Platform of Venus
Also known as the Venus Platform. There are 2 different structures with this name at Chichen Itza. The first and better known one is located in the Great Plaza (Plaza of the Castle). A second Venus Platform is located near the Grave of High Priest.
The Venus Platform is very similar to the one of the same name in the Plaza of the Castle. In the corner of one of its panels, there is a relief of Serpent Bird Man, which is considered to be the Quetzalcoatl-Kukulkan’s representation as the 'Morning Star'. Towards the stairway, one can observe the matting, which symbolizes power, and in the corners can be seen what has been interpreted as the Knotting of the Years alongside the Venus planet.
The platform was originally painted in ochre, blue, red, green, and black. An offering, consisting of a skull of a decapitated man, was found in the stairway on east.
The Round Platform, one of the few buildings so shaped in Chichen Itza, held a small stone-paved area and a container with offerings.
The function of these buildings was probably as podiums for rites, ceremonies or dances.
Chacmool
Chacmool (also spelled chac-mool) is the term used to refer to a particular form of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican sculpture depicting a reclining figure with its head facing 90 degrees from the front, supporting itself on its elbows and supporting a bowl or a disk upon its stomach. These figures possibly symbolised slain warriors carrying offerings to the gods; the bowl upon the chest was used to hold sacrificial offerings, including pulque, tamales, tortillas, tobacco, turkeys, feathers and incense. Chacmools were often associated with sacrificial stones or thrones.
