Chichén Itzá was founded in AD 514 by a Mayan priest, but had long since been abandoned when the Spanish arrived at the site over a thousand years later. War and sacrifice were major factors in Mayan culture, and nowhere is this more evident than in the structures at Chichén Itzá. El Castillo, the dominant four-sided temple pyramid, was one of the sacrificial centres in the city. It is believed that the pyramid's narrow and steep stairs were built deliberately so that the body of the sacrificial victim would fall all the way to the bottom. Many offerings to the gods were made at the sacred cenote, also called the Well of Sacrifice. Cenotes were very important in the Yucatán Peninsula both because water was rare in the region, and because these natural sinkholes were seen as places where connection to the spirit world was possible. Sacrifices placed in cenotes would communicate the needs of the community, and encourage the gods to provide whatever was needed.

Other structures linked to war and sacrifice at Chichén Itzá include a large ball court, a skull rack and numerous stelae engraved with images of the ball players. The ball court at Chichén Itzá is the largest in Mesoamerica, suggesting that the city must have been very powerful. The ball court was probably home to many ball games and subsequent sacrifices. The skull rack or tzompantli was used to display the skulls of sacrificial victims.

It is believed that Chichén Itzá was deserted after a civil war with the nearby Mayapán.

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