# FANCHON ROYER'S MAYAN MONUMENTS OF YUCATAN MEXICO 1930s EDUCATIONAL FILM 47414

This black and white film about the Mayan monuments in Yucatan was produced by Fanchon Royer, one of the few female Hollywood producers in the 1930s. This is one of her “Way of Life Films” productions, which was formed in 1940. She moved to Mexico in 1945 and so this film dates shortly after that. Out of the bird’s eye view of the vast jungle rises the ancient city of Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico (:26-:44), a city that once housed 200,000 people and was more than 12 miles in length. The stone buildings remain, such as the observatory that produced the Mayan calendar (:56- 1:45 ), it’s carved entry shown ( 2:16 ). The “nunnery” once housed the maidens dedicated to serving the Mayan gods ( 2:35 - 2:55 ). The Kukulkan “Feathered Serpent” Pyramid was dedicated to a god by that name ( 2:59 ). The Temple of the Warriors has had some restoration work done by the Carnegie Institution ( 3:10 - 3:27 ). The Standard Bearer statue ( 3:29 ) overlooks the altar ( 3:40 ), where additional stone carvings remain ( 3:44 ; 4:09 ). Much of this area remains unexcavated. Stylized snouts on buildings represent the rain god Chaahk ( 4:22 ). The Pok-A-Tok ball court ( 4:39 ) was for a deadly sport for the losing team that required passing a solid rubber ball through a two-foot stone hoop, using only the thighs or hips. A view of the Observatory in the distance is shown ( 5:03 ). In the jungle around the ruins, the skies are full of locusts, who still attack the corn fields of modern day farmers…

- Kind: Educational
- Genres: Education, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/47414MayanMonumentsOfYucatan)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/47414MayanMonumentsOfYucatan?play=1)