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Latin America, as a whole, has an archaeological heritage comparable to very few parts of the world; Monuments, rock art, tools and landscapes created by the many pre-Columbian cultures, including Maya, Aztec and Inca, to mention but a few.
Knowing this, many people, researchers and tourists from other continents have come with the eagerness to witness these wonders, which symbolize a journey in time. Let’s take a look at our amazing ancient culture.
TIKAL
Known as the largest Mayan city, Tikal gigantic ruins rise. It is located in the heart of the Petén jungle, in a humid atmosphere where the howler monkeys howls and the roar of the jaguars resound.
Tikal, which translates as “the place of echoes”, was influenced by the civilizations that came from the mountains of Guatemala and by the Olmecs that came from the Gulf of Mexico.
It was for two thousand years the largest city of the Maya and was inhabited since the 7th century BC, although there are only vestiges of buildings dating from the second century BC. And some ceramics of the time.
MACHU PICCHU
It is located 130 kilometers northwest of Cusco, in the province of Urubamba. Archaeologists have divided it into three main sectors: The first, named the Sacred Quarter, includes the Intiwatana, the Temple of the Sun and the Three Windows Room. In addition, there is the District of Priests and Nobility, corresponding to the residential area. The third is called the Popular Neighborhood, the southern part of the city where the dwellings of the common population are located.
Those who have had the opportunity to see the constructions, at least through photographs, know that the Inca architectural style consists of buildings with regularly polished ashlars walls and stone blocks with a slight inclination, making their base stand out.
CHICHEN ITZÁ
One of the most imposing archaeological sites in Latin America, located in Yucatan, Mexico. It was the most important regional capital of Mayan culture between 750 and 1200 AD, although according to experts, belonging to the decline period of the same, can not be considered as one of its greatest exponents.
The site, whose name translates as the “mouth of the Well of the Itzá” (water wizards), was named in 1988 as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, and receives annually more than one million 200 thousand visitors. A place that every lover of archeology can not miss.
COPÁN
In Honduras, a few kilometers from the border with Guatemala, there is one of the most beautiful places in Mesoamerica: Copan, called the Alexandria of the Mayas and to Athens of the New World. The site owes these denominations to the fineness and beauty of its architecture and to its superbly carved stelae.
The oldest stela of Copan dates from the year 460 and the city would have been founded much earlier by the Olmecs, who came to the region to exploit the jade deposits.
Later, the Maya made Copán a high scientific place. The Mayan priests studied astronomy and had calculated the lunar cycle very accurately.
Sourse: latinamericanpost.com