Pictures from Ruins...

[TravelWorks]

[Scorpiorose]

Thanks so much for the pics.....have you don't the Altun Ha ruins in Belize to compare them to?

[Scorpiorose]

It doesnt seem like the ruins are that tall, were there others than the ones pictures? I'm thinking about doing this but haven't been able to get ahold of dave and ivan...:(

[lazyart]

As I recall there were three structures unearthed and they are quite tall. You want to do this tour with David and Ivan. You REALLY want to do this tour. The picture you see up there of a what looks like a little cottage is actually the kitchen of the house that Ivan grew up in. He lived there until he was 11 and has the distinction of the being the last person born in the village there (it is now owned by the government to protect it). These ruins were his backyard! Very in depth and emotional tour. Ivan was wonderful.

[Sheffie]

Here is a not really close shot of the big temple. and another temple.

 

Here is the link to all of our pictures from that day if you want to see some other pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/527685047YCNWgf/0

[SuzieTrue]

Great pictures! My family is booked with David and Ivan for the week of 3/26. Getting really excited!

[Scorpiorose]

Thanks for the pictures, we're all booked. Two weeks!:)

[flashdog_1]

Remember that the excavations at Chacchoben only began within the last decade. Funding has run out so you will not find any archeologists on site working.

 

There are ropes allowing you to climb only a few steps in the first area they will take you to which is probably an upper class ceremonial area. When you go to what appears to us to be the rear of the structure (actually the front) you will see the connecting walls, some of which are still covered with vegetation, and spaces between the foundations, so it's supposed that these were residences for those people.

 

Then you will walk deeper in the jungle to a whole town, probably for the average folks. there you will be able to climb some steps on one, and when you reach the top will suddenly see another temple on that level, with structures on either side.

 

No, they are not tall like the photos you see of Tikal. He said that they are now thinking that the many, many villages in an area probably had one central place, like Tikal which governed them all in a way, yet each village was autonomous, too.

 

I have not been to Atun Ha, but if it is grand like Tikal, perhaps it is one of those governing big cities, whereas Chacchoben is smaller, in stature and in area.

 

Since this part of Mexico is really flat, whenever you see a hill, it means there are ruins beneath it. And there are plenty of hills. So many, in fact, that the area must have been heavily populated in its hey day. The roads are not hilly, you understand.

 

Another thing to consider when comparing one site to another is the age of it. After you've taken a tour, you think you know something about the Mayans and then go to another site and learn that things were different there.

 

At first I thought this was just the difference in having one guide in one place and another guide in another, some more accurate than others, or perhaps a real practicing Mayan who is not reading from a text book, but telling you about his life.

 

But when we're talking about many hundreds of years difference in age of structures from one locale to another, you begin to understand why the architecture and art renderings & even history/myth might be different from one place to another.

 

In our relatively short American history, if we were to compare say Jamestown in 1693 to Jamestown in 2006 they'd not be anything alike (except for the restored stuff). Likewise, a temple from 200 BC would be different from one built in 300 AD.

[TravelWorks]

Thank you for taking the time to give so much great information on chacchoben...you are a gem.

Remember that the excavations at Chacchoben only began within the last decade. Funding has run out so you will not find any archeologists on site working.

 

There are ropes allowing you to climb only a few steps in the first area they will take you to which is probably an upper class ceremonial area. When you go to what appears to us to be the rear of the structure (actually the front) you will see the connecting walls, some of which are still covered with vegetation, and spaces between the foundations, so it's supposed that these were residences for those people.

 

Then you will walk deeper in the jungle to a whole town, probably for the average folks. there you will be able to climb some steps on one, and when you reach the top will suddenly see another temple on that level, with structures on either side.

 

No, they are not tall like the photos you see of Tikal. He said that they are now thinking that the many, many villages in an area probably had one central place, like Tikal which governed them all in a way, yet each village was autonomous, too.

 

I have not been to Atun Ha, but if it is grand like Tikal, perhaps it is one of those governing big cities, whereas Chacchoben is smaller, in stature and in area.

 

Since this part of Mexico is really flat, whenever you see a hill, it means there are ruins beneath it. And there are plenty of hills. So many, in fact, that the area must have been heavily populated in its hey day. The roads are not hilly, you understand.

 

Another thing to consider when comparing one site to another is the age of it. After you've taken a tour, you think you know something about the Mayans and then go to another site and learn that things were different there.

 

At first I thought this was just the difference in having one guide in one place and another guide in another, some more accurate than others, or perhaps a real practicing Mayan who is not reading from a text book, but telling you about his life.

 

But when we're talking about many hundreds of years difference in age of structures from one locale to another, you begin to understand why the architecture and art renderings & even history/myth might be different from one place to another.

 

In our relatively short American history, if we were to compare say Jamestown in 1693 to Jamestown in 2006 they'd not be anything alike (except for the restored stuff). Likewise, a temple from 200 BC would be different from one built in 300 AD.

[hlfdzn]

I am going to try and post a picture from Altun Ha http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=19837&d=1144809575

 

 

I really don't know how you get it to show....can someone help me?

[hlfdzn]

I did it and didn't even know it...that is Altun ha. Sorry there are no people in it to get an idea of how big it is..I am still looking through my photos for more. We loved seeing Altun ha. We had a great guide and it was very interesting to learn about it.