
C-10 (above right): Edzná beam stair bridge. Concrete beams span stairs over passageway.
C-11: Elegant circular astronomical observatory at Chichen Itza.
C-12: The astrological observatory at Mayapán is a circular building.
C-13: Elegant three-story palace at Xtampak. Columns created a veranda on the exterior set of rooms on each level.
C-14: The astrological observatory at Cobá is a solid, cone-shaped building unlike other observatories.
C-15: Maya pyramid at Mayapán in the Yucatán, Mexico.
C-16: El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza, constructed in various stages through time.
C-17: Recently discovered walls at Chichen Itza, dated to 100 years earlier than the pyramid.
C-18: Natural wells, or cenotes, formed by the impact of Chicxulub Meteor in the Yucatán.
C-19: View into a working chultune at Xtampak, showing cut stone walls.
C-20: The Cobá terminus of the Cobá-Yaxuná sacbe.
C-21 (inset): Aerial view of the Cobá-Yaxuná sacbe, flying to the west toward Yaxuná.
C-22: Computer rendering of Maya suspension bridge across the Usumacinta River.
Photos by Miquel Alvarez, courtesy of Phillipe Kleinfelter
C-23 (above): Maya tools and gouges made from jadeite.
C-24 (below): A hand working Maya chisel made from jadeite.
C-25: Hafted Maya jadeite chisel.
C-26: Handheld bow drill using jadeite drill bit.
C-27 (left): Images of ancient Maya royalty look much like the Maya of today
(above, C-28), who still respect their customs, beliefs, and native dress.
