Pyramid at Oxkintoc

Oxkintoc: a sprawling system of pyramid complexes designed with mathematical precision according to the constellations and with the aid of "the gods." If you looked into the small viewing window of the labyrinth pyramid or sang into the communal cistern, said to return the sounds uttered in 52 years time, it is hard to deny the "aid of the gods" theory.

It is partially excavated, leaving a "mountain," also known as the Pyramid of the Mathematicians, covered in earth and bush. The ancestors and many modern Maya of the Ruta Puuc attribute the building of such exquisite edifices to knowledge and aid given by visitors who arrived in a serpent shaped aerial vehicle called Kukulcan. Many also believe that they are descendants of "sky people." Shaman use ancient Maya chants to contact their benevolent ancestors, and use medicinal plants of other planetary origins to cure patients of physical and spiritual maladies.

Like the Hopi of the American Southwest, black magic is blamed for many Maya cities being abandoned even before the arrival of the Spanish. The strength of oral history is obvious among the indigenous people of Yucatan, which is probably the main factor in the preservation of their culture, since most of their written tomes where destroyed by the ignorant Spanish invaders. The guide at Oxkintoc has extensive knowledge of the pyramids buildings as well as the curative properties of flora and fauna of the area. Oxkintoc's oldest pyramid is around 2400 years old and has been beautifully preserved by Mother Nature's coverings.