El Caracol
The Observatory at pre-Columbian Maya civilization Chichen Itza is called El Caracol (906 AD).
El Caracol means ‘the snail’ and the observatory is called this because of the spiral staircase inside the tower which allows viewing the stars at 360 degrees- for tracking solstices, equinoxes and eclipses.
El Caracol seems to be carefully aligned with the motions of Venus which had tremendous significance for the Mayan people. The viewing windows which remain seem to be specifically designed to track the appearance and disappearance of Venus from the night sky.
As this century progresses, there is a growing awareness that ancient cultures had a level of knowledge and awareness that we do not have NOR do we really understand.