Chichén Itzá
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The name means "at the Mouth of the Well of the Itzá," referring to both the life-giving presence of water and the Itzá, a people prominent in the history of the northern Yucatán. At its height, from the 9th to 13th centuries, the brilliantly painted city must have presented a colorful aspect to the world. By the end of the 13th century, the city was largely abandoned. Only a small town remained, whose inhabitants tended the Sacred Cenote, a center of pilgrimage and sacrifice, until the coming of the Spaniards. |
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