Spearthrower Owl Hill: A Toponym at Atetelco, Teotihuacan

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Nielsen ◽  
Christophe Helmke
Keyword(s):  
Classic Period ◽  
The North ◽  
Great Size ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Historical Individual ◽  
Naming Practices

The important Classic period site of Teotihuacan is renowned for its great size, ancient influence, and intricately decorated polychrome murals. The latter are the focus of the present study, in particular the unique landscape scene from Murals 2 and 3 from Portico 1 of the North Patio of the Atetelco residential compound that depicts a row of toponymic hill signs. The three hills have identical qualifying elements embedded, identified as combinations of an owl and a spearthrower. The murals thus make a repeated reference to a place named “Spearthrower Owl Hill.” The dating of the murals to the Early Xolalpan phase (ca. A.D. 350–450) makes them contemporary with the so-called Teotihuacan entrada into the Maya lowland sites such as Tikal, where hieroglyphic texts make mention of a Teotihuacan-affiliated individual known as “Spearthrower Owl.” From these findings—and based on Mesoamerican naming practices—we go on to suggest that the Atetelco toponym and the historical individual share the name of a common forebear, possibly that of a previously unidentified Teotihuacan martial patron deity. As such, the Early Classic Teotihuacan “Spearthrower Owl” deity has much in common with the legendary Huitzilopochtli of the Late Postclassic Mexica. Our reexamination of the murals from Atetelco shows the enormous potential that further studies in Teotihuacan writing and iconography still have for our understanding of the history and religion of this major Mesoamerican site.

scholarly journals Climate impact on the development of Pre-Classic Maya civilisation

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1253-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees Nooren ◽  
Wim Z. Hoek ◽  
Brian J. Dermody ◽  
Didier Galop ◽  
Sarah Metcalfe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Beach Ridge ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
The North ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The impact of climate change on the development and disintegration of Maya civilisation has long been debated. The lack of agreement among existing palaeoclimatic records from the region has prevented a detailed understanding of regional-scale climatic variability, its climatic forcing mechanisms and its impact on the ancient Maya. We present two new palaeo-precipitation records for the central Maya lowlands, spanning the Pre-Classic period (1800 BCE–250 CE), a key epoch in the development of Maya civilisation. A beach ridge elevation record from world's largest late Holocene beach ridge plain provides a regional picture, while Lake Tuspan's diatom record is indicative of precipitation changes at a local scale. We identify centennial-scale variability in palaeo-precipitation that significantly correlates with the North Atlantic δ14C atmospheric record, with a comparable periodicity of approximately 500 years, indicating an important role of North Atlantic atmospheric–oceanic forcing on precipitation in the central Maya lowlands. Our results show that the Early Pre-Classic period was characterised by relatively dry conditions, shifting to wetter conditions during the Middle Pre-Classic period, around the well-known 850 BCE (2.8 ka) event. We propose that this wet period may have been unfavourable for agricultural intensification in the central Maya lowlands, explaining the relatively delayed development of Maya civilisation in this area. A return to relatively drier conditions during the Late Pre-Classic period coincides with rapid agricultural intensification in the region and the establishment of major cities.

Ancient Maya Chert Workshops in Northern Belize, Central America

1983 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry J. Shafer ◽  
Thomas R. Hester
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
The North ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Archaeological Work ◽  
Main Center

Recent archaeological work at Colha and at other localities in the geographically restricted chert-bearing zone of northern Belize has revealed large-scale exploitation of chert for stone tool production. Workshops dated during the Late Preclassic period signal the beginning of craft specialization in chert working that continued in the Late Classic and into the Early Postclassic periods. Secular items such as large oval bifaces, tranchet bit tools and prismatic blades, as well as nonsecular eccentrics and stemmed macroblade artifacts are distinctive of the Late Preclassic and Late Classic workshops. The distribution sphere of Preclassic and Classic period chert tools has been traced to several contemporaneous sites that lie beyond the chert-bearing zone to the north. Colha has been identified as the primary production and distribution center during the Late Preclassic period; although it remained a production center in the Late Classic period, the main center for distribution may have shifted to Altun Ha.

1. Notice of two Fossil Trees lately uncovered in Craigleith Quarry, near Edinburgh

1875 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 104-108
Author(s):  
R. Christison
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Great Depth ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Great Size

The late Mr H. T. M. Witham read in 1830 to this Society, and published three years afterwards in greater extension, an inquiry of much interest respecting two fossil trees found in Craigleith Quarry, a mile and a half from the north-west outskirts of Edinburgh. The general points of this inquiry are, that trees of very great size lie, completely fossilised, in the very compact sandstone of the quarry, at a great depth below the rock surface, slightly inclined to the-dip of the strata, with their structure so finely preserved in the fossilising material as to be beautifully shown before the microscope, and recognised as that of the Pinaceous Family, and of the section to which belongs the existing Araucaria. These trees have been generally known to fossile botanists by the name of Araucarioxylon Withami. An opportunity having occurred this year of confirming and extending the inquiries of Witham, it has been thought right to take advantage of it, again through the medium of the Royal Society.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF MEMORY: THE USE OF CLASSIC PERIOD DIVINATORY TEXTS IN THE LATE POSTCLASSIC MAYA CODICES

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Vail ◽  
Christine Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Seasonal Cycles ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cyclical Time ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Human Actors

AbstractMaya codices were important repositories of cultural knowledge and traditions passed down through the centuries. Rather than being focused on human actors, however, the Late Postclassic period Maya screenfolds contain almanacs that predict the movements of celestial bodies during earlier time periods. The purpose of these seemingly “out-of-date” tools was to predict the future based on notions of cyclical time. Recent research suggests that centuries-old astronomical almanacs do more than model the past or formulate rituals. Instead, they are formulated to integrate celestial events with other cycles of time and to contextualize them with events from the mythic past, such as the destruction of a former world by flood. The memory of this calamitous primordial event, framed in terms of astronomical and seasonal cycles, is preserved in pre-Hispanic and historic documents as a means of conveying the ill-fortune associated with like-in-kind events that are certain to repeat, and of scheduling the performance of appropriate ritual actions to mitigate their destructive potential.

Classic Period Hohokam

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery J. Clark ◽  
David Abbott
Keyword(s):  
Classic Period ◽  
The Other ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
The North ◽  
Phoenix Basin ◽  
Populated Region ◽  
Lower Population ◽  
The Phoenix

This chapter discusses the Hohokam Classic Period (ca. 1200–1450 ce) in southern Arizona. Two perspectives are presented for observed archaeological patterns. One perspective is from the Phoenix Basin center, a densely populated region on a trajectory of overexploitation and decline throughout much of the interval, despite the construction of massive irrigation works and architectural buildings that left impressive ruins. The other perspective is from the outlying valleys to the north and east of Phoenix that had much lower population densities. Here intense interaction between local majorities, and small, but socially resilient, Kayenta immigrants from northeast Arizona led to the development of an inclusive Salado ideology that transcended the identities of both groups. This ideology ultimately penetrated the Phoenix Basin when the latter was on the verge of collapse. This collapse was so complete that few pre-contact archaeological sites have been identified in the Hohokam region after 1450 ce.

The Teotihuacan Mapping Project

1964 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Millon
Keyword(s):  
Classic Period ◽  
Population Estimates ◽  
Grid Pattern ◽  
Uniform Size ◽  
Maximum Area ◽  
Great Size ◽  
Ground Survey ◽  
Eastern Border ◽  
Early Classic Period ◽  
The City

AbstractA detailed map of Teotihuacán is being prepared through the use of photogrammetry and ground survey. The city's maximum limits have been circumscribed, and it appears that they surround an area of more than 10 square miles. Part of this area was occupied only during the first phase of the occupation of Teotihuacán (Tzacualli) in the Pre-Classic period; Tzacualli phase Teotihuacán appears to have covered an area of approximately 3 square miles. The maximum area reached by the city during its later phases appears to be close to 9 square miles, but how much of this area was actually occupied during any one period of time remains to be determined. The central 4.5 square miles of the city seem to have been subject to extensive planning (grid pattern, streets, and blocks of uniform size). Teotihuacán appeared as a settlement of great size in the Pre-Classic period and grew to mammoth proportions during the Classic period. No population estimates are yet possible. The Ciudadela now appears to have occupied a central rather than a southerly position in the city. Several Early Classic period Maya pottery fragments were found near the city's eastern border in the immediate vicinity of Tlamimilolpa where similar fragments had previously been found by Linné.

UNDER THE LORDLY MONARCHS OF THE NORTH: THE EPIGRAPHY OF NORTHERN BELIZE

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-286
Author(s):  
Christophe Helmke
Keyword(s):  
Historical Review ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Spanish Conquest ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractThe hieroglyphic texts of northern Belize are remarkable for their longevity, spanning from the Late Preclassic to the Late Postclassic (ca. 100 b.c –a.d. 1544). Together, these texts constitute an invaluable body of information that has thus far been generally overlooked and has not been integrated into larger syntheses of the region. This paper provides a diachronic review of the glyphic texts of northern Belize and contrasts them to the wider historical processes of the eastern Maya lowlands. A definition of the northern Belizean region precedes an outline of the corpora of monuments, as well as the textual sources on portable objects. This provides an historical review of northern Belize from the incipience of royalty to the eve of the Spanish Conquest.

scholarly journals THE SIZE OF PLAZAS IN MESOAMERICAN CITIES AND TOWNS: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alanna Ossa ◽  
Michael E. Smith ◽  
José Lobo
Keyword(s):  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Maya Archaeology ◽  
Settlement Systems ◽  
South Central ◽  
Passive Viewing ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Regional Settlement ◽  
Size Scales

We present quantitative data on population size and plaza area in three groups of ancient Mesoamerican settlements: a sample of 30 Late Postclassic cities and towns from throughout Mesoamerica and two regional settlement systems from the Classic period, including south-central Veracruz (the Mixtequilla) and the Palenque region. Plaza size scales with population in a sublinear relationship in all three groups, meaning that larger settlements had considerably less plaza area per capita than smaller settlements. These results suggest that the currently popular interpretation drawn from Classic Maya archaeology that plazas were places designed to hold the entire urban population for passive viewing of spectacles may be incomplete. We argue that the observed quantitative relationships between population and plaza area support the notion that plazas were designed to be used for a variety of purposes—including several types of ceremonies and marketplaces—held at different times following a regular schedule.

Who Was Who in Ninth-Century Chichen Itza

1990 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Ringle
Keyword(s):  
Ninth Century ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Early Colonial ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Organizational Features ◽  
Art And Architecture ◽  
Chichen Itza ◽  
State Form ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

AbstractHieroglyphic inscriptions from Chichen Itza are examined for possible light they might shed on its ethnic and political makeup during the Terminal Classic period (a.d. 800–1000). It is suggested that many of the name glyphs include patronyms known to be important at contact. This continuity of elite occupation is reinforced by decipherment of a title common to many of them ás holpop, a title also known from early colonial Spanish and Maya documents. Finally, a reading of the event of the lintel as yul is suggested. The implications of these readings suggest the genesis of at least some Late Postclassic organizational features in the Terminal Classic. Also arguing against a severe rupture of elite life at the end of the Terminal Classic is the persistence of patronyms in northern Yucatan. Colonial sources make frequent mention of migrations and invasions as the source of the distinctive art and architecture, yet if the arguments herein are correct, there was instead a remarkable stability of ruling families in northern Yucatan. Finally, the dedication of several monuments by different individuals, each having different patronyms and marked by epithets such as “holy,” suggests considerable autonomy of these lesser officials consistent with a segmentary state form of organization.

A Petrographic Study of Gila Polychrome

1956 ◽  
Vol 22 (2Part1) ◽  
pp. 180-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward B. Danson ◽  
Roberts M. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
The North ◽  
Archaeological Work ◽  
Mogollon Rim ◽  
Petrographic Study

Gila Polychrome pottery has been recognized since the time of the earliest archaeological work in the Southwest. Cushing, in 1887–88, recognized in the polychromes at Los Muertos and other Classic period sites of the Hohokam area the pottery type we now call Gila Polychrome. As more of the Southwest became known this type (W. and H. S. Gladwin 1930: 6) was found to be one of the most widespread, with a range extending from the Mogollon Rim on the north into northern Chihuahua and Sonora on the south and sporadically from Texas on the east through New Mexico to Gila Bend, Arizona, on the west (Haury 1945: 63).

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