Mayan Temple
And now, from the broad terraces of the Hall of Social Science, look away southward toward Thirty-First street, where the Maya Temple rises. When you come closer, like a pilgrim nearing a shrine, you may find it difficult to believe that this temple is an exact copy of a building in far away Yucatan, a temple at least ten centuries old, a bit of the 2,000 or more year old civilization of the Mayas. It stands on the highest ground within the Exposition boundaries, its walls covered with elaborate designs, huge mask heads, and great serpents carved in stone. Tulane University, under the sponsorship of A Century of Progress, sent an expedition, in charge of Dr. Franz Blom, director of its department of Middle Western research, to Uxmal, ancient seat of Mayan culture, and there they obtained the information necessary for making an exact reproduction of one section of the famous “Nunnery.” They brought back casts of its decorations to be incorporated in the Fair’s temple.
The Mayan civilization probably had its origin hundreds of years before the Christian era, in the highlands of Guatemala and Honduras. From there, apparently, it spread slowly into Yucatan, where its highest development was reached about 1200 A.D. These people, without elaborate mechanical equipment built great cities in stone. On the tops of 200-foot rubble and cement pyramids, stood stately temples, government buildings, and astronomical observatories, faced with cut stone and decorated with geometric designs and carvings representing men and animals.
Mayan Temple
The Official Pictures of A Century of Progress Exposition Chicago, Kaufmann & Fabry Co. Official Photographers
Maya Temple from the hopi house
Hand colored slide by Keystone Lantern Company
Mayan Temple
The Official Pictures of A Century of Progress Exposition Chicago, Kaufmann & Fabry Co. Official Photographers
Leave a Reply