The Cult Center of the Pyramid of the Sun By studying the cave under the Pyramid of the Sun, Heyden demonstrates how the construction of the cave may have been built and how that cave became the start of Mesoamerica civilization (Heyden. 1975; p. 131). Throughout the reading, “An Interpretation of the Cave Underneath the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico”, the author uses mostly anecdotal and as well as empirical evidence to suggest that the cave was a cult center before the Pyramid of the Sun was built. One line of evidence that the cave was a cult center is the construction of the cave. The construction of the cave is described as having long tunnel entrances followed by a series of chambers. Chambers were positioned as described in the reading “the cloverleaf” which consisted of four chambers and different sections of the chambers were closed off. The series of walls suggested that there may have been decorations or paintings put up on those …show more content…
walls. Based on these findings, the closed off sections of the cave may have been constructed into shrines. What was found in the chambers were basalt discs artistically engraved and ornamented. With these artistic pieces there were other missing materials that were embedded into the discs and was found that the artistic style had Gulf Coast influences (Heyden. 1975; p.131). Caves in Mesoamerica represent great significance because the cave represents the history of Mesoamerica itself (Heyden. 1975; p.134) . The nature in which the author presents the evidence as to why the cave was a cult center is primarily based on stories. A story mentioned several times in the reading are about the sacrificed victims who were then placed in the caves tombstones. There were many reasons as to why individuals needed to be sacrificed such as to give life to the community and provide nourishment from the gods. In Mexican mythology literature, the caves were described as the earth’s womb because the sun and the moon rose out from the cave.. The caves would also be a source of water for the people (Heyden. 1975; p. 134). An empirical evidence that the author presents is about the pictorial codes and rock carvings. Pictorial codes were used to tell stories and certain points of the emergence of the cave. One aspect of the cave at Teotihuacan can be related to the general significance of caves in Mesoamerica is the government surrounded based on the supernatural forces.
The Mesoamerican people believed that supernatural forces controlled the universe around them. Leaders of the community were thought to have power to talk to spirits and gods. In the cave at Teotihuacan, the judge and police force could protect the human citizens by scaring away evil spirits. From the artifacts found and the even of the eruption of Xitli volcano, people from the southern part of the Valley of Mexico moved in the north direction and helped take part in the construction of the cave at Teotihuacan. Another aspect relates to the general significance of caves in Mesoamerica was the trade attraction. The shrine area in Teotihuacan attracted people from afar to trade with the Teotihuacan people. From the abundant materials which help flourish their community and the Teotihuacan were known as elite members (Heyden. 1975 p.
138-143). Heyden concludes that the cult center determined the architecture of the pyramid and gave rise to the beginning of Mesoamerican civilization as mentioned in the beginning. The cave is described as “a Real Place of Birth and Real Place of Return” meaning that the cave gave life by means of sacrifice, nourishing properties, and the attraction of trade. The dead and the sacrificed were placed in the cave tombstones, essentially returned to where they came from. From the nine possibilities listed in the reading, two of those possibilities can be empirically verified. One possibility that can be empirically verified is number six where an oracle took place. This can be empirically verified based on the stone carvings and the pictorial codes. Second possibility that can be empirically verified is listed number nine where the deceased leaders and other important individuals of Teotihuacan were buried in certain places of the cave with the use of relative dating. Based on the evidence Heyden provides to suggest that the cave under the Pyramid of the Sun was the cult center, which I do not agree with the author. As mentioned earlier, the construction of the cave is described as having many chambers in which certain parts of the chamber were dedicated to some activity. For example, some of the chambers placed artifacts such as engraved and ornamented basalt discs. With the basalt discs showed that there were materials embedded into the discs which indicate the materials were from other places. The basalt discs had Gulf Coast artistical influences. The type of evidence that the author presents is mostly anecdotal because they are based from Mexican mythology. However, the Mexican mythology do express the importance of the caves (Heyden. 1975; p.131-147). REFERENCES Heyden, D.. (1975). An Interpretation of the Cave underneath the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico. American Antiquity, 40(2), 131–147. http://doi.org/10.2307/279609
Kathryn book Life in the Pueblo is based on excavations that she did at Lizard Man Village (Kamp, 1997). This was a small pueblo located in Arizona which is believed to be inhabited between 11th and 13th century. These ancient excavations were first carried out by United States Forest Service and were parts of Grinnell College field school (Kamp, 1997). The aim of the book was to describe Lizard Man Village and present excavation processes and analysis. Kamp 1997 offers archaeological interpretation of the site in relation to the past understandings. She bring out successfully three narratives. These narratives include ethnographic data in relationship to traditional accounts from Hopi (a place which is believed to be the first resident of Lizard Man) (Kamp, 1997). He also bring out clearly the issue of archaeology as well as fictional account basing it on both ethnography and archaeology.
Inga Clendinnen's Aztecs:An Interpretation is an outstanding book dealing with investigations into how the Mexica peoples may have veiwed the world in which they lived. From the daily life of a commoner to the explosively, awe inspiring lives of the priests and warriors. Clendinnen has used thoughtful insights and a fresh perspective that will have general readers and specialist readers alike engaged in a powerful and elegantly written interpretation that is hard to put down without reflection upon this lost culture.
Explanation- This article gives examples of how indigenous people used to live before the colonization of Christopher Columbus. After the appearance of Christopher Columbus in Mexico different ethnic groups were distributed amongst different states along with their different languages. In the state of Oaxaca there around sixteen different ethnic groups which the Mixtecs and the Zapotecs are the two main ethnos who have continued to expand amongst the territory. During the Spanish conquest the Mixtec and the Zapotecs’ religion was mostly based on belief in the vital force that animated all living things, meaning that they worshiped the land and the creator. Throughout this day there are still indigenous people who believe and practice their ideology, and the “modernized” are set to practice Catholicism.
The Mystery of Chaco Canyon introduces viewers to a very complex structure that was built by Ancient Pueblo Indians. Although there is no language to explain the structure’s meaning and purpose, researchers were able to read their architecture as a language. Four themes that were extracted from the structure were, the native’s immense understanding of astronomy, the use for the structure, the level of spirituality that the structure represents, and migration from Chaco Canyon.
... god. Religious meeting were held in secrecy in the homes of members of the church, mainly female members of the church. Amalia risked her freedom by holding a meeting in her home. (p232) Both the Ladinos and the Indians believed that they were being punished by their gods for the sufferings they experienced. The Mayans believed that they were being punished by their gods for the suffering their people were experiencing at the hands of the Europeans. “They came, who were destined to come; haughty and hard of manner and strong of voice, such were the instruments of our chiding”. (Castellanos, year, p 56) The religious rites and customs practised by the indigenous people were constructed by Europeans as “lies and deceptions which the devil had invented” (Tignor et al 2002, p97) They were to worship only the Christian God instead of bowing to their many idols.
Debate started to arise when an archaeologist by the name of Thomas D. Dillehay found artifacts of people existing 14,600 years ago, before Clovis, in Monte Verde, a site in southern Chile. These people slept in hide tents, had access to seafood and potatoes, and shared similar characteristics to other artifacts found in North Ame...
A major element of Aztec life was religion, as often is in the case in ancient civilizations. The Aztecs were a polytheistic people, and they often made use of human sacrifice to please their gods. Diaz often makes reference to the blood-stained walls of the Aztec temples in his account of the conquest. In reference to the success of Cortes and his soldiers, an anci...
Before the end of the 20th century archeologist began making progress in translation of the ancient writing. Discoverers believed to have solved the mystery of the Maya when archeologists J.Eric Thompson, after conducting many excavations, concluded the people of Tikal were peaceful and free from conflict. After his analysis of the hieroglyphs believe declared the Maya people were spiritual and used Tikal as ceremonial site. As studies of the Maya people continued translation of the hieroglyphs went undispu...
Around 3500 B.C.E to 3000 B.C.E., civilizations emerged in many places. Egypt and Mesoamerica are distinctive two of them. Considering the different aspects of civilization, historians can find some same characteristics and differences which are valuable for historians to understand civilization in-depth.
The greatness of the society may never be fully comprehended due to a lack of historical evidence, but the small amount of historical documents that remain paint an impressive picture of the Toltecs. Their use of beautiful architecture, great artwork, and the unique configuration of their city leaves many wishing that more was known about the culture of the ancient civilization. Perhaps the Toltec legacy can be found in how highly both the Mayan and Aztec civilizations praised them. Their influence can be found in the grandeur of both the Mayan and the Aztecan societies as both have attributed the advancement of their religion, art, writing, medicine, and metallurgy to the obscure Toltecan civilization. Only time will tell if more will be discovered about the mysterious civilization that is the
Architecture, like many things, can also be made for the use of or inspired by the symbols people believe in. Therefore, art and architecture in Ancient Mesoamerica can be stated to be made for the use of religious symbols. Making architecture and art forms takes effort, dedication, and patience. Architecture can take years to make, as was s...
Thirty-six years ago, on Nov. 18, 1978, 913 members of the People’s Temple Cult committed mass suicide in the Guyana jungle, under the direction of the Reverend Jim Jones. Most of the victims seem to have taken their own lives by ingesting grape Kool-Aid laced with cyanide, while a few had been shot. The grisly event was triggered by the ambush of U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan and other Americans who were attempting to investigate mistreatment of Rev. Jones’ followers; the cult apparently felt threatened by the potential repercussions of the ambush (Layton 3). In 1993, about 80 members of David Koresh's Branch Davidians died after cult members set fire to their own compound following a standoff with federal authorities. And within the past years, 74 members of a group calling itself the Order of the Solar Temple have gone to their death in Canada, Switzerland and France. In the most recent Solar Temple incident, Didier Queze, 39, a baker, his wife Chantale Goupillot, 41, her mother and two others of the faithful exploded themselves into oblivion in St.-Casimir, Quebec; they had attempted to take their three teenaged children with them, but at the last minute the three drugged teens dragged themselves out of the explosive-rigged house and hid in a storage shed. Members of the Solar Temple cult believe that the explosions that cause the fragmentation of their earthly bodies will propel them to Sirius, a star in the constellation Canus Major (Lacayo 44). And, of course, most recently thirty-nine people in matching clothes, members of the Heaven’s Gate cult in Rancho Santa Fe, California, were found lying peacefully in their beds at their rented hillside mansion, hands at their sides, dead. Cult members had taken their own lives on the weeken...
Edu/LA260/Aztecs.htm> Benson, Sonia. The “Aztec Religion” Culture, and Daily Life.” Early Civilizations in the Americas: Almanac Vol.2.Ed. Deborah J. Baker, Ph.D. Michigan: Farmington Hills, 501-527. Print.
The Olmecs are the earliest known Mesoamerican civilization. Around 1200 B.C. the Olmecs originated as a primitive people living and farming on the shores of Mexico (Stanton 91). Soon, however, they began to build cities such as San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Monte Alban. These “cities” were religious centers where people gathered to worship, and were not populated (Stanton 91). The first of these centers, San Lorenzo, was built c. 1150 B.C., on a flat topped, man-made mountain. It was mysteriously abandoned 200 years later (Stanton 92-93). La Venta, built between 1000 and 600 B.C., sat on an island in a swamp (Stanton 93). Later, around 500 B.C., Monte Alban, which was used as a religious center even after the Olmecs faded, was built on an immense mountain (Stanton 93). The cities were made up of temples and plazas, and decorated by monumental stone heads, which weighed up to 50 tons (Stanton 93)! These heads probably represented their early kings and had distinct helmets (Kingfisher 32). It is incredible how the Olmec people transported the stone from the distant mountains to La Venta, near the shore, without the aid of work animals or carts. It appears that the Olmecs did this grueling work for their gods willingly, as there is no evidence of forced labor (Stanton 93). The Olmecs probably worshipped the jaguar, as it appears so often in their artwork. There are also many e...
Taube, Karl. “The major Gods of Ancient Yucatan.” Studies in Pre-Columbian Art & Archaeology 32 (1992): 11-27. Print.