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All Mexico Chichen Itza El Caracol

El Caracol

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

Chichen Itza, Mexico

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
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The observatory stands in ruin today.   Andresnavarroforever/CC BY-SA 3.0
The observatory stands in ruin today.   Andresnavarroforever/CC BY-SA 3.0
The observatory would once have allowed people to peer out above the lush jungle.   Muñoz LC/CC BY-SA 4.0
No telescopes today.   Noyolcont/CC BY-SA 3.0
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About

Slowly eroding in the world-famous Mayan city of Chichen Itza, the El Caracol “observatory” stands as a monument to the architectural skill of the ancient Maya civilization, as well as their advanced understanding of the heavens.

El Caracol, which translates to “spiral-shaped,” or, more literally, "snail," is named after the winding staircase that rounds the interior of the central tower. The stacked levels of the building resemble a stone wedding cake with staggered staircases leading to the central tower whose collapsed dome is somewhat similar to the design of modern observatories.

El Caracol’s crumbling viewing tower rises above the lush jungle, so ancient astronomers could have viewed the stars in 360 degrees, tracking solstices, equinoxes, and eclipses. Most delighting is the alignment of the remaining viewing windows, which seem to be designed specifically to track the appearance and disappearance of Venus in the night sky. In addition to assigning the second planet some religious significance, the Mayans were able to track the movements of Venus and thus measure longer intervals of the Earth’s orbit.             

Within eyeshot of the pyramid El Castillo, El Caracol is easy to visit and is considered a major Mexican tourist attraction.

Related Tags

Observatories Ruins Ancient Technology Astronomy Instruments Of Science Retro Tech Telescopes
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Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

stephanieconrad77, jessicahester1, lcn620

  • stephanieconrad77
  • jessicahester1
  • lcn620

Published

May 14, 2013

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El Caracol
El Caracol “observatory”
Chichen Itza
Mexico
20.680169, -88.570704
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Photo of Chichen Itza

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