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Few doubt that the quetzal held a place of honor in Mayan culture. Mayan priests are believed to have performed their theatrical ceremonies draped in quetzal feathers, accentuating their larger-than-life appearance. Following the Spanish conquest of Central America, the quetzal became a symbol of freedom for the indigenous people of the region, since it was believed that the bird could not long survive in captivity. Although near extinction today, the quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala and the name of its primary unit of currency. And in what some call a critical piece of circumstantial evidence, a Mayan glyph from the Dresden Codex depicts the serpent god Kukulkan with a giant quetzal behind him.

Lubman sees further proof in the pyramid's famous "shadow show." The temple is aligned astronomically so that during the spring and fall equinox, an undulating serpentine shadow projects against the balustrades of the north side of the staircase. "The quetzal sound could have been evoked by a priestly handclap made at a critical moment in the ceremony," Lubman says. "This would reinforce the dramatic impact and religious purpose."

But does it all add up to intentional design? Samuel Edgerton, an architectural historian at Williams College in Massachusetts, has his doubts. "It's an interesting theory and there's a certain validity to it," he says, citing instances where the Maya are known to have used architecture to denote spiritual symbolism. It is also clear that, in an age without electronic amplification, the Maya designed their buildings with acoustical concerns in mind. "But it's limited, as far as we know, to human sounds. To have it replicate the call of a bird is getting to be a stretch." He believes Lubman may be overstating the relevance of the quetzal to the temple at Chichen Itza. "The quetzal bird had a semi-sacredness to the Maya, but more for its colorful feathers," he says. "There's no solid evidence that it was ever worshiped or transmogrified into a god or deity."

Those native to the region seem less skeptical. While visiting ceremonial centers in Mexico, Chilean archaeologist and ethnomusicologist Claudio Mercado was told by locals that the echo effect is known locally as "la cola del quetzal," or "the quetzal's tail." His colleague, Jose Perez de Arce, a specialist in pre-Columbian musical instruments, heard similar reports while visiting the same regions, lending further credence to Lubman's theory. But George Izenour, a fellow acoustical archaeologist who specializes in the acoustics of Western classical structures, shares the archaeological community's skepticism: "It's all nonsense, but it's charming nonsense."

Next page | The debate is understandable, but ...