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Chichén
Itzá
- Platform of the Skulls
by Dorothy and Bill Bell
The Platform of the Skulls
Also known by the name Tzompantli or skull rack, the practice in
the Yucatan and other Mayan regions was to display heads impaled
on top of one another along the vertical wooden posts. This
particular platform was used to memorialize past victims as well
as display the heads of sacrificial prisoners or enemies that
had died in battle. Used to control the masses and scare the
enemy, the platform was built to display the conquests of the
state.
The platform is decorated on all sides with skulls, snakes and
eagles. There are also warriors carrying human heads.
Tzompantli were built in Aztec and Toltec cultures and thought
to have been introduced to the Mayas from the Toltecs. From the
inscriptions of the decapitated ball player at the Ball Court,
likely the losers ended up as models for this particular
Tzompantli.
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