RESEARCH AT THE RUINS OF CHICHEN ITZA, YUCATAN. 65 



Seibal.i Besides being the largest, the first three mentioned were also the 

 leaders in cultural progress. The period during which these cities flourished 

 lasted for upwards of 400 years, or until the close of the sixth century a. d. 

 It has been called 'The Golden Age of the Maya," since, in so far as sculpture 

 is concerned, it is best comparable with the classic period of Greek art. 



The causes which led to the decline of civilization in the south are 

 unknown. It has been suggested that the Maya were driven from the vari- 

 ous cities above mentioned by barbarian pressure from the south, east, and 

 west; or again, that the Maya civilization, having run its natural course, 

 collapsed through sheer lack of physical ability to go forward— or, in other 

 words, through racial decay and deterioration. It matters little what explan- 

 ation is advanced to account for the general dechne, this one all-important 

 fact remains: Just after the close of Cycle 9 of Maya Chronology, or about 

 600 A. D., there is a sudden and final cessation of dates in all the southern 

 cities. Some universal calamity apparently overtook the Maya people at 

 the opening of their Tenth Cycle, as a result of which their homes were 

 abandoned and their country left desolate. 



About a century before the end of Cycle 9, however, the country lying 

 to the north, i. e., the peninsula of Yucatan, seems to have been discovered 

 and colonized for the first time. Some have even gone so far as to ascribe 

 the downfall of the southern cities to this very event; and it does not seem 

 improbable that, after the discovery of Yucatan by the Maya and the subse- 

 quent opening of that vast region to colonization, the southern cities com- 

 menced to decline. As the new country waxed in strength and power the 

 old waned, so that by the end of the sixth century A. d. the rise of the one 

 and the fall of the other had been accomplished. 



The occupancy of Yucatan marked the dawn of a new era for the Maya, 

 although their Renaissance did not begin at once. At first the struggle for 

 bare existence must have largely absorbed the energies of all, and not until 

 their foothold was secure could there have been much time or wealth available 

 for the cultivation of the aesthetic arts. Then, too, at first there seems to have 

 been a feeling of unrest in the new land, a shifting of houses and testing of new 

 locaUties, all of which retarded the development of sculpture, architecture, 

 and other arts. Bakhalal (see Plate 12), the first settlement in the north, 

 was abandoned after an occupancy of only 60 years. Chichen Itza (Plate 

 12), destined to become the greatest of all Maya cities, was the next settle- 

 ment, and although occupied for more than a century, it also was abandoned 

 and the search for a new home resumed. One group of Maya, moving west- 

 ward from Chichen Itza across Yucatan, occupied the city of Chakanputun, 

 in the western part of the peninsula (Plate 12), about the beginning of the 

 eighth century. Here they are said to have lived for about 200 years or until 

 960 A. D., when this city was destroyed by fire. By this time, however, the 



'For the location of these sites, see plate 12, and for a description of them, as well as the others men- 

 tioned in this report, consult the references given in Appendix II, page 86. 



