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its past glory, or all that has been found or yet may be dis- 
covered there, architecturally and archeologically . The trans- 
lation of this temple’s name is "The mouths or the openings of 
the ’wells’ (cenotes ) of the Itza, the race of Mayan people who 
lived or settled in the area and who originally founded this 
holy city. 
Aside from the dominating Gas til o, I shall mention but 
two other structures, the so-called "observatory," El Caracol, 
and the great ball court. The Spanish name for the former, 
El Caracol, the Snail, derives- its name from the winding stairway 
within the circular tower-like portion of this 75-foot high 
structure. Round buildings were rarities in the Mayan world, 
and this one, resting upon a rectangular platform 200 x 240 feet, 
is unique among the Ghichdn Itzd buildings. Evidence that it 
may have been used as an astronomical observatory is scanty, 
but the Carnegie Institution archeologists in the course of their 
restoration of the building did establish the fact that a line 
of sight- through openings in the tower wall bisects the sun on 
March 21 and again on September 21, at the vernal and autumnal 
equinoxes, respectively. 
Personally, I was most impressed by the great ball court, 
one of the six or more reported from the Chichen Itz£ area. It 
is one of the most remarkable buildings in all Maya- land, and 
the largest of all ball courts ever put up by the Maya, Old or 
New Empire (A.D. 320-987 and A. D. 987-1527 respectively). It 
was more than an athletic field or sports arena, for it undoubtedly 
served also as a place of assembly. Five thousand people could 
be accommodated within and on its walls. 
