Annex of the Nunnary Chichén-Itzá [Previous]  [Next]

Annex of the Nunnary, built 800-900 A.D Puuc Architectural Style

The annex of the Nunnary was part of a larger palace complex which was built in the elaborately carved Puuc architectural style found in the older part of Chichén-Itzá. On the Puuc-style entrance to the Annex the jaws of a terrestrial monster are represented by a row of teeth above the doorway. Higher up is a seated monarch wearing an elaborate headress of feathers. The rest of the facade is covered in frontal masks of Chaac, the rain god and other symbolic carvings.

Catherwood drawing of The Annex in the 19th Century.

Seated figure of Chaac on the Nunnary Annex.

Mask of Chaac on Nunnary Annex

Carvings of maize on the Nunnary Annex.

[Based on Let's Learn about Chichén-Itzá , Chichén-Itzá: The City of the Wise Men of the Water. by Roman Chan, All About the Mayas. by C. Dorese. published by Producción Editorial Dante (Mérida, Mexico) and Incidents of Travel in the Yucatan by Stephens and Catherwood published by Smithsonian Institute Press (Washington D.C.). All available in paperback and highly recommended. Photographs by L.C. Swanson.]