(完整版)玛雅金字塔(英文介绍中文翻译)

Mayan Pyramids in Mexico 南美丛林中的玛雅金字塔.

By Murrant Rotz

金今选译难度等级：medium

Deep within the jungles of Mexico

and Guatemala and extending

into the Yucatan peninsula lie the

mysterious temples and Mayan

pyramids. The Maya pyramids

were chosen as one of the seven

New Wonders of the World not only for their magnificent physical presence but also for the intellectual achievements of the people.

While Europe was still in the midst of the Dark Ages , these amazing people were masters of mathematics. They invented the calendars we use today. Without metal tools, beasts of burden or even the wheel they were able to construct vast cities across a huge jungle landscape with an amazing degree of architectural perfection and variety.

The Maya were noted as well for elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built without metal tools. The ancient Mayans built two types of pyramids, those that were meant to be climbed and those that were not. The first type was used for holding sacrificial rituals. The other type was not meant to be touched and was sacred. The steps on these structures were too steep to climb and many times they had doorways leading to nowhere. Among the most famous of the Mayan Pyramids are those at Chichen Itza .

Most of these Mayan pyramids had a platform on the top on which was constructed a smaller building, dedicated to any of the Mayan deities. When the priests or kings performed their rituals, they ascended the pyramid on staircases, which symbolized rising from the earth to the heavens, since they started from the ground level right up to the temple on top. While some pyramids had two staircases, on either side, others had four, one on each side.

Certain Mayan pyramid-like constructions were also built as burial places for rulers, containing burial chambers within these giant structures, which usually contained treasures like jade. According to some historians, one of the reasons the Mayan pyramids were built so high was that they served as landmarks for the Mayan people, since the tops protruded from the jungle. Also, they served to remind the populace that the gods were always present. Since they were excellent astronomers, some think that they also used their pyramid structures as observatories.

Mayan pyramids, in fact, were built in a wide variety of forms to serve a wide variety of functions, apart from religious ones, according to the customs of each region as well as period.

一片神秘的庙宇和玛雅金字塔群坐落在墨西哥和危地马拉丛林深处，并一直延伸到尤卡坦半岛。玛雅金字塔被当选为“世界七大新奇观”之一，这不仅仅是因为它们宏伟壮观的建筑，而且还因为它们是建造者们伟大的智慧结晶。

当欧洲人还身处愚昧的黑暗时代之时，这些不可思议的人就已精通数学知识。他们发明了我们今天使用的日历。他们可以不需要金属工具、载货的牲畜甚或是车轮就可以在广阔的丛林地带建立起大片的城市，其建筑的精湛程度和多样性都令人叹为观止。玛雅人同样为人称道的是结构复杂和装饰精美的仪式用建筑，包括金字塔神庙、宫殿和观象台，它们都是在没有借助金属工具的情况下建成的。古玛雅人建造了两类金字塔：一类是用来爬上去的，而另一类则不是。第一类金字塔是用来举办祭祀仪式的；第二类金字塔是不可触碰的神圣建筑，塔上的台阶陡峭得难以攀登，很多出口哪儿都不通。最著名的几座玛雅金字塔位于奇琴伊察玛雅城邦遗址中。

大多数玛雅金字塔的顶端都有一个平台，平台上还建有一个小型建筑，用来祭拜玛雅的诸位神灵。当祭师或国王举行仪式时，他们会沿着石梯登上金字塔，这种做法象征着从地面升至天堂，因为他们会从地面开始一直登至塔顶的那座庙宇。有些金字塔设有两道楼梯，两侧各有一道；另一些会有四道楼梯，在塔的四面各有一道。

还有一些外观像玛雅金字塔的建筑是被用来作为统治者的墓地的，这些庞大的建筑物内有多间墓室，墓室中往往会藏有诸如翡翠一类的珍宝。根据一些历史学家的说法，玛雅金字塔建得如此高的原因之一是它们被用来作为玛雅人的地标，因为这些塔顶可以在丛林中“异峰突起”。此外，它们还被用来提醒当地的百姓：神是无处不在的。由于玛雅人是出色的天文学家，有人认为他们还将这些金字塔建筑用作天文观象台.