Kristie Cheng & Sarah Chen

6B

Nohmul Temple
Our structure is one of the Mayan temples. Although there are many
Mayan temples throughout the South American continent, we have decided
to make our model after one in Xunantunich, Belize known as the Nohmul
complex. This temple is thought to have been built around 250 BC. The
temple measures to be about 50 by 52 meters and about 17 meters in
height. The temple was built of limestone in a flat environment. Much of the
information on its construction, such as the length of the time it took to build
and is unknown because it was built so long ago and they had very little
ability to record their advancements. However, we do know every some
decades the pyramids would be rebuilt or remodeled as the kings and people
believed that it was in order to please the gods or renew their relationship.
The Mayan culture influenced the temple which can be seen through the
precinct at the top as they would use it for ceremonies, worship,
astronomical studies, even as a throne room, and the height of the temple to
try to be closer to the gods up above. Up until May of 2013, the temple was
used as a tourist attraction. However, in May of 2013, the temple was
destroyed and used as material for a road fill. This, of course, was not known
by the Belize government and became a big topic on the preservation of
their national heritage.
For our model we used poster board as our material. The ratio of our
model to the original structure is 1:250. The dimensions for our model are 20

Kristie Cheng & Sarah Chen

6B

x 20.8 x 17cm. There is a triangle present on every face of our pyramid. The
face of the temple is in the shape of a trapezoid. At the top of the temple
there is a rectangular shaped building. To solve the ratio for our model to the
original structure, we had to first convert the length, width, and height of the
base into centimeters. Then, we had to find a common factor of the original
structure and our model, which had to be less than 12. So, we chose to
make the width of our model 20 centimeters, as it was an easy proportion.
Then, we solved the proportion by using a ratio and cross multiplication. We
found the length by cross multiplying 1/250 and x/5200 which was 20.8 cm,
and the height by doing the same thing between the ratio and the original
height of the temple which was 1/250 and x/1700 which was 6.8 cm. From
that, we got our final ratios from the original structure to the scale model
5000/20: 5200/20.8: 1700/6.8.

Kristie Cheng & Sarah Chen

6B

Works Cited
Awe, Dr. Jamie. "Xunantunich Maya Ruin Belize - Review, History And What You Will
See."Belize.com. Belize.com, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.
Mcdermott, Kerry. "'Ignorant' Builders Destroy 2,300-year-old, 100ft Mayan Pyramid in Central
America to Make Road." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 15 May 2013. Web. 02 Feb.
2015.
Snodgrass, Elizabeth. "Ancient Maya Pyramid Destroyed in Belize." National Geographic. National
Geographic Society, 15 May 2013. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.
Iliff, Laurence. "Mayan Pyramid Bulldozed for Gravel." WSJ. Wall Street Journal, 16 May 2013. Web.
03 Feb. 201