# data[].attributes.body
ykkCraftingPandas

# data[].attributes.body
1. Yeo Xian Hui
2. Koh Rui Thong [Team Leader]
3. Koh Jian Kai

# data[].attributes.body
Chichen Itza: At the brim of the well where the Wise Men of the Water Live. This is what Chichen Itza means in Maya. Chichen Itza was one of the most important city-states in pre-Hispanic America and is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico today.

# data[].attributes.body
Chichen Itza is located in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico near Valladolid, Yucatan.

# data[].attributes.body
Chichen Itza is a well-known Archaeological Site and more after being selected one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in July the 7th, 2007.

Chichen Itza is beautiful and magnificent just as you must have already heard and it has plenty of Mayan Ruins to visit and get to know about its history.

Chichen Itza is divided in Old Chichen and Chichen Itza where you can find 6 Mayan Ruins in the Old Chichen section and about 20 Mayan Ruins in the New Chichen or Chichen Itza, making it a total of 26 Mayan Ruins to see on the Mayan Site.

The main Mayan Ruin is the Chichen Itza Pyramid or El Castillo, but there are other equaly important as El Caracol or Observatory, The Temple of The Warriors and the Mayan Ball Game.

# data[].attributes.body
The Chichen Itza Pyramid or El Castillo is the most astonishing Mayan Ruin or building inside the Archaeological Site.

# data[].attributes.body
La Pirámide, known as the Temple of Kukulcán (or also just as Kukulcán), is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán. The pyramid building is more formally designated by archaeologists as Chichen Itza Structure 5B18.

Built by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries AD, the pyramid served as a temple to the deity Kukulcán, the Yucatec Maya Feathered Serpent deity closely related to Quetzalcoatl, a deity known to the Aztecs and other central Mexican cultures of the Postclassic period. It has a substructure that likely was constructed several centuries earlier for the same purpose.

The pyramid consists of a series of square terraces with stairways up each of the four sides to the temple on top. Sculptures of plumed serpents run down the sides of the northern balustrade. Around the spring and autumn equinoxes, the late afternoon sun strikes off the northwest corner of the pyramid and casts a series of triangular shadows against the northwest balustrade, creating the illusion of the feathered serpent "crawling" down the pyramid. To contemporary visitors, the event has been very popular and is witnessed by thousands at the spring equinox, but it is not known whether the phenomenon is a result of a purposeful design since the light-and-shadow effect can be observed without major changes during several weeks near the equinoxes.

# data[].attributes.body
All four sides of the pyramid have approximately 91 steps which, when added together and including the temple platform on top as the final "step", may produce a total of 365 steps (the steps on the south side of the pyramid are eroded). That number is equal to the number of days of the Haab' year and likely is significantly related to rituals.

The structure is 24 m (79 ft) high, plus an additional 6 m (20 ft) for the temple at the top. The square base measures 55.3 m (181 ft) across.

# data[].attributes.headline
Shadows cast on Kukulcán during Equinox at Chichen Itza

# data[].attributes.subject
Shadows cast on Kukulcán during Equinox at Chichen Itza

# data[].attributes.body
Our building is a 1 : 28082 replica of the actual Chichen Itza (El Castillo) in reality. Here is the length and width of our building.

# data[].attributes.body
Height

# data[].attributes.body
The first and the largest decision we had to make when we started building was the main building materials, which are the walls and pillars. We needed to make sure that the final product is of high resemblance of the actual building. The materials that we took into consideration are:

# data[].attributes.body
This material has a colour that's the most compatible with the building colour in real life. Therefore, it's the first ever material we thought of using when it comes to building El Castillo.

# data[].attributes.body
A material that has variants and styles similar to stone, but has a deeper colour. It looks much better in terms of beauty and gracefulness so it looks like a better replacement for stone block.

# data[].attributes.body
It has an even deeper colour compared to stone and deepslate, but we did consider to use it as the main building material because it gives out the kind of ancient vibe.

In the end, we chose deepslate as the main material to replicate the building, El Castillo. Beauty and degree of replication are the main aspects of our choice. Deepslate has variants that stone materials can provide, and with a better colour whereas blackstone lack suitable variants for our build therefore, is out of consideration compared to stone and deepslate.
Below is the list of materials prepared for our building.

# data[].attributes.body
1. First Row:

Deepslate Brick

Cracked Deepslate Brick

Deepslate Brick Stair

Deepslate Brick Slab

2. Second Row:

Deepslate Tile

Cracked Deepslate Tile

Deepslate Tile Stair

Deepslate Tile Wall

3. Third Row:

Polished Deepslate

Polished Deepslate Slab

# data[].attributes.body
We built a product trial before we start with the actual building to make our minds on these aspects:

a. height

b. diameter of floors

c. exterior designs (stairs, pillars, block arrangement etc.)

# data[].attributes.body
1. We started off by building the first floor of the pyramid based on the dimension.

# data[].attributes.body
Next we continue with the following floors with the same design and building but with a smaller diameter.

# data[].attributes.body
The stairs are built in the middle of every direction. All of their ends gathered in the middle of the building.

# data[].attributes.body
We complete the last floor and connect it with the stairs connected to it.

# data[].attributes.body
After building the stairs and floors of the pyramid, which are the main parts of the building, we proceed to the building of the temple at the top of the pyramid.

# data[].attributes.body
Lastly, we worked on the exterior designs and block arrangements so that it resembles the actual El Castillo in reality, and achieved the goal of preserving this wonderful world heritage in digital form.

# data[].attributes.body
https://youtu.be/iLSMe_Y9bZU

# data[].attributes.body
Let's assume 1 block in minecraft has the dimension of 1cm x 1cm x 1cm, the length and width of our building are 33cm and the height is 18cm.

The actual building of El Castillo have the dimension 5530cm x 5530cm x 3000cm.

Therefore, the ratio of our building with the El Castillo in real life is:

Width & Length: 2:335

Height: 2:333

# data[].attributes.body
1. First Attempt:

During the first attempt, we focused too much on the design of the building, causing us to miscalculate the height of each floor. The whole building wasn't proportional and it was bad-looking as it does not resemble the actual characteristics of El Castillo. As a result, we failed on the first try.

2. Second Attempt:

This time, we made sure the height of each floor is proportional and resembles the actual building. In spite of that, we still messed up during the synchronisation of the stairs and the floors, causing differences in the length and width of the building. Consequently, the stairs didn't manage to reach the same point on the same floor.
________________________________________________________________
Solutions:
Based on the failures above, we can conclude that the most important aspect is to focus on the structure and base of a building while keeping track of the height and proportion of the building. We should be paying attention to the main frame of the building, and only after building the essential parts of the building like walls, stairs and floors, we can proceed to other aspects such as design and block arrangements. Therefore, with the previous experience, we are able to build a replicate of the great pyramid of Chitchen Itza, El Castillo successfully.

# data[].attributes.body
From brainstorming, researching, planning and building One of the New Seven Wonders of The World, to writing the report and recording the final product, all of the team members learnt a lot about Chitchen Itza and El Castillo which indirectly increased our awareness in conserving and preserving heritage sites all over the world. In addition, we also gained a lot of experience that cannot be found from textbooks while building a replica of Chitchen Itza as we worked together to achieve the goal of Heritage Immortalised. All in all, it was a great learning experience as we creatively transform our efforts in conserving and preserving heritage sites to a virtual platform like Minecraft to spread the greatness of these heritage buildings and the immense need to constantly ensure that they are in good care so that the future generations are still able to witness the histories of the world through these heritage sites.