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Orientaciones astronómicas en la arquitectura maya de las tierras bajas
Abstract
The monograph presents the results of a systematic archaeoastronomical study of orientations in the lowland Maya architecture. Since the formerly available alignment data were deficient and of low precision, we accomplished field measurements of 271 buildings at 87 archaeological sites; both in fieldwork and in the analyses and interpretations of alignment data we employed more rigorous methodology than the one applied in previous studies. The analyses have shown that most of the important buildings were oriented to sunrises and sunsets on certain dates, whose concentrations and distribution reflect the use of observational calendars, which facilitated the scheduling of agricultural activities and related rituals. Also detected were two orientation groups referring to Venus and lunar extremes. The proposed interpretations concerning the use and significance of orientations are both novel and convincing, not only for being based on a large sample of reliable quantitative data, but also because they are supported by a wide variety of ethnographic, historical and iconographic evidence.
... El objetivo de esta contribución es explorar el significado astronómico de las orientaciones de la arquitectura prehispánica en la Isla de Cozumel, Quintana Roo, México. Aunque las interpretaciones basadas en la primera serie de mediciones de campo, realizada en 2009, fueron presentadas en una publicación anterior (Šprajc, 2009), pueden ahora refinarse y ampliarse considerando los resultados de investigaciones sistemáticas en el área maya (Šprajc & Sánchez, 2012;Sánchez & Šprajc, 2015), que incluyeron un trabajo de campo adicional en Cozumel en 2010. 1 No parece necesario argumentar exhaustivamente que los motivos astronómicos, relacionados con la religión, la cosmovisión y la ideología política, estaban implicados principalmente en la orientación de edificios cívicos y ceremoniales, mientras que las estructuras no asociadas con prácticas rituales y actividades públicas deben haber sido alineadas al azar o sobre la base de diferentes reglas relacionadas con restricciones medioambientales (geomorfología, peculiaridades climáticas), consideraciones militares u otros motivos más prácticos (cf. Aveni, 2001, p. 217 ss.;Šprajc, 2001, p. 31 s.). ...
... Quisiera agradecer a Adriana Velázquez Morlet, directora del Centro INAH Quintana Roo, y a varias personas de Cozumel por apoyar el trabajo de campo en la isla; estoy particularmente en deuda con Noemí Ruiz de Becerra, Federico Ruiz, Rita Sheese, Elizabeth Palm y Ksenija Baruca. empleando metodología de medición de campo y técnicas de reducción de datos descritas con anterioridad (por ejemplo, Aveni, 2001, p. 119 ss.;Ruggles, 1999, p. 164 ss.;Šprajc, 2001, p. 37 ss.;Sánchez & Šprajc, 2015). ...
... Los datos astronómicamente relevantes para los alineamientos arquitectónicos medidos en los sitios arqueológicos de Cozumel se ofrecen en la Tabla 1. Los acimuts norte-sur y las declinaciones correspondientes no están incluidos, considerando que es muy poco probable, a la luz de los argumentos presentados con anterioridad (Šprajc & Sánchez, 2012, p. 979;Sánchez & Šprajc, 2015), una base astronómica de líneas norte-sur. También se omiten altitudes de horizonte tomadas en cuenta a la hora de calcular las declinaciones correspondientes a los acimuts este-oeste (en todos los casos, próximas a 0°). 2 Los valores de decli-nación vienen acompañados de posibles errores estimados sobre la base de incertidumbres debidas al estado de conservación actual de los edificios. ...
... The east-west axis of Aguada Fénix, for example, is aligned to the sunrise during 17-24 February (a range due to slight offsets among mounds) and that of Buenavista on 12 or 13 March. Aveni and colleagues and other scholars have suggested that these dates represent the 260-day Maya agricultural calendar [55][56][57] . If these interpretations are correct, some complexes in our study region may represent some of the earliest manifestations of this symbolism. ...
City plans symbolizing cosmologies have long been recognized as a defining element of Mesoamerican civilizations. The origins of formal spatial configurations are thus the key to understanding early civilizations in the region. Assessment of this issue, however, has been hindered by the lack of systematic studies of site plans over broad areas. Here, we report the identification of 478 formal rectangular and square complexes, probably dating from 1,050 to 400 bc, through a lidar (laser imaging, detection and ranging) survey across the Olmec region and the western Maya lowlands. Our analysis of lidar data also revealed that the earlier Olmec centre of San Lorenzo had a central rectangular space, which possibly provided the spatial template for later sites. This format was probably formalized and spread after the decline of San Lorenzo through intensive interaction across various regions. These observations highlight the legacy of San Lorenzo and the critical role of inter-regional interaction.
ABSTRACT There has been a long standing debate about the existence of maya constellations, but there are several sources of evidences that favour this hypothesis: mural paintings, stelae and codex. In this work, we have recovered and compiled information regarding mayan constellations and the mayan names for selected celestial bodies. We explain the process that was carried out to obtain all the information available and compile it under the same digital support. The result was incorporated into the Stellarium astronomical software to enrich the modules of archaeoastronomy and stellar legend, where constellations from diverse cultures are made available to users of the software by simulating their appearance in the night sky.
In the 1920s, during the first archaeological excavations at Uaxactún, Petén, Guatemala, an architectural complex named Group E was interpreted as an ancient Maya astronomical observatory, intended specifically for sighting the equinoctial and solstitial sunrises. In the following decades, a large number of architectural compounds with the same configuration have been found, most of them in the central lowlands of the Yucatan peninsula. The multiple hypotheses that have been proposed about the astronomical function of these complexes, commonly designated as E Groups, range from those attributing them a paramount role in astronomical observations to those that consider them merely allegorical or commemorative allusions to celestial cycles, without any observational use. This study, based on quantitative analyses of a reasonably large sample of alignment data, as well as on contextual evidence, shows that many of the previous hypotheses cannot be sustained. I argue that E Groups, although built primarily for ritual purposes, were astronomically functional, but also that they had no specific or particularly prominent role in astronomical observations. Their orientations belong to widespread alignment groups, mostly materialized in buildings of other types and explicable in terms of some fundamental concerns of the agriculturally-based Maya societies. I present the evidence demonstrating that the astronomical orientations initially embedded in E Groups, which represent the earliest standardized form of Maya monumental architecture and whose occurrence in practically all early cities in the central Yucatan peninsula attests to their socio-political significance, were later transferred to buildings and compounds of other types. Therefore, it is precisely the importance of the astronomically and cosmologically significant directions, first incorporated in E Groups, that allows us to understand some prominent aspects of ancient Maya architecture and urbanism.
This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known as Nevado de Cachi (Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020 masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted.
This article synthesizes recent advances in the study of astronomy and worldview in architectural and urban planning in Mesoamerica. Throughout most of this cultural area, the practice of orienting civic and ceremonial buildings followed similar principles, although regional and time-dependent variations are present. Analysis of alignment data has revealed the existence of distinct and widespread orientation groups; most refer to sunrises and sunsets on particular dates, although two groups can be related to lunar and Venus extremes. Astronomically relevant directions frequently dominate considerable parts of urban layouts. The orientation and the location of important buildings often were conditioned by astronomical criteria and beliefs about specific landscape features; particularly notable are structures that were aligned to prominent mountaintops on the local horizon. Based on a variety of contextual data, I interpret the uses and significance of orientations in terms of agricultural concerns, cosmological concepts, and political ideology. I outline the evolution of orientation practices, drawing attention to pan-Mesoamerican trends, regional patterns, and diffusion processes.
p class="Default">El urbanismo de la sociedad maya es un reflejo adaptativo y del aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales a su alcance para satisfacer sus necesidades, pero también pudo representar a través de los arreglos arquitectónicos al interior del asentamiento, una conmemoración simbólica de su cosmovisión en las que la propia naturaleza representó un elemento sagrado al cual se le vinculó con estructuras en las que, los eventos astronómicos que contienen son pieza clave del arreglo arquitectónico, urbanístico y religioso. En Dzibilchaltún y Chichén Itzá, los conceptos del inframundo, los elementos acuáticos y la astronomía son piezas fundamentales que se ven representadas en un período de traslape temporal a través de su arquitectura, vinculado con las ceremonias agrícolas y la fertilidad.</p
Systematic archaeoastronomical research recently conducted in several regions of Mesoamerica has revealed the existence of architectural orientations corresponding to major and minor extremes of the Moon (also known as standstill positions) on the horizon. Particularly indicative are the results of quantitative analyses of alignment data from the Maya Lowlands, disclosing a prominent group of orientations that can be convincingly related to the major lunar extremes. The astronomically-motivated intentionality of these alignments is additionally supported by contextual evidence, particularly significant being the fact that most of them are concentrated along the northeast coast of the Yucatán peninsula, where the lunar cult is known to have been important. Since the lunar orientations are regularly associated with those corresponding to the solstitial positions of the Sun, it is very likely that particular attention was paid to the full Moon extremes. This contribution also presents some independent evidence that sheds light on the cultural significance of lunar orientations.
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