Exactly a year ago, Alberto sat under the radiant Yucatan sun, in the esplanade of the pyramid of Chichen Itza, to wait for the descent of the feathered serpent Kukulcan, the Mayan deity.

This ancient Maya metropolis is renowned for its architecture, intricate mythology and reverence for Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god. A "vision serpent" in Maya culture, Kukulkan represented an ...

As the sun sets, this shadowy snake descends the steps to eventually join a stone serpent head at the base of the great staircase up the pyramid’s side. The Maya ... is also a light show ...

Under the symbol of the serpent (kaan, in Mayan), this lineage governed numerous lordships ... but whose architectural details are only now coming to light. The reliefs, made with artistic precision ...

Now, DNA analysis of 64 of the victims has shed light ... serpent, the Mesoamerican ballgame, its astronomical observatory and 50,000 inhabitants — was the epicenter of the Mayan civilization ...

The Maya were skilled astronomers, and the pyramid is dedicated to the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl ... that look like a giant snake. The light-and-shadow snake appears to slither down ...