Archaeologists have found the Mayas built structures on top of the ball court at Chichen Itza to observe the equinoxes and solstices. They have determined the sun shines through slit-like openings during the winter solstice when the setting sun touches the horizon. It appears to be one of a kind and coincidentally the Chichen Itza ball court is the largest one found in the Mayan world.
“The fact that the sun rise can be observed behind a structure should be understood in that sense, as reverence to the sun or other star, not necessarily as an observatory in the technical sense,” Estrada-Belli said. The orientation of the structures “emphasized the sacrality of the ritual space.”
First printed by the Associated Press.
