Mesoamerica 101, Part I of II

The Mesoamerican region is an area occupying much of Middle America, from the northern Panamanian area to the Valley of Mexico and its eastern and western regions. More then just a region, Mesoamerica is uniquely identified by a number of cultural traits, much of them only known to this part of the world. Some of these traits include the domestication and consumption of maize, beans, and squash. What scholars of Mesoamerica refer to as the three staple crops. Other unique aspects of the Mesoamerican Culture include the advent of a 365 day calendar, a 260 day ritual calendar, the admiration of green and blue minerals, ball courts, and human sacrifice. The area of Mesoamerica began to flourish after many advances in Late Archaic Period (c.3500-2000BC) and the beginning of the Formative Period (c.2000-1200BC). The term further refers to the time period and cultural sophistication prior to the arrival of Europeans in the late 1400’s.


Mesoamerica
Image source - wikipedia.org

Mesoamerican Chacmool...

This character has done a good job of keeping me up at night. Its origin is disputed and there is strong support and some evidence that its roots are Maya as opposes to Toltec. It is significant “the Chacmool Statue” because it is only found in the Post Classic period and in a limited number of sites (mainly Tula & Chichén Itzá). So you see why there is a problem…? Like all Anthropologist - I’m a bit biased, I admit it! If you know more about these statues I would like to hear about it. For a tour of Tula, click on the Tula link.


Toltec Chacmool - Jorge Acosta Musuem, December, 2006
Picture By: Santiago Andres Garcia

The Aztec Sun Stone...

My good friend asked me the other day when and where the Aztec Sun Stone was found. So for this blog entry I decided to post a picture of the sun stone and some brief information. Please feel free to add to this. Due to time constraints I will keep the blogs as short and concise as possible.

The stone was unearthed in 1790 beneath what is now the Zocalo (plaza) in present day Mexico City. Some people refer to it as a calendar because it bares the glyphs of 20 days. Others call it the sun stone because its central figure is said to be that of Tonatiuh, the sun god. Scholars say the center figure is Tlaltecuhtli the earth monster. I agree with all of these interpretations and consider it to be a monument of how the Aztec portrayed their circumstances and coming of age. It’s a beautiful piece and luckily for us it’s well preserved and fore the most part - complete. The stone is 12’ in diameter and 4’ in thickness, it weights almost 25 tons.


The Aztec Sun Stone - NMofA, September, 2006
Picture By: Santiago Andres Garcia

Blog is here to stay...

Okay so after continuously publishing and un-publishing my blog (say for the past three years) I have decided to finally keep one up – indefinitely! For everyone who has been asking about my writing? I can’t promise to post everything but ill try to post what is most encouraging and relevant to my studies (Anthropology). Unlike my previous blogs I will keep this one free of political shpeals and like I said, relevant to the positive things going on in my life - family and graduate school.


Teotihuacán – City of the Gods, July 2007
Picture By: Julia Garcia