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The Quadrangle of the Nuns (left) and the Pyramid of the Magician rise from the dense jungle around Uxmal. This most important Maya city in Yucatan flourished from the 7th to the 10th century.
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The Quadrangle of the Nuns (left) and the Pyramid of the Magician rise fro...

Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal, among dense jungle vegetation. The priests who prayed in the upper temple observed stars and planets for their predictions and divinations (7th-10th CE). Height 28 m
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Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal, among dense jungle vegetation. The p...

The Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal. The entrance to the upper temple is shaped like the mouth of the rain-god Chac. The priests who prayed in the upper temple observed stars and planets for their predictions and divinations (7th-10th CE). Height 28 m.
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The Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal. The entrance to the upper temple is s...

The Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal and the Governor's Palace. The palace is built on a large terrace 100 m long; its frieze is one of the richest in Mayan architecture (7th-10th CE).
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The Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal and the Governor's Palace. The p...

The Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. Four buildings, each with a distinct design, surround a wide courtyard. The East Building, the Pyramid of the Soothsayer in the background. The name of the buildings is a Spanish misinterpretation of their use (7th-10th CE).
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The Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. Four buildings, each with a distinct des...

Detail from the facade of the East Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. A large, trapezoid motif crowned with the head of an owl, an animal associated with death in Maya lore (7th-10th CE).
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Detail from the facade of the East Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns,...

Masks of the rain-god Chac with his trunk-like nose, symbolising lightning, form the cornice of the East Building. Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal (7th-10th
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Masks of the rain-god Chac with his trunk-like nose, symbolising lightn...

Trunk-like noses of the rain-god Chac form the cornice of the East Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. Uxmal lies on a dry limestone plateau and the only water supply came from rain, collected in huge reservoirs, hence the importance of the rain-god.
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Trunk-like noses of the rain-god Chac form the cornice of the East Buil...

The North Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. A wide staircase leads up to the terrace. The low building left was dedicated to the planet Venus. The main building consists of 26 small rooms, which the Spanish conquerors took for nuns' cells (7th-10th CE).
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The North Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. A wide staircase leads u...

The small temple at the foot of the North Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal, was dedicated to the planet Venus (7th-10th CE).
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The small temple at the foot of the North Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns,...

Facade of the North Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. The frieze above the room entrances consists of frets, human figures, Mayan huts and the feathered serpent, Mayan symbol of the god Kukulcan (7th-10th CE)
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Facade of the North Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. The frieze above...

The head of Kukulcan, god of the winds, protrudes from the fangs of the feathered serpent in the frieze of the North Building, Quadrangle of the Nuns, Uxmal. The feathered serpent is the symbol of the God Kukulcan in Mayan lore (7th-10th CE).
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The head of Kukulcan, god of the winds, protrudes from the fangs of the feather...