Ancient Uxmal Architecture

For many years, the ancient Mayan city of Uxmal has been a large place of mystery and darkness. Within the last 85 years, people have begun to uncover the ruins of Uxmal. Uxmal is the largest city on the entire Yucatan Peninsula. The buildings are quite the same. Uxmal consists of many different buildings and architecture. Their most famous building is the Pyramid of the Magician. Many other large buildings and temples of Uxmal will be discussed in this article. In Uxmal, all buildings share a common style. That style is called Puuc style. The Puuc style of architecture is stylized starting at the bottom. At the base of Puuc architecture is a very plain layout of bricks, with archways and rounded corners. As you progress upwards, the detail

The bricks may represent events, or sacred beings to those who lived in these buildings. The main material of these bricks is limestone, and the exterior is covered in plaster. This is what allowed the ancient Mayans that lived there to carve so intricately. These designs add mystery to the ancient site of Uxmal. The first and most famous pyramid in Uxmal is known as the Pyramid of The Magician. (Walten, K. (2013)
The Pyramid of the Magician is both the most famous and the largest of all of the pyramids at Uxmal. At its highest point, it is almost 115 feet tall. The name Pyramid of the
Magician comes from an old story the Mayans told about how it was built. The story is about a dwarf who hatched from an egg, and within a day, he grew into an adult. The following night he

Coffey 2 constructed the entire pyramid by magic. In reality, the construction began in the 6th century.
The construction continued into the 10th century. It has rounded sides, which is unique to the
Puuc pyramids. One of the next structures you see is the Nunnery Quadrangle. (Sesto, P)
The Nunnery Quadrangle is a massive assortment of 74 different rooms. They are all facing an inner courtyard, which modern day markets are held. Amazing light shows are

(Centre, U.W.H. (1996), (Sesto, P)
The Palace of the Governor is considered one of the greatest examples of Puuc architecture in the entire world. This building began construction in the 9th century, and finished in the 10th. Its facade is up to 320 ft. in some places. 103 masks of Chaac line the sides, connected by a serpent like stone pattern. In front of the palace, is the Throne of the Jaguar. This is what was associated with kings and chiefs in the Mayans at Uxmal. A final point of the fascination with this structure, is its astronomical alignment. Scholars have recently discovered that the central door is facing Venus, to an exact point. The other structures of Uxmal and the alignment to space is still being discovered. (Sesto, P)
Ever since the nation of Uxmal has grown, so has its architecture. The buildings were massive, and amazing feats for the time they were built. The Puuc architecture used is even more amazing. From the ornate and beautiful Palace of the Governor, to the massive Pyramid of the
Magician, Uxmal is and always will be a fascinating and impressive source of history and