Šprajc, Ivan, Heinz-Dieter Richter, and Pedro Francisco Sánchez Nava, 2013. El tiempo registrado en el espacio urbano: alineamientos astronómicos en la arquitectura de Tikal, Petén, Guatemala. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Nora María López, ed., Proyecto Arqueológico Cuenca Mirador: Informe final temporada 2007, tomo I, Guatemala: Instituto de Antropología e Historia, pp. 123-158
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.
2015
This monograph presents the results of a systematic study of astronomical significance of orientations in prehispanic architecture of two sub-areas of Mesoamerica. The alignment data for a number of civic and ceremonial buildings were collected with field measurements at 42 archaeological sites in the cultural regions of Oaxaca and the Gulf of Mexico. Assuming that each is characterized by certain cultural peculiarities, we analyzed the data from the two regions separately, employing a more rigorous methodology than most of the former studies. The results of the analyses indicate that the orientations were functional predominantly or exclusively in the east-west direction, largely marking sunrises and sunsets on certain dates, but the existence of some orientations to lunar standstill positions on the horizon is also very likely. The distribution of intervals that delimit the dates recorded by solar orientations exhibits concentrations around some multiples of 13 and 20 days. The distribution of dates in the year, the similarities with alignment patterns in other parts of Mesoamerica, and contextual data, including ethnographic information, suggest that the orientations recording the Sun’s positions had a practical function: allowing the use of observational calendars composed of elementary periods of the formal calendrical system and their multiples, they facilitated the prediction of important dates in the seasonal cycle and, thereby, an efficient scheduling of agricultural activities and the associated rituals. In many cases the buildings’ main facades or entrances face the directions argued to have been astronomically functional, thus reinforcing our interpretations. At some sites we noticed that, observing from the main building or architectural group, a prominent mountain top on the local horizon corresponds to the Sun’s position on the dates that, for being commonly recorded by architectural orientations, must have been significant and which, moreover, could have been incorporated, together with those recorded by orientations at the site, in a single observational calendar composed of calendrically significant intervals. These cases, as well as the structures oriented not only astronomically but also to a prominent horizon feature, imply that some buildings were erected on the places selected on the basis of both astronomical and topographic criteria. While some conspicuous peaks are located along the buildings’ east-west axes and could have served as foresights facilitating observations, others are placed along the north-south axes, suggesting that the alignments to the hilltops, in general, reflect the importance of the mountains, associated with water and fertility, in the Mesoamerican world view. Even if the orientation patterns in Oaxaca and along the Gulf Coast exhibit some differences, the norms dictating the orientation—and often also the location—of important buildings were evidently based on the same principles, in which the astronomical and calendrical considerations were intertwined with the concepts about the surrounding landscape. Aside from providing a deeper insight into the ideas involved in the architectural design and urban planning in the two research areas, the results of our study shed light on general trends in the evolution of orientation practices and on shared and divergent developments in different regions, thus contributing also to the understanding of the processes of cultural interaction along the history of Mesoamerica.
Presentamos los resultados obtenidos a través de un exhaustivo análisis espacial en el valle de Siguas, aplicando vuelos con equipos no tripulado (DRONE) y la revisión crítica de imágenes satelitales direccionadas, además de visitas de campo, lo que nos ha permitido registrar caminos con emblemáticos componentes de ritualidad; estos habrían tenido vigencia desde el periodo Horizonte Medio hasta la época republicana. Asimismo, presentamos algunos datos sobre el patrón arquitectónico y la modalidad de uso del espacio en el valle durante el periodo Horizonte Tardío. Estudiaremos el caso de los sitios Pampa Timirán (Tambillo), Quilcapampa La Antigua y Pitay, y como estos se encontraban asociados históricamente a una estrategia de asentamiento orientada a dinámicos intercambios locales y regionales que originaron barreras culturales permeables y consolidaron vínculos de poder durante la presencia del Estado Inca.
2016
An archaeoastronomical study recently accomplished in the Maya area revealed that the architecture on the northeast coast of the Yucatán peninsula is characterized by some peculiar orientation trends, which we have not been able to explain in a satisfactory manner. In order to acquire additional information, in November 2015 we measured the orientations of 34 structures at 21 archaeological sites. The book presents the results of this work, as well as some analyses based on all the available data from the northeast coast. Their distribution shows that the percentage of orientations related to the Sun is notably lower than in other parts of the Maya Lowlands. The orientations to the major lunar extremes (also known as standstill positions), which are quite rare elsewhere, constitute the most prominent group on the northeast coast, most likely reflecting the fact that the worship of the goddess Ixchel, associated with the Moon, was very important in the region, particularly during the Postclassic period, when most of the buildings included in the study were constructed. The lunar alignments are regularly associated with those referring to the solstices; the analysis of declinations corresponding to both groups has disclosed that their referents must have been predominantly the major northerly extremes of the Moon on the western horizon and the southern (winter solstice) extremes of the Sun on the eastern horizon. It is thus possible to conclude that a special attention was paid to the full Moon extremes, considering that these phenomena are always visible around the solstices and can be observed almost simultaneously with those of the Sun, but on diametrically opposed horizons. The significance of lunar orientations can be accounted for by the Moon’s aquatic and fertility symbolism, which was likely based on the observed correlations between lunar cycles and the periodicity of climatic variations and other changes in natural environment, whereas the combinations of lunar and solstitial alignments are congruent with the conceptual relationship between the Sun and the full Moon, characteristic of the Mesoamerican world view. The solstitial orientations represent the second most important group on the northeast coast, conceivably because of their relation with lunar alignments. The remaining solar orientations probably allowed the use of observational calendars similar in structure to those that have been documented in other parts of Mesoamerica and whose purpose was to facilitate a proper scheduling of seasonal activities. For the third most significant group of orientations on the northeast coast we propose some stellar motives, but the hypothesis requires further testing. Finally, by analyzing the orientations of coastal structures, we note that many of them exhibit a rather close correspondence with the adjacent shoreline, but since they also pertain to astronomically significant groups, we argue that the seafront buildings must have often been erected on selected places, where both astronomical and topographic criteria could be met.
Resumen: Un estudio sistemático de los alineamientos en la arquitectura maya de las Tierras Bajas, realizado recientemente, ha revelado la existencia de patrones de orientación ampliamente difundidos durante épocas prolongadas y explicables únicamente con el uso de referencias astronómicas sobre el horizonte. Los análisis de una amplia muestra de datos nos han llevado a la conclusión de que los importantes edificios cívicos y ceremoniales fueron orientados, en su mayoría, hacia las salidas y puestas del Sol en ciertas fechas separadas por intervalos calendáricamente significativos, que sugieren el uso de calendarios observacionales fácilmente manejables y destinados para monitorear el deslizamiento del año calendárico respecto al trópico, aparentemente con la finalidad de facilitar la programación de las actividades agrícolas y los rituales correspondientes. Los resultados de esta investigación arrojan una nueva luz sobre el significado astronómico-calendárico de las orientaciones de los edificios principales de Chichén Itzá, uno de los sitios más importantes incluidos en nuestro estudio, y permiten rectificar algunas interpretaciones anteriores.