MCMH+GV Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
The South Temple of the Great Ballcourt at Chichén Itzá is unfortunately heavily damaged, likely due to its large size. It had pilasters supporting a roof that served to protect the higher hierarchs from the sun and rainy days. Built in the style of a ballcourt, this building has a rectangular shape measuring 25 meters in length and 8 meters in width. It also consists of walls with light stucco, a frieze, and an inverted cornice; it has seven doorways formed by six pilasters decorated with figures of warriors bearing hieroglyphs indicating their names, at the base featuring an image of a bird-serpent man or Kukulkan emerging from the mouth of a feathered serpent. The South Temple of the Great Ballcourt has fewer sculptures than other structures on the court. Nevertheless, the sculpture on the end walls beneath the lintels, on the six columns across the front facade, and on the stair ramps fits within the substyle of the Great Ballcourt. The temple stands on a platform that is a continuation of the end wall enclosing the courtyard on the south side. On the south side of the wall adjoining the platform are two staircases leading into the temple. The eastern staircase, which has been reconstructed, rises eight steps to the level of the wall, and sculptural ramps adjoin it. A design similar to the sculptures on the stair ramps leading to the North Temple depicts a tree on which grapevines grow, with lower branches rooted around and growing from a head. This head may symbolize Chipactli, the Aztec god associated with earth and fertility. The trunk rises from the eyebrow, while roots of vegetation descend down the eyebrow and eyes. The design of the upper part of the ramp in the South Temple is very poorly preserved, but illustrations from the North Temple suggest that it most likely depicts several types of birds and possibly insects fluttering and perching on the top of the tree. Crowning this ramp is a figure similar to the sculptures on the secondary panels of the jambs and pilasters of the Upper Jaguar Temple. The South Temple of the Great Ballcourt is a long portico or gallery built on the end wall and an annex to the platform. The exterior facade rises vertically from the main body on three sides. The South Temple has an interesting profile. The medial stucco is a decoration of the upper facade, dividing the upper zone into two parts rather than forming a boundary between the upper and lower zones, as is more commonly done. Six sculptural columns supporting the vault interrupted the horizontal planes of the front facade. The excellent design of this simple temple illustrates the high level of architecture that craftsmen were able to achieve during the period of flourishing. The drawings on the side walls are poorly preserved, but some design details remain. On both walls, the artisans carved a central figure above a smaller reclining person in a spotted garment, probably similar to the figures from the bases of the columns of the North Temple. The figure on the west wall, facing south, is the base from which plant motifs emanate. The main figure above faces south, into the temple, holding a spear in the right hand and a flexible shield in the left; the chest is adorned with a six-row beaded breastplate. The main figure on the east wall holds darts in the left hand; the torso and part of the sculpture at chest level in front of the figure are missing. Each of the six columns on the front facade of the temple has secondary panels above and below the central main panel. The lower small panel depicts a jaguar-bird-serpent. Although none of the columns have survived to their original height, and the sculptures cannot be seen in full, it is evident that these are some of the most original bas-reliefs at Chichén Itzá. Available data indicate that the South Temple of the Great Ballcourt was built later than the Lower Jaguar Temple, but the difference in construction time is not large. The South Temple is located at one end of the Great Ballcourt, as its name suggests, on the southern side. In front of it, on the other side of the Court, is the Temple of the Bearded Man, and to its right is the Jaguar Temple.
Sources:
Thomas H. Wilson: Architecture and Chronology at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán
https://www.themayanruinswebsite.com/chichen-itza.html
