architects aligned the temples with the sun, the moon, and the stars (Liz 1-6).Some of the most distinct features of Classic Mayan culture were the pyramids. The pyramids were either temples or tombs, and were located in every Maya city. They were usually made of earth and rubble, although stone blocks were occasionally used. The inside of a pyramid contained several narrow halls, and very few windows. The interior walls were beautifully painted with elaborate pictures and hieroglyphs (Liz 1-6). “Straight and unadorned lower walls give way above doorways to tall upper facades decorated in geometrically patterned stone mosaics. Rounded columns and half columns were used, sometimes to frame doorways, but more often to give a fluted effect to an entire exterior wall or an upper faade. The characteristic construction style of Classic Mayan pyramids is most evident wherever the cross section of a wall has been exposed by collapse. Departing from the earlier method of one large block piled upon another, a section of Classic masonry reveals a concrete core veneered with a facing of thin stones, each cut in such a way that a “boot” projects into the concrete interior.” (Culbert 166). This method of pyramid construction gives these buildings incredible strength, making them almost invincible to the rain, wind, and other elements inherent in Central America’s jungle-like environment. Since most of the rooms in the pyramids were so small, they were only used for private ceremonies. These buildings, like Mayan temples, Staats 5represented mountains, and their entrances were designed to look like caves. Classic Mayan pyramids seem to also reflect their inhabitant’s sacred landscape, as it appeared when created by the gods (Liz 1-6).Ball courts are a third kind of structural complex commonly found in Classic Mayan architecture. These courts were very important to the Maya, structurally representing both ...
