Uxmal
Ruins
Yucatán, México
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The Pyramid, House, or Temple of the Magician,
Soothsayer, or Dwarf stands unique among Maya Structures. El Adivino (its
Spanish name) is odd as a pyramid, oval shaped at the base with curved corners
continuing through the second platform. The modern structure resulted from
rebuilding over four superimposed temples each built over the previous. This is
a common technique used by the Maya in building ever grander and larger
temples.
I often wonder why the Maya settled in the Puuc
mountain area at all. There is no surface water, no ground water, no
cenotes. The ground, or rather, the limestone, is very porous, and there
is a dry season. To collect and save water, the Maya built chultuns -
underground cisterns with large collecting plates or connected by gutters to
building rooftops. During the rainy season, rainwater was collected for use
during dry times.
The grounds around the plazas and buildings
contain these water collecting chultuns. This is why most of the
structures of the northern Yucatán have flat roofs with broad paved
platforms around them. The rains were very important with reference made to
Chac, the god of lightning (not rain), whose masks are frequently found
on the facades of buildings. "Let it Rain. Let it Rain. Let it Rain, Rain,
Rain."
