Everyone has their own Mayan pyramid
"Mayan Pyramid". Not an exact copy of the Kukulkan pyramid, but very similar. Model and photo by the author
They came from the north, and even the word “north” — “shaman” in their language — is associated with the concept of “ancient,” “left behind.” It is difficult to say with certainty when the Mayan Indians first settled the lands of Guatemala and Honduras, and then the Yucatan Peninsula. Most likely in the first millennium BC, and since then story, culture, the whole life of the Maya are connected with this sun-scorched, tropical rain-drenched, lush vegetation-covered, swamp-flooded land.
"The Secret of the Mayan Priests" by V.A. Kuzmishchev
"The Secret of the Mayan Priests" by V.A. Kuzmishchev
History with your own hands. And it happened that in 1968, just when the magazine “Technology for Youth” published an article by A. Kazantsev about the secrets of ancient civilizations, my mother gave me a book by V. Kuzmishchev “The Secret of the Mayan Priests”, and for some time it became almost my favorite reading. Everything that could be read about them in addition, I tried to find and read and was very sorry that I could not go to Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula to take part in the study of the ancient Mayan culture. My imagination was especially excited by the pyramids of the Mayans and Aztecs. Not as high and “pyramidal” as those of the Egyptian pharaohs, but multi-tiered and covered with intricate ornamentation. I remember that I really wanted to make such a pyramid for myself then... But I could not figure out how and from what.
And this is the real pyramid of Kukulkan from the city of Tsichen Itza. Photo by Daniel Schwen
Many years have passed. I have never been to Yucatan and will never go there, but I am now well aware of what kind of pyramids the Mayans built, and most importantly, what significance they had for them, what symbolism was embedded in them during construction. For example, one of the most beautiful Mayan pyramids is the Kukulkan pyramid in the city of Chichen Itza. The Spanish call it "El Castillo", that is, "the castle", but in fact it is a temple structure, raised to the sky on a nine-step foundation, surviving among the ruins of the ancient city. Well, Kukulkan was the Mayan analogue of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl or "Feathered Serpent".
Models of Mayan pyramids, and in particular the Kukulkan pyramid, are everywhere today. Here is a pyramid in Krajno-Zagórze on the Alley of Miniatures…
Another copy. City of Tinus, Yucatan.
And one more...
That is, the pyramid itself is a temple, the area of which is about 18 hectares! The height of the pyramid is 24 m (and another 6 m is the height of the temple itself, built on its top). Each of its sides is 55 m long, and each facet has nine steps. From the base to its top there are four steep stairs, oriented to the cardinal points. On the sides of the stairs there is a stone balustrade, starting at the bottom from the head of the snake and in the form of its curving snake body going to the very top of the pyramid.
And this is Mexico City again, Constitution Square, where a replica of the Kukulkan pyramid was recently erected!
The builders of the pyramid were truly experts in their field. Because they erected it in such a way that on the days of the autumn and spring equinox, standing next to it, you can see a unique sight - the shadow of the "Feathered Serpent". Simply the shadow from the stepped edges of the pyramid is superimposed on the stones of the balustrade, and it creates the impression that the Feathered Serpent is crawling. Moreover, in March it will climb up, and in September, accordingly, down.
The number of steps on each of the stairs is 91. And this is not just a random number. Their total number is 364. But if you add the platform-base at the top, you get 365 - the number of days in a solar year. By the way, the nine steps of the pyramid, cut in two by the stairs, are equal to 18, or the number of months in the Mayan calendar year. And the nine ledges of the temple themselves, according to Toltec mythology, correspond to the "nine heavens". 52 stone reliefs on each wall of the sanctuary symbolically depict one Toltec calendar cycle, which consisted of 52 years.
The temple at the top of the pyramid is quite small. It has four entrances. Each one is opposite its own staircase. It was here that sacrifices were made, including human ones, because the Mayan gods fed on hot human blood, and without this offering they could easily die.
Pyramid of Kukulkan in the park of Mexico City…
The main entrance to the temple is on the north side and was decorated with two massive columns in the form of writhing snakes standing on their heads. Inside was a sacrificial figure of Chac-Mool and the "Jaguar Mat" (the Jaguar Throne of the main leader of the city). It is now known that under the foundation of the pyramid at a depth of about 20 meters there is an underground karst lake, which does not bode well for the pyramid and can lead to its destruction.
Chac-Mool – photograph by Luis Alberto Melogran. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. It is quite possible that it was… something like a “tray” (or altar) on which the bloody heart taken from a person was placed…
In general, in any case, no matter who you tell about all this, they will not remain indifferent. This is especially true for school-age children, sixth-graders studying the culture of Mesoamerica as part of a school history course. And if so, then why not make a “Kukulkan pyramid” for them as a visual aid? This idea came to my mind and... was brought to life after some time. The first requirement for such a model is the most accessible materials, so the entire pyramid was assembled from parts cut out of packaging cardboard from the Magnit store.
This is what the four step parts of the pyramid look like before they are glued together... Packaging cardboard, one cardboard...
Nine double tiers, cut in half. Well, double, that is, from two, not one piece of cardboard, in order to get the desired thickness, about 5-6 mm, that is, the thickness of a coffee stirrer.
This is how each of the four sides looks after gluing, papering and coating with wall putty. The latter is necessary to cover up all the empty spaces in the packaging cardboard!
And this is the profile of the side wall of the stairs. You need four of these for each staircase, glued in pairs...
In addition, you need four ladders in a very small scale. You can use strips of corrugated plastic for them, although you can also glue them together from 1 mm thick and 2 mm wide slats, gluing pieces of the required length one on top of the other to make steps. And you will need only one such ladder. And then you need to remove four paraffin forms from it and pour epoxy resin diluted according to the instructions into them.
The sides for paraffin forms can be made from sculptural plasticine…
Then they are lubricated with oil, hot paraffin is poured into them, and when it has almost hardened, you will need to press your finished ladder into it, and repeat this operation four times.
Finished prints
And these are the stairs already cast from epoxy
Their width is equal to the width of ordinary school rulers made of birch. For strength, they are glued with superglue to these rulers and processed in this way. Thanks to this, your stairs will acquire extreme strength, as will the pyramid itself.
The sides of the pyramid are decorated with protrusions made of veneer strips…
The veneer can be replaced with coffee stirrer sticks!
Ready-made stairs
The temple on top of the pyramid is glued together from thin cardboard (or foam board) and decorated with slats of different thicknesses.
To make the pyramid look “wild and cute”, it needs to be painted accordingly. One of the options is shown in the photos. First, the entire surface was painted white with acrylic paint with the addition of tooth powder, then, after drying, all protruding parts on its surface were covered with “Hard Wood Oil with Wax”. In fact, it is liquid. The color is “walnut”. Moreover, tooth powder was also added to the oil, which after drying gave the surfaces of the pyramid a certain “stone” texture.
This is what the finished model of the "Mayan pyramid" looks like.
This is not an exact copy of the Kukulkan pyramid, since it would have required a number of very complex details due to its miniature size, which are generally not important to children, but it is a fairly accurate copy of the Mayan pyramid “in general”!
The podium for its installation is made from a piece of foam plastic measuring 29x29 cm. The wooden frame is again made from school rulers, covered with rosewood wood stain. The surface of the podium is painted with yellow ochre mixed with tooth powder, which is why it looks very similar to being covered with sand. The grass is from a branded set for decorating models. The bushes are moss, and also branded. All of this was purchased online. The plants were bought at the Leonardo store, where they are plentiful for every taste and any size.
Models of the Kukulkan pyramid, as you may have already noticed, now exist in a variety of forms, and they look different. My pyramid looks like this and is quite suitable for a school teaching aid.
I wonder what yours will look like if you suddenly want to make it together with your son or daughter and give it to your home school or the school where your children study?
Information