The archaeological site of Palenque | Mexico

Postcard
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 6th and 7th century. The ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. AD 799.

Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque is a UNESCO World Heritage site. According to Unesco, the archaeological site of Palenque is one of the most outstanding Classic period sites of the Maya area, known for its exceptional and well conserved architectural and sculptural remains.

Cozumel Island | Mexico

Postcard

Cozumel is Mexico’s largest island, located about 45 miles south of Cancun.

Mayans settled on the island roughly 2000 years ago. Cozumel means "Land of the Swallow" in Mayan. The ruins of San Gervasio is a Maya site located on the island. 

Mexico, the archaeological site of Teotihuacan

 

Postcard

The holy city of Teotihuacan, located 30 miles northeast of modern-day Mexico City, was one of the most powerful Mayan centers in Mesoamerica.

It was the largest city anywhere in the Western Hemisphere before the 1400s. It had thousands of residential compounds and scores of pyramid-temples and was comparable to the largest pyramids of Egypt.

Today it is the most visited archaeological site in Mexico.

Guatemala, parque nacional Tikal

Postcard

In the heart of the jungle, surrounded by lush vegetation, lies one of the major sites of Mayan civilization. Located in Northern Guatemala, Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the Maya civilization.

The ‘Dance of the reindeer’ is an ancient Mayan custom, a story about how humans must learn to respect the natural world and when they don’t nature takes revenge. Once upon a time hunters killed every deer they saw in the forest. The other animals were enraged and chased the hunters far away.

Be careful not to take more from the forest than you absolutely need to otherwise bad things will happen.

Stamps

(left) Part of a set of four stamps about legends and myths: El Sombrerón: the man in the large hat.

Ancient Maya ruins in Belize part two: Altun Ha

Postcard

In about one week I received two cards picturing Maya ruins in Belize. Both cards I didn’t expect to receive, sent by different persons. This one pictures Altun Ha, the ruins of an ancient Maya city.

 

Stamp

Actually  this postcard was sent from the USA. The label reads “US postage paid Barstow, MD”.

According to Wikipedia, Barstow in Maryland is a very small ‘community’ with no residential structures. No one resides in Barstow, MD and the only building in Barstow is the Post Office. 

Mayan ruins in Belize: Lamanai

Postcard

Belize was once the center of one of the greatest civilizations of antiquity and is considered to have been the heartland of the Maya civilization during the Classic period.

Lamanai is the name of a site with Mayan ruins, located in Northern Belize.

Stamp

In 2013 the Pallottine sisters celebrated 100 years of service in Belize. The Pallottine Missionary Sisters were founded in 1838 by St. Vincent Pallotti in Rome, Italy. It is an international religious order serving in 19 countries. 

Thx Pat!

Maya ruins from Mexico: Chichen Itza

Postcard

Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico; an estimated 1.2 million tourists visit the ruins every year.

Chichen Itza was founded in the 6th century (around 550 AD) by the Maya civilization, as a ceremonial center. The name is Mayan for “at the mouth of Itza’s well” and apparently comes from Itza, the name of an ethnic group very powerful at that time.

The Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen-Itza was elected one of the seven wonders of the world in 2007.

Stamp

20th Anniversary of Consejos Escolares (School Council)

Archaeological site of Yaxha, Guatemala

Postcard

Yaxha is a archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén Basin region, and a former ceremonial center and city of the Maya civilization. It is located in the modern-day department of Petén, northern Guatemala between the Yahxá and Sacnab lakes.

Stamp
From a set of two stamps about The Volcano and Lake of Ipala.

The Ruins of Copan, Honduras

Postcard

Copan is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala.

Copan - known as Xukpi to the Maya - was the dominant Mayan city in the south of their territory. Its rich stone sculptures and intricate hieroglyphs make Copan a feature attraction along 'La Ruta Maya'.

Stamp

From a set of three stamps, National symbols from Honduras, the White Tailed Deer.