The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

50
The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Transcript of The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Page 1: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

The Valley of Mexico

ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of MexicoKimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Page 2: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

MesoAmerican Timeline

Page 3: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Pre-Classic 1500 BCE – 250 BCE

• Chalcatzingo 1500 – 500 BCE

• Tlatilco (Cuicuilco) 1200 – 200 BCE

Page 4: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Chalcatzingo 1500-500 BCE

• Southern end of the Valley of Mexico• Population of 500-1000 individuals• Trade Center• Residences of several classes• Burials under residences• Central plaza with an Olmec style altar• Platform structures• Bas relief carvings

Page 5: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Water Dancing Group Carvings

Page 6: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Water Dancing Group

Carving Detail

Page 7: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tlatilco 1200 BCE – 200 BCE

• Complex settlement patterns• Economic specialization• Stratification• Long distance trade• Pottery vessels and figurines• Burials

Page 8: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tlatilco CultureCuicuilco Site, Valley of Mexico

Page 9: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

South Side Cuicuilco Pyramid

Page 10: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tlatilco Archaeology Sites: Burial Goods

Page 11: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tlatilco Archaeology Sites: Burials

Page 12: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Deformed SkullCultural standard of beauty obtained by wrapping infant skulls to shape their growth.

Page 13: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tlatilco Archaeology Sites: Body with

Burial Goods

Page 14: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tlatilco Ceramics

Page 15: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Monument 1

El ReyWoman seated

inside cave (God’s

Mouth) with rain clouds

and rain

Page 16: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Chalcatzingo Stela 31:

Feline figure, human figure,

S cloud formation and

raindrops

Page 17: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Classic 250 BCE – 900 CE

• Teotihuacan• Cholula

Page 18: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Teotihuacan

– 125,000-200,000 population– 8 square miles (20 square kilometers)– Planned city laid out in a grid pattern– Monumental architecture in “talud-tablero” style– 15 degrees, 25 minutes east of north– N/S Avenue of the Dead – 4 miles (6.4 kilometers)– Bisected by E/W Avenue of same length– Northern arm runs from the

• Pyramid of the Moon PAST THE • Pyramid of the sun TO THE• Ciudadela and Quetzalcoatl Pyramid, THE HALF WAY

MARK OF AVENUE OF THE DEAD

Page 19: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Teotihuacan

Page 20: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Teotihuacan (Museum Model)

Page 21: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Teotihuacan Talud-Tablero Style

Page 22: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Pyramid of the Sun

• 700 ft (215 m) long• 200 ft (60 m) high• Two layers of construction• Fill =41,000,000 cu ft of sun dried

brick• Built over a lava tube cave– 330 ft long, 20 ft deep– Stone channels for water run into the

cave

Page 23: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

TeotihuacanFrom the Pyramid of the Moon

Page 24: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Pyramid of the Moon

• Six layers of construction• Three ritual offerings in the

foundation– One human victim– Felines– Eagles– Obsidian carvings– Greenstone carvings

Page 25: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Teotihuacan from Pyramid of the Moon

Page 26: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl• Smaller than the other two pyramids• Last monumental architecture constructed in 200

AD• Seven tiered talud-tablero structure located within

the Ciudadela• Tableros covered with two opposing feathered

serpent motifs– Mosaic headresses of warriors– Shells suggesting water context– Two serpents may be creation story

• Life, greenness, peace VS heat, desert, war in a primordial sea

• Built in a single stage• 200 human sacrificial victims buried within

Page 27: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Teotihuacan Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl

Page 28: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Teotihuacan

Page 29: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

TeotihuacanHuman Sacrifice

• Two groups of eighteen young warriors with hands tied behind backs buried at north and south

• Near N/S burial pits smaller number of young women

• More warriors at E/W edges of pyramid• Four corners each had the burial of an other warrior

individual• In the center of the pyramid, 20 victims buried with

thousands of jade, shell and other types of artifacts• Using calendar numbers of 18 (months) and 20

(number of days in a calendar month) • Using the N/S/E/W directions related to the

Mesoamerican world view of reality

Page 30: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Teotihuacan

Page 31: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Xochicalco

• 650 AD• Step-pyramid temples• Palaces• Three ballcourts• Sweat-baths• Circular altars• A cave with observatory features• Free-standing sculptured stelae

Page 32: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Xochicalco

Page 33: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Xochicalco Ball Court

Page 34: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Xochicalco Feathered Serpent Temple

Page 35: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Observatory Cave

Page 36: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Xochicalco Stelae

Page 37: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Cholula

• 600 CE to Conquest• Cholula Pyramid – Largest monument by volume in the

world– 4.45 million cubic meters in volume– 450m x 450 m

• Excavated into the side of the pyramid

Page 38: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Cholula Museum Model

Page 39: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Cholula Pyramid with Church

Page 40: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Cholula Pyramid Interior

Staircase

Page 41: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Post Classic 900 CE – 1519 CE

• Tula• Tzintzuntzan• Tenochtitlan

Page 42: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tula• 800CE – 1150 CE• Tolteca Chichimeca peoples led by Mixcoatl• Tribal peoples from the northwest• Conflict between

– Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, peaceful, against human sacrifice (Mixcoatl’s son)

– Tezcatlipoca, fierce warrior god, lord of sorcerers– Quetzalcoatl flees the city, journeys to the gulf coast and sets

sail to the east from which he was to return some day.– He may have gone to Yucatan, where Maya records report the

arrival of Kukulcan (Feathered Serpent) who conquered Chichen Itza

– Tezcatlipoca ruled Tula

• Traders from as far away as Nicaragua• Fine craftsmen• Warrior Statues “Atlantes”• Chac Mool Statues (meaning unknown)

Page 43: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tula Pyramid B

Page 44: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Atlantes on Pyramid B

Page 45: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tula Chac Mool

Page 46: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Mosaic Helmet

Page 47: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tzintzuntzan

• 1000CE – Conquest• Overlooks Lake Patzcuaro• P’urepechua language is not related to any other

mesoamerican language• Language is closer to Zuni in southwestern U.S.

and Quechua in Peru• Power extended throughout Michoacán and parts

of modern Guanajuato, Guerrero and Jalisco states• Ceremonial center with plaza on a Grand Platform• Five round “yacata” pyramid structures

Page 48: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tzintzuntzan Aerial View

Page 49: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tzintzuntzan Yacatas

Page 50: The Valley of Mexico ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Tzintzuntzan Yacatas

Stirrup Necked Vessels