Codex Nicholson Pp. 59-126
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Shawn Klush and Justin Shandor!
El Amigo FRIENDS OF TAXCO Volume 55, Issue 5 visit us on the web at: http://www.friendsoftaxco.org May 2018 The History of Puebla 2018 Officers Owing to the region’s rich volcanic soils and strategic location, Náhuatl-speaking Indians once developed a complex President civilization in Puebla; today, many monumental ruins can be Barbara White found throughout the state. Puebla is also the home of Mole Vice-President Poblano, a traditional Mexican dish. Bruce Troe Communications Secretary Early History Bobbie Strelow Cholula, the most important settlement of ancient Puebla, was Recording Secretary established between 800 and 200 B.C. and is considered the Ana Bonilla oldest continually inhabited city in Mexico. By 100 B.C., the Olmecs had developed Cholula into one of Mexico’s most Treasurer Seal of Puebla Linda Lewis active cities. During that period they began building the immense monument known as the Great Pyramid of Cholula. One of the largest 2018 Chairmen pyramids in the world, it stands 55 meters (181 feet) tall with a base that measures over 396 meters (1,300 feet) on each side. Similar to the fate of Teotihuacán to the Adult Exchange northwest, Cholula was mostly abandoned around 800 A.D. for unknown reasons. Jo Lamoreaux In the 10th century, Cholula was taken over by the Putún Maya, also known as Commissary Olmeca-Xicalanca. During the 12th century, a Toltec-Chichimec tribe settled in the Bill Harmon area, and in 1292 Nahuatl-speaking tribes, including remnants of the Toltec nation, Culture and Education successfully invaded Cholula. They, in turn, were conquered by Huexotzingo Indians Mary Galeana in 1359. -
The Diet of Sovereignty: Bioarchaeology in Tlaxcallan
THE DIET OF SOVEREIGNTY: BIOARCHAEOLOGY IN TLAXCALLAN By Keitlyn Alcantara-Russell Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In Anthropology August 7th, 2020 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Tiffiny Tung, Ph.D. William Fowler, Ph.D. Carwil Bjork-James, Ph.D. Edward Wright-Rios, Ph.D. Copyright © 2020 by Keitlyn Alcantara-Russell All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION To the past version of me who never dreamed I could do this. To the Frankensteined pieces and parts sewn together from my parents’ (and big sister’s) own journeys and struggles, the moments where we didn’t think we could, and then we did anyway. To the recycled genes of grandparents and ancestors, whose loves and hurts shaped my drive to understand. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Preliminary field reconnaissance was funded by a Tinker Foundation Field Research Grant from the Center for Latin American Studies at Vanderbilt University. Fieldwork was funded by a Summer Research Award from the College of Arts and Sciences at Vanderbilt University, a Fulbright-García Robles Research Grant, and a Wenner Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (#9448: The Diet of Sovereignty: Bioarchaeology in Tlaxcallan). Subsequent field and lab work was supported by Summer Research Awards from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Anthropology Department at Vanderbilt University, and a Russell G. Hamilton Graduate Leadership Institute Dissertation Enhancement Grant to support Ethnographic fieldwork. The public-facing aspects of my research were supported by a Public Scholar Fellowship from the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt, and an Imagining America Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) fellowship and co- directorship. -
A Mat of Serpents: Aztec Strategies of Control from an Empire in Decline
A Mat of Serpents: Aztec Strategies of Control from an Empire in Decline Jerónimo Reyes On my honor, Professors Andrea Lepage and Elliot King mark the only aid to this thesis. “… the ruler sits on the serpent mat, and the crown and the skull in front of him indicate… that if he maintained his place on the mat, the reward was rulership, and if he lost control, the result was death.” - Aztec rulership metaphor1 1 Emily Umberger, " The Metaphorical Underpinnings of Aztec History: The Case of the 1473 Civil War," Ancient Mesoamerica 18, 1 (2007): 18. I dedicate this thesis to my mom, my sister, and my brother for teaching me what family is, to Professor Andrea Lepage for helping me learn about my people, to Professors George Bent, and Melissa Kerin for giving me the words necessary to find my voice, and to everyone and anyone finding their identity within the self and the other. Table of Contents List of Illustrations ………………………………………………………………… page 5 Introduction: Threads Become Tapestry ………………………………………… page 6 Chapter I: The Sum of its Parts ………………………………………………… page 15 Chapter II: Commodification ………………………………………………… page 25 Commodification of History ………………………………………… page 28 Commodification of Religion ………………………………………… page 34 Commodification of the People ………………………………………… page 44 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... page 53 Illustrations ……………………………………………………………………... page 54 Appendices ……………………………………………………………………... page 58 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………... page 60 …. List of Illustrations Figure 1: Statue of Coatlicue, Late Period, 1439 (disputed) Figure 2: Peasant Ritual Figurines, Date Unknown Figure 3: Tula Warrior Figure Figure 4: Mexica copy of Tula Warrior Figure, Late Aztec Period Figure 5: Coyolxauhqui Stone, Late Aztec Period, 1473 Figure 6: Male Coyolxauhqui, carving on greenstone pendant, found in cache beneath the Coyolxauhqui Stone, Date Unknown Figure 7: Vessel with Tezcatlipoca Relief, Late Aztec Period, ca. -
The Bilimek Pulque Vessel (From in His Argument for the Tentative Date of 1 Ozomatli, Seler (1902-1923:2:923) Called Atten- Nicholson and Quiñones Keber 1983:No
CHAPTER 9 The BilimekPulqueVessel:Starlore, Calendrics,andCosmologyof LatePostclassicCentralMexico The Bilimek Vessel of the Museum für Völkerkunde in Vienna is a tour de force of Aztec lapidary art (Figure 1). Carved in dark-green phyllite, the vessel is covered with complex iconographic scenes. Eduard Seler (1902, 1902-1923:2:913-952) was the first to interpret its a function and iconographic significance, noting that the imagery concerns the beverage pulque, or octli, the fermented juice of the maguey. In his pioneering analysis, Seler discussed many of the more esoteric aspects of the cult of pulque in ancient highland Mexico. In this study, I address the significance of pulque in Aztec mythology, cosmology, and calendrics and note that the Bilimek Vessel is a powerful period-ending statement pertaining to star gods of the night sky, cosmic battle, and the completion of the Aztec 52-year cycle. The Iconography of the Bilimek Vessel The most prominent element on the Bilimek Vessel is the large head projecting from the side of the vase (Figure 2a). Noting the bone jaw and fringe of malinalli grass hair, Seler (1902-1923:2:916) suggested that the head represents the day sign Malinalli, which for the b Aztec frequently appears as a skeletal head with malinalli hair (Figure 2b). However, because the head is not accompanied by the numeral coefficient required for a completetonalpohualli Figure 2. Comparison of face date, Seler rejected the Malinalli identification. Based on the appearance of the date 8 Flint on front of Bilimek Vessel with Aztec Malinalli sign: (a) face on on the vessel rim, Seler suggested that the face is the day sign Ozomatli, with an inferred Bilimek Vessel, note malinalli tonalpohualli reference to the trecena 1 Ozomatli (1902-1923:2:922-923). -
Harvard University Announces the Inaugural Lecture of the Eduardo Matos Moctezuma Lecture Series, to Be Delivered by Its Namesake, Professor Eduardo Matos Moctezuma
Harvard University announces the Inaugural Lecture of the Eduardo Matos Moctezuma Lecture Series, to be delivered by its namesake, Professor Eduardo Matos Moctezuma Mexico City and Cambridge, MA – September 27, 2017. Harvard University expresses solidarity with the people of Mexico following the earthquake of September 19, and reaffirms its commitment to collaborate alongside the country’s academic community to identify solutions to Mexico’s most pressing problems. As ever, Harvard wholeheartedly supports and values collaboration with Mexican institutions. In an effort to renew its commitment to collaborations with Mexico on research and education, Harvard University has established the Eduardo Matos Moctezuma Lecture Series. This series celebrates the excellence of Mexican archaeology, represented by the figure of Professor Matos Moctezuma. In addition to honoring Mexico’s preeminent archaeologist, the series seeks to convene world-renowned experts on pre-Hispanic Mexico. The Inaugural Lecture of the Matos Lecture Series will be held on Tuesday, October 3rd at 7pm CDT/8pm EST at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Though space is limited, this event will be live streamed. A delegation from Harvard will include Mark Elliott, Harvard’s Vice Provost for International Affairs and Mark Schwartz Professor of Chinese and Inner Asian History, who will preside over the event. Other members of the Harvard delegation traveling to Mexico include Brian Farrell, Director of the David Rockefeller for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) and Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and David Hempton, Dean of the Harvard Divinity School and Alonzo L. McDonald Family Professor of Evangelical Theological Studies and John Lord O'Brian Professor of Divinity. -
A Regional Study
POPULATION STRUCTURE AND INTERREGIONAL INTERACTION IN PRE- HISPANIC MESOAMERICA: A BIODISTANCE STUDY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By B. Scott Aubry, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2009 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Clark Spencer Larsen, Adviser Professor Paul Sciulli _________________________________ Adviser Professor Sam Stout Graduate Program in Anthropology Professor Robert DePhilip Copyright Bryan Scott Aubry 2009 ABSTRACT This study addresses long standing issues regarding the nature of interregional interaction between central Mexico and the Maya area through the analysis of dental variation. In total 25 sites were included in this study, from Teotihuacan and Tula, to Tikal and Chichen Itza. Many other sites were included in this study to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the biological relationships between these regions and to better estimate genetic heterozygosity for each sub-region. The scope of the present study results in a more comprehensive understanding of population interaction both within and between the sub-regions of Mesoamerica, and it allows for the assessment of differential interaction between sites on a regional scale. Both metric and non-metric data were recorded. Non-metric traits were scored according to the ASU system, and dental metrics include the mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions at the CEJ following a modification of Hillson et al. (2005). Biodistance estimates were calculated for non-metric traits using Mean Measure of Divergence. R-matrix analysis, which provides an estimate of average genetic heterozygosity, was applied to the metric data. R-matrix analysis was performed for each of the sub-regions separately in order to detect specific sites that deviate from expected levels of genetic heterozygosity in each area. -
Encounter with the Plumed Serpent
Maarten Jansen and Gabina Aurora Pérez Jiménez ENCOUNTENCOUNTEERR withwith thethe Drama and Power in the Heart of Mesoamerica Preface Encounter WITH THE plumed serpent i Mesoamerican Worlds From the Olmecs to the Danzantes GENERAL EDITORS: DAVÍD CARRASCO AND EDUARDO MATOS MOCTEZUMA The Apotheosis of Janaab’ Pakal: Science, History, and Religion at Classic Maya Palenque, GERARDO ALDANA Commoner Ritual and Ideology in Ancient Mesoamerica, NANCY GONLIN AND JON C. LOHSE, EDITORS Eating Landscape: Aztec and European Occupation of Tlalocan, PHILIP P. ARNOLD Empires of Time: Calendars, Clocks, and Cultures, Revised Edition, ANTHONY AVENI Encounter with the Plumed Serpent: Drama and Power in the Heart of Mesoamerica, MAARTEN JANSEN AND GABINA AURORA PÉREZ JIMÉNEZ In the Realm of Nachan Kan: Postclassic Maya Archaeology at Laguna de On, Belize, MARILYN A. MASSON Life and Death in the Templo Mayor, EDUARDO MATOS MOCTEZUMA The Madrid Codex: New Approaches to Understanding an Ancient Maya Manuscript, GABRIELLE VAIL AND ANTHONY AVENI, EDITORS Mesoamerican Ritual Economy: Archaeological and Ethnological Perspectives, E. CHRISTIAN WELLS AND KARLA L. DAVIS-SALAZAR, EDITORS Mesoamerica’s Classic Heritage: Teotihuacan to the Aztecs, DAVÍD CARRASCO, LINDSAY JONES, AND SCOTT SESSIONS Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God: Tezcatlipoca, “Lord of the Smoking Mirror,” GUILHEM OLIVIER, TRANSLATED BY MICHEL BESSON Rabinal Achi: A Fifteenth-Century Maya Dynastic Drama, ALAIN BRETON, EDITOR; TRANSLATED BY TERESA LAVENDER FAGAN AND ROBERT SCHNEIDER Representing Aztec Ritual: Performance, Text, and Image in the Work of Sahagún, ELOISE QUIÑONES KEBER, EDITOR The Social Experience of Childhood in Mesoamerica, TRACI ARDREN AND SCOTT R. HUTSON, EDITORS Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Maya Religion in the Cave Context, KEITH M. -
Oral Tradition 25.2
Oral Tradition, 25/2 (2010): 325-363 “Secret Language” in Oral and Graphic Form: Religious-Magic Discourse in Aztec Speeches and Manuscripts Katarzyna Mikulska Dąbrowska Introduction On the eve of the conquest, oral communication dominated Mesoamerican society, with systems similar to those defined by Walter Ong (1992 [1982]), Paul Zumthor (1983), and Albert Lord (1960 [2000]), although a written form did exist. Its limitations were partly due to the fact that it was used only by a limited group of people (Craveri 2004:29), and because the Mixtec and Nahua systems do not totally conform to a linear writing system.1 These forms of graphic communication are presented in pictographic manuscripts, commonly known as codices. The analysis of these sources represents an almost independent discipline, as they increasingly become an ever more important source for Mesoamerican history, religion, and anthropology. The methodology used to study them largely depends on how the scholar defines “writing.” Some apply the most rigid definition of a system based on the spoken language and reflecting its forms and/or structures (e.g., Coulmas 1996:xxvi), while others accept a broader definition of semasiographic systems that can transmit ideas independent of actual spoken language (yet function at the same logical level) and thus also constitute writing (e.g., Sampson 1985:26-31). The aim of this study is to analyze the linguistic “magical-religious” register of the Nahua people, designated as such because it was used for communication with the sacred realm. In this respect, it represents one of the “sacred languages,” as classified by Zumthor (1983:53). -
State and Society at Teotihuacan, Mexico
Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 1997. 26:129–61 Copyright © 1997 by Annual Reviews Inc. All rights reserved STATE AND SOCIETY AT TEOTIHUACAN, MEXICO George L. Cowgill Department of Anthropology, Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-2402; e-mail: [email protected] KEY WORDS: archaeology, Mesoamerica, early states, governmentality, ideology ABSTRACT Between 100 BCE and 200 CE, the city of Teotihuacan grew rapidly, most of the Basin of Mexico population was relocated in the city, immense civic- religious structures were built, and symbolic and material evidence shows the early importance of war. Rulers were probably able and powerful. Subse- quently the city did not grow, and government may have become more collec- tive, with significant constraints on rulers’ powers. A state religion centered on war and fertility deities presumably served elite interests, but civic con- sciousness may also have been encouraged. A female goddess was important but probably not as pervasive as has been suggested. Political control probably did not extend beyond central Mexico, except perhaps for some outposts, and the scale and significance of commerce are unclear. Teotihuacan’s prestige, however, spread widely in Mesoamerica, manifested especially in symbols of sacred war, used for their own ends by local elites. INTRODUCTION Teotihuacan is an immense prehistoric city in the semi-arid highlands of cen- tral Mexico. It rose in the first or second century BCE and lasted into the 600s or 700s (Figure 1 outlines the ceramic chronology). Its early growth was rapid, and by the 100s it covered about 20 km2 with a population estimated to be around 60,000–80,000 (Cowgill 1979, p. -
Breaking the Maya Code : Michael D. Coe Interview (Night Fire Films)
BREAKING THE MAYA CODE Transcript of filmed interview Complete interview transcripts at www.nightfirefilms.org MICHAEL D. COE Interviewed April 6 and 7, 2005 at his home in New Haven, Connecticut In the 1950s archaeologist Michael Coe was one of the pioneering investigators of the Olmec Civilization. He later made major contributions to Maya epigraphy and iconography. In more recent years he has studied the Khmer civilization of Cambodia. He is the Charles J. MacCurdy Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus at Yale University, and Curator Emeritus of the Anthropology collection of Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. He is the author of Breaking the Maya Code and numerous other books including The Maya Scribe and His World, The Maya and Angkor and the Khmer Civilization. In this interview he discusses: The nature of writing systems The origin of Maya writing The role of writing and scribes in Maya culture The status of Maya writing at the time of the Spanish conquest The impact for good and ill of Bishop Landa The persistence of scribal activity in the books of Chilam Balam and the Caste War Letters Early exploration in the Maya region and early publication of Maya texts The work of Constantine Rafinesque, Stephens and Catherwood, de Bourbourg, Ernst Förstemann, and Alfred Maudslay The Maya Corpus Project Cyrus Thomas Sylvanus Morley and the Carnegie Projects Eric Thompson Hermann Beyer Yuri Knorosov Tania Proskouriakoff His own early involvement with study of the Maya and the Olmec His personal relationship with Yuri -
HIGHLIGHTS of MEXICO -14 DAYS Mexico City-Puebla-Oaxaca-Chiapas-Campeche-Yucatán-Cancún
HIGHLIGHTS OF MEXICO -14 DAYS Mexico City-Puebla-Oaxaca-Chiapas-Campeche-Yucatán-Cancún Yucatán Cancun Mexico City Campeche Puebla Oaxaca Chiapas 1 Arrival Mexico City We will explore magnificent Mexico City, built on top of the ruins of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Our first stop is the Zocalo (main square), one of the biggest public squares in the world. We will visit the Catedral Metropolitana – the biggest church in Latin America, and the Palacio Nacional – which hosts Diego Rivera‟s murals depicting the history of Mexico. We 2 continue to a handicraft market, where we will have time for some browsing. We then drive along the famous boulevard Paseo de la Reforma, built during the short-lived reign of Emperor Maximilian to connect the main square and his castle in Chapultepec. Our last stop is the Museum of Anthropology, where we will have some time to explore the treasures of the Aztec culture. We will drive to the impressive archaeological site of Teotihuacan, located 50km northeast of Mexico City. On the way we make a stop at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, where three cultures converge: Aztec, Spanish, and contemporary Mexican. We continue to the Basilica de Guadalupe, Latin America‟s most revered religious shrine. It is here where the Virgin of Guadalupe is said to have appeared 3 before an Indian named Juan Diego in 1531, and an image of her was miraculously emblazoned on his cloak. We will have time to explore the New Basilica de Guadalupe (the Old Basilica, built in 1700, is slowly sinking) and to see Juan Diego‟s cloak. -
1 Sonya Wohletz Spring 2013 Through a Glass, Darkly: a Study Of
Sonya Wohletz Spring 2013 Through a Glass, Darkly: A Study of Mirrors in Aztec Art Introduction As Hernán Cortez and his men made their way to the shores of Mexico, they may have dreamed of the vast treasures in the unknown lands to the West and the shimmering caches of gold that would soon fill their coffers, launching them to the greatest heights of Spanish society. Meanwhile, Motecuzoma II paced his palace chambers, contemplating the dark omens that announced the approach of a sinister band of invaders who would bring an end to his empire. We can imagine his worry and confusion as these strange signs visited upon him a growing kind of terror for which he could not find the language to describe. There is no way Motecuzoma could have envisioned the scale of destruction that awaited him and his people nor the profundity of the changes that the unknown invaders would bring; however, with the help of sages and diviners, Motecuzoma was already encountering clues as to the identity and nature of these unknown beings. Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún, who recorded the stories and cultural customs of native informants in his cultural encyclopedia, The Florentine Codex, describes eight such clues or omens. Of these eight, perhaps the most curious is the seventh omen, in which the royal hunters discovered a bird with a mirror on its forehead: A seventh omen: at one time the fisher folk who hunted or snared with nets took captive an ashen hued bird like a crane. Then they went to show it to Moctezuma, [who was] in the Tlillan calmecatl.1 It was past noon, still daytime.