In 1935, the sculpture of the Red Jaguar throne was discovered in the upper part of the sub-structure of Kukulkan's pyramid (Chichén Itzá, Mexico). However, the origins of the raw materials that ...compose the diverse decorative elements had not been clearly defined. Due to its historical importance, the sculpture could not be transferred, altered or sampled for classical laboratory analysis. In that regard, the application of non-destructive analyses was fundamental; in this particular case, we used a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) technique. This process allowed us to identify the chemical elements present in the Red Jaguar Throne and their origins, without altering the sculpture's original condition. The red pigment that covers the sculpture surface consisted of a combination of hematite and cinnabar, the 77 incrustations of green stones turned out to be jadeite minerals and its four fangs were manufactured from a marine gastropod (Lobatus costatus) from the malacological province of the Caribbean. The results have enlightened us on the symbolic meaning of the sculpture within the Mayan culture and have provided a better understanding of the large commercial networks present in the pre-Hispanic Mayalands.
The structure of power underlying the hegemonic control Chichen Itza held over the Northern Maya Lowlands has been debated for decades. In this article, we present the idea of a dominant discourse on ...masculinities, which played a fundamental role in both practice and on a symbolic level among the strategies designed to support this emblematic pre-Columbian capital. Our discussion of archaeological evidence will focus on spaces where men are represented, where they would meet and carry out rituals. We contend that gallery-patios such as Structure 2D6 served as instruction and socialization locales for groups of warriors. The architectural configuration of this building is very similar to a series of venues at Chichen Itza and other Mesoamerican cities. In these spaces, associated iconography depicts male individuals in processions and ritual practice, including sacrifice and self-sacrifice. We argue that the gallery of Structure 2D6 was a semi-public, performative space, whose theatricality combined the central alignment of a sacrificial stone and a throne or altar with the presence of several patolli boards carved into the building's plaster floor. Chemical analyses of plastered surfaces testify to intense activities taking place around all three of these features.
La cronología del Templo de los Búhos, una construcción de características inusuales localizada en el Grupo de la Serie Inicial de Chichén Itzá, ha probado ser un desafío para los arqueólogos durante ...largo tiempo. La importancia del edificio reside en su únicaiconografía, y especialmente en la presencia de un texto jeroglífico con una fecha calendárica en una tapa de bóveda pintada. El fechamiento de esta inscripción ha sido instrumental para explicar la combinación de rasgos arquitectónicos, iconográficos y cerámicos asociados con ella. En este trabajo proponemos una nueva interpretación que contradice la datación de la tapa de bóveda en el siglo IX, generalmente aceptada, para emplazar la fecha en el siglo XII.
En el presente trabajo se exponen los argumentos a favor de la existencia en los textos del Conjunto de las Monjas, Chichén Itzá, México de un nuevo sufijo incoativo, previamente no mencionado en los ...trabajos sobre las inscripciones jeroglíficas mayas. Esta omisión se debe, sobre todo, a los problemas con la segmentación morfológica que han experimentado los investigadores que se han acercado a los monumentos en cuestión. El nuevo análisis no sólo permite ampliar los conocimientos sobre la gramática de la lengua de las inscripciones, sino también tiene posibles implicaciones extralingüísticas que podrían ser confirmadas o descartadas por las futuras investigaciones arqueológicas en Chichén Itzá.
Microbial biofilms frequently cause the esthetic and biological deterioration of stone monuments. Chichén Itzá, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and as one of the seven new wonders of the ...world, is one Maya archeological site affected by biofilms. In the present study, we analyzed the biofilms at three different building complexes of Chichén Itzá: the Lower Temple of the Jaguars, the Temple of the Warriors, and Tzompantli. Samples of biofilms and detached rocks were taken from walls with abundant white-, green-, black-, and orange-colored biofilms. The morphology of rock fragments and dust was analyzed by electron and optical microscopy and was structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. An HCl treatment (5% v/v) was subsequently applied to eliminate carbonates. The morphological analysis evidenced the presence of cyanobacteria, algae, and lichens. Some algae formed small nodules on orange- or black-colored rocks. Lichens were associated with a distinct mineral content on the inner surface of rocks versus on the outer surface. The presence of calcium oxalates such as weddellite (C
2
CaO
4
·2H
2
O) and whewellite (C
2
CaO
4
·H
2
O) and other minerals, including quartz and feldspars, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The lichens collected from the Lower Temple of the Jaguars and Tzompantli were therefore confirmed to disintegrate rock surfaces through biomineralization and the formation of oxalate crystals. At sites with greater solar radiation, a higher quantity of weddellite and a lower quantity of whewellite were observed. In conclusion, the establishment of microorganisms on the stone surfaces of Chichén Itzá causes esthetic damage and also leads to the biomineralization of these rock surfaces.
Zooarchaeological studies in the Maya area constatly complement our
knowledge of human behavior as related to the environment. The present study
explores the way how the ancient inhabitants of the ...prehispanic settlement of
Xuenkal, Yucatan, exploited faunal resources during the Late and Terminal
Classic Period. In this sense, possible changes in the diet, as a result of political
changes due to the rise of Chichen Itza in the region, are scrutinized. As it is
considered that Xuenkal served as a commercial enclave for Chichen, the
possibility of an exchange system with other sites nearby is also addressed.
Los estudios zooarqueológicos en el área maya complementan cada día
nuestro entendimiento de la conducta humana en relación con su medio
ambiente. El presente estudio explica la manera en que los habitantes
pretéritos del asentamiento prehispánico de Xuenkal, Yucatán, explotaron los
recursos faunísticos durante el Clásico Tardío-Terminal. En este sentido, se
analizan los posibles cambios en la dieta de esta población como resultado de
un incremento del poder político y económico de Chichén Itzá en la región. Por
último, se considera que Xuenkal fungió como un enclave comercial para
Chichén y también se analiza la posibilidad de un intercambio de animales con
otros asentamientos.
Este artículo acompaña el proceso de “rescate” de un tesoro de valor
incalculable, retirado del fondo del cenote sagrado de Chichén Itzá, con ayuda
de una primitiva draga instalada en sus orillas por ...el entonces cónsul de los
Estados Unidos de América en Progreso, Edward H. Thompson, financiada por fondos
del Peabody Museum de Harvard University y recursos privados de coleccionistas
del área de Boston. El “rescate” inició en 1904 y se prolongó hasta 1907, con
reiteraciones episódicas hasta 1909, año de la dimisión de Thompson de su cargo
consular y del inicio del desmadejamiento de las redes de complicidad que se
habían venido tejiendo desde 1875 para permitir la exportación ilegal de
centenas de piezas “mayas” hacia la universidad de Cambridge. El texto termina
en 1914, cuando la violencia revolucionaria detiene accidentalmente la
sangría.
This article analyzes the “restoration” of a treasure of incalculable value,
taken from Chichén Itzá’s Sacred Cenote with the help of a primitive dredge
installed along its edge by Edward H. Thompson, then the U.S. consul in
Progreso, and financed by Harvard University’s Peabody Museum and private
collectors from the Boston area. This “restoration” began in 1904 and continued
up until 1907, with periodic resumptions up until 1909, the year in which
Thompson resigned from his consular position, which marked the weakening of the
network of complicity that he had been weaving since 1875 to allow him to
illegally export hundreds of Maya pieces to the University of Cambridge. The
article concludes in 1914, when the violence of the Mexican Revolution
unintentionally put an end to the looting of Chichén Itzá.
Wormian bones are accessory bones that occur within cranial suture and fontanelles, most commonly within the posterior sutures. They occur more frequently in disorders that have reduced cranial ...ossification, hypotonia or decreased movement, thereby resulting in deformational brachycephaly. The frequency and location of wormian bones varies with the type and severity of cranial deformation practiced by ancient cultures. We considered the hypothesis that the pathogenesis of wormian bones may be due to environmental variations in dural strain within open sutures and fontanelles. In order to explore this further, we measured the cephalic index (CI) in 20 purposefully deformed pre-Columbian skulls: 10 from Chichen Itza, Mexico, and 10 from Ancon, Peru, as well as 20 anatomically normal skulls used for medical school anatomy classes. We tested for a direct correlation between the CI and the number of wormian bones in skulls with varying degrees of brachycephalic cranial deformation and found no significant correlation. When the CI was grouped into three categories (normal (CI < 81), brachycephalic (CI 81-93), and severely brachycephalic (CI > 93)) there was a trend toward increasing number of wormian bones as the skull became more brachycephalic (P = 0.039). A second part or our study tabulated the frequency and location of large wormian bones (greater than 1 cm) in 3-dimentional computerized tomography (3D-CT) scans from 207 cases of craniosynostosis and compared these data with published data on 485 normal dry skulls from a manuscript on wormian bones by Parker in 1905. Among cases of craniosynostosis, large wormian bones were significantly more frequent (117 out of 207 3D-CT scans) than in dry skulls (131 out of 485). There was a 3.5 greater odds of developing a wormian bone with premature suture closure (P < 0.001). Midline synostosis, specifically metopic or sagittal synostosis, has more wormian bones in the midline, whereas unilateral lambdoidal or coronal synostosis more often had wormian bones on the contralateral side. Taken together, these data suggest that wormian bones may arise as a consequence of mechanical factors that spread sutures apart and affect dural strain within sutures and fontanelles.
Los estudios zooarqueologicos en el area maya complementan cada dia nuestro entendimiento de la conducta humana en relacion con su medio ambiente. El presente estudio explica la manera en que los ...habitantes preteritos del asentamiento prehispanico de Xuenkal, Yucatan, explotaron los recursos faunisticos durante el Clasico Tardio-Terminal. En este sentido, se analizan los posibles cambios en la dieta de esta poblacion como resultado de un incremento del poder politico y economico de Chichen Itza en la region. Por ultimo, se considera que Xuenkal fungio como un enclave comercial para Chichen y tambien se analiza la posibilidad de un intercambio de animales con otros asentamientos.//Zooarchaeological studies in the Maya area constatly complement our knowledge of human behavior as related to the environment. The present study explores the way how the ancient inhabitants of the prehispanic settlement of Xuenkal, Yucatan, exploited faunal resources during the Late and Terminal Classic Period. In this sense, possible changes in the diet, as a result of political changes due to the rise of Chichen Itza in the region, are scrutinized. As it is considered that Xuenkal served as a commercial enclave for Chichen, the possibility of an exchange system with other sites nearby is also addressed. web URL: http://www.arqueobios.org/en/archaeobios-journal/file/cat_vi ew/10-a rchaeobios-2015.html?limit=10&limitstart=0&ord er=date&dir=DESC
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