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El Castillo (The Castle)
Artist / Origin: Unknown architect(s), Mayan, Chichén Itzá, Yucatan, Mexico
Region: Mesoamerica, Central America, and the Caribbean
Date: ca. 800–1000
Period: 500 CE – 1000 CE
Material: Stone
Medium: Architecture and Planning
Dimensions: H: approx. 79 ft. (24 m.)
Location: Yucatan, Mexico
Credit: © Michele Falzone/JAI/CORBIS
Aerial View of Notre Dame Cathedral
Artist / Origin: Unknown architect(s), France
Region: Europe
Date: ca. 1163–1345
Period: 1000 CE – 1400 CE
Material: Stone
Medium: Architecture and Planning
Dimensions: L: approx. 420 ft. (128 m.), W: 157½ ft. (48 m.) (transept)
Location: Ile de la Cité, Paris, France
Credit: © Yann Arthus-Bertrand/CORBIS
Our beliefs often determine the form of our sacred structures. But the opposite can also be true. Buildings are capable of stimulating, reinforcing, or clarifying belief as well. El Castillo in ancient Chichén Itzá and the Cathedral of Notre Dame in medieval Paris suggest the important role that architecture can play in expressing faith and negotiating the place of religion in not only our ritual lives, but also our day-to-day experience.