Astronomy was also significant to the ancient Mayans because it was the basis for their calendars and architecture, as well as their overall religion and culture. They built buildings to observe the stars and to mark the helindrical rising of constellations. Their calendars were based on the Sun, Venus, Earth, and the stars. Their high priests were masters of astronomy and led religious rituals to worship the stars. This suggests their whole culture revolved around astronomy.

The Mayans constructed buildings to observe the stars and mark the rising of the Sun, stars, and constellations. The Caracol Observatory at Chichen Itza was used by the high priests of the Mayans to observe the stars for the purpose of time keeping, religious prophesies, and recording the paths of constellations.

"Windows in the ruined upper tower point toward the extreme northern and southern rise positions of Venus. The equinox sunset is visible through another window in the tower. . . . The corner-to-corner alignment of the base corresponds to the solstice axis. A perpendicular line from the base of the upper platform points to the location on the horizon where the sun sets on the dates of its zenith passage at the latitude of Chichen Itza. According to Aveni, around A.D. 1000 the last annual setting of the Pleiades could be viewed in late April from a window in the Caracol�s upper tower. . . . Aveni found fifteen other alignments that correspond reasonably well with astronomical events."

The observatory in Caracol shows how accurate the Mayans astronomy was. Hundreds of alignments have been found in this single building. How did they design such a magnificent building and how did they construct it so accurately? Most important is why did they build it. It is well known that astronomy was key to their religion and their culture. Many experts believe they built this to keep track of religious and cultural ceremonies.

Also in Chichen Itza is the Pyramid of Kukulcan. At around 4:00 p.m. on March 21 the Sun�s rays will cast a shadow that looks like the body of a snake. At the base is a three-dimensional snake�s head, which aligns with the shadow. On top of the Pyramid is a picture of the rattle of a rattlesnake, which represents the Pleiades constellation. On the rattle is a picture of a solar face, which represents the Sun. Also, on the day of the shadow the constellation Pleiades and the Sun are perfectly aligned directly over the Pyramid. Clearly, the Pyramid of Kukulcan was specifically built for this astronomical alignment.9 The design of Chichen Itza came from the Mayans knowledge of astronomy and was used for that same purpose.

Chichen Itza was not the only Mayan city with buildings related to astronomy. A group of temples in Uaxactun, Guatemala, were built to mark the spring and fall equinox, as well as the summer and winter solstice. They do this with a single pyramid used as an observation point and three small temples to mark where the Sun rises on these dates.10 In the Mayan city Teotihuacan, the Street of the Dead runs from the Pyramid of the Moon, past the Pyramid of the Sun, to the Temple of the Quetzalcoati at 15�30� east of north. There are many theories as to why the city is laid out in this manner. One is that it was built to face the setting of the Pleiades at the time it was constructed. Professor Gerald Hawkins thinks the Sirius-Pleiades axis may have been involved, yet does not know how.11 A new theory is that the layout depicts the solar system, including Pluto, which wasn�t discovered until the 20th century. Different pyramids represent different planets. No matter which theory you accept, there is no doubt that astronomy played a role in the design of Teotihuacan.

Many Mayan buildings were either used for astronomy or were built based on astronomy. Their religious ceremonies followed an extremely accurate calendar, which was based on the Sun, Moon, and Venus. Their culture was very spiritual, and both astronomical events and the movement of constellations due to precession controlled their whole lives. Their whole population would gather for the rising of constellations and the eclipses of the sun and moon. The ancient Mayans� whole lives revolved around astronomy.