During the Classic period, the ancient Maya culture was flourishing in Mesoamerica. They were at the height of their splendor. So of their architecture changed and they began constructing buildings that paid homage to their rulers and gave reverence to their ancestors. This was the Classic Maya Period, a time between 200 AD and 900 AD when city-states were expressing their power by creating unique architectural centers that in many ways were meant to replicate their cosmology.
Paying homage to important ancestors was critical to their beliefs. One of the most important social acts for a new king was to establish their relationship with the founder of their lineage. Rulers did so by sponsoring the creations of magnificent works of art.[81]
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Maya artisans were creating finely carved pieces of jade. They painted large murals and created finely detailed stone carvings in many forms. They also made finely painted ceramics and pottery that have survived to this day and time. Their level of complexity and artistic creativity was at an all time high.
During the year 258 AD, the Tutul-Xius, a princely family from Tulha, suddenly left Guatemala and appeared in the Yucatán Peninsula. It is uncertain as to why they had migrated and if this was consequential to portion of the Maya civilization that had mysteriously collapsed in that part of the region. They may have been seeking refuge from war, the reason is never told in any of the recordings found of the Tutul-Xius family.
The Tutul-Xius had won over the good will of the Mayapan king and pledged themselves as his loyal vassals. The Tutul-Xius family then founded the cities of Mani and Tihoo, They then founded the great city of Mérida which came with all its splendor. This architecture of this city displays the height and beauty of the Classical period Maya
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Backlum Chaam was the god of male sexuality. He was the Maya version of the Greek god Priapu. The Maya had built a great temple as a sanctuary to this god.
Many of the larger cites and capitals had multiple gods to appease, including the greater gods. In the city of Izamal, a great pyramid was built to the Maya Sun God named, "Kinich-Kak-Mo." The Maya called this sacred temple, “Yahan-Kuna,” meaning 'most beautiful temple.'
The city of Mérida was considered one of the most advanced Maya cites that contained some of the most beautiful buildings in the whole extent of country. This was how by the Spanish described it when they came upon this city a thousand years later. They were in awe by its beauty and the splendor of the city's elaborate architecture.
The Spaniards described some of the buildings as being thirty feet high and made of finely constructed hammered stone that was laid without cement. On the summits of these elaborately decorated buildings were four apartments. Each apartment was divided into 20 x 10 foot cells that had vaulted