Trephinning in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica - Trephinning in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica Trephinning or Trepanation, which is also known as trephining, and trepanning, refers to the surgical practice of removing a small of bone from the skull, generally to relieve pressure on the brain. The multiple techniques of trephinning in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica were identical to the art as practiced in the eastern hemisphere. Trephinning involves drilling a hole into a human skull using any of several techniques. If the operation is successful, the bone begins to grow back, beginning at the rims of the hole and growing toward the center of the hole. The new bone growth is shallower than the bone at the rim, enabling scientists to determine whether a person lived following the operation. Evidence of trephinning has been found for populations.
Mesoamerica - Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico through Central America which produced a set of culturally related civilizations before the discovery of the New World by Columbus. Mesoamerican is a general adjective to refer to that group of Pre-Columbian cultures. Some common shared Mesoamerican traits include intensive agriculture based heavily on maize corn; worship of a set of deities including a rain god, a sun god, a feathered-serpent god (Quetzalcoatl); a Vigesimal numbering system; the use of a 260 day ritual calendar in addition to the solar year calendar; the construction of temples elevated atop stepped pyramids; a ritual ball-game; and various other artistic and cultural conventions. Mesoamerican civilizations included the Olmec, Maya, Mixtec, Zapotec, Huastec, Tarascan, Teotihuacan, Totonac, Toltec, and the Aztec. In.
Trepanation - illustration of trepanation () Trepanation, also known as trephinning or trepanning is a form of surgery where a hole is cut into the skull. Trepanation has been carried out for non-medical reasons, including religious and mystical practices. Some trepanation advocates believe the procedure to have spiritual benefits, but it is generally not carried out by doctors without a medical indication. There is evidence of trepanation in pre-historic human remains. See also: Trephinning in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica The operation is depicted in a painting by the artist Hieronymus Bosch entitled The Cure for Folly: Trepanning, alternatively entitled The Stone Operation..
Pre-Columbian - Pre-Columbian The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus, in practice the term usually includes indigenous cultures as they continued to develop until they were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or even centuries after Columbus first landed. The term Pre-Columbian is used especially often in discussions of the great indigenous civilizations of the New World, such as those of MesoAmerica (e.g. the Aztec and Maya) and the Andes (Inca, Moche, etc). Also see under Pre-Columbian transatlantic contacts, Pre-Columbian population.
Pre-Columbian trans-Atlantic contact - Pre-Columbian trans-Atlantic contact Pre-Columbian trans-Atlantic contact is the term used to discuss possible interactions between the indigenous cultures of the Americas on one side of the Atlantic Ocean and Europe and Africa on the other before the first voyages of Christopher Columbus that led to the discovery of America. In the 18th century and early 19th century many writers and antiquitarians believed that various Old World cultures were responsible for the ancient monuments found in the New World. Part of this was due to ethnocentrism, for many European and European-American writers did not believe that Native Americans were capable the degree of civilization required to build the ancient monuments of the Americas. In the 1830s and 1840s better information became available and changed popular opinion. (Most.
The jaguar in Mesoamerican culture - culture The jaguar played an important role in the culture and religion of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Quick, agile, and powerful enough to take down the largest prey of the jungle, the jaguar is the largest of the big cats in the Americas, and one of the most efficient and ferocious predators. Endowed with a magnificent spotted coat and well adapted for the jungle, hunting either in the trees or water, making it one of the only felines tolerant of water, the jaguar was and still is revered among the indigenous Americans who reside closely with the jaguar. For the Olmec and the Maya, this regal feline became a symbol of authority and one’s prowess in hunting and battle, as well as an integral part of mythology and a powerful spirit companion for.
Obsidian use in Mesoamerica - Obsidian use in Mesoamerica Obsidian was an important part of the material culture of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Its uses, value, production, trade, sources, and analysis are all important aspects of the study of cultures in this region. Practical and Ritual Obsidian Use Almost no site in Mesoamerica is without obsidian, called "Itztli" in the Nahuatl language. It was an item that had both frequent, common uses and ritual use. Obsidian was available to all households and was found in hunting, agriculture, and many other everyday situations. Examples of possible obsidian tools are knives, lance and dart points, prismatic blades sometimes used for woodworking or shaving, bone working tools, bifaces, retouched flakes, and spearheads for ritual warfare. Blades have been found in situ with rabbit, rodent, and mollusk remains, indicating.
Mesoamerican ballgame - sport with ritual associations played for over 3000 years by the peoples of Mesoamerica in Pre-Columbian times, and in a few places continues to be played by descendants of the area Amerind inhabitants. The Great Ball Court at Chichén Itzá The Ball Court. A Ball Court Goal. As might be expected with a game played over so long a timespan in several different nations, details of the games varied over time and place, so the Mesoamerican ballgame might be more accurately seen as a family of related games. Some versions were played between two individuals, others between 2 teams of players. The games shared the characteristics of being played with a hard rubber ball in a court shaped like a capital letter "I". The game was called tlachtli by the Aztec.
Mesoamerican chronology - Mesoamerican chronology Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Paleo-Indian Period 2 Archaic Era 3 Pre-Classic Era 4 Classic Era 5 Post-Classic Era Paleo-Indian Period c. 20,000 BC - 8,000 BC A period of hunterss and gatherers. Archaic Era c. 8,000 BC - 20th century BC The development of agriculture in the region. Permanent villages established. Late in this era, use of pottery and loom weaving becomes common. Pre-Classic Era c. 20th century BC - 2nd century AD The start of nation-states. The first large scale ceremonial architecture, development of cities. The development and flourishing of the Olmec civilization. Early Zapotec and Maya civilization. Classic Era c. mid 2nd century - early 10th century Teotihuacan grows to a metropolis.
Kaminaljuyu - Kaminaljuyu Kaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization, in highland Guatemala, now within modern Guatemala City. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World by Michael Coe, although the remains of the site today are less impressive than many other Maya sites more frequented by tourists. The site lies in a valley in the outskirts of Guatemala City and contains a total of over 100 platforms and mounds created before the end of the Middle Culture period (ending approximately 150 A.D.). The valley is surrounded by hills which culminate in a string of lofty volcanoes to the south that separate the area from the Pacific coastal plain. The climate is temperate and the soil is rich. The.
Jean-Frédéric Waldeck - and studied art as a student of Jacques Louis David. He said he had traveled to Egypt with Napoleon's expedition. None of this has been independently verified; indeed most of Waldeck's autobiography before about 1820 (including his given birthdate) is undocumented and his name is absent from records of various early expeditions he claimed to have been on. Waldeck's first contact with the art of ancient Mesoamerica seems to have been when he was hired by Lord Kingsborough to make engravings based on drawings of the city of Palenque. Waldeck's engravings were much more beautiful and artistic than the original drawings he worked from, and gave the monuments a decidedly Egyptian look, in line with his patron's views that the ancient Mesoamerican Native Americans were the Lost Tribes of Israel. In.
History of Costa Rica - of Costa Rica History of Costa Rica In Pre-Columbian times the Native Americans in what is now Costa Rica were part of the Mesoamerica cultural area. Pre-Columbian Ceramics from Nicoya, Costa Rica The native peoples were conquered by Spain in the 16th century. Costa Rica was then the southern-most province in the Spanish territory of New Spain. The provincial capital was in Cartago. After a brief time in the Mexican Empire of Augustin de Iturbide (see: History of Mexico) Costa Rica became a state in the United States of Central America (see: History of Central America) from 1823 to 1839. In 1824 the capital was moved to San José. From the 1840s on Costa Rica was an independent nation. Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th.
History of Central America - of the Union Before European Contact Most of modern Central America was part of the Mesoamerican cultural area in Pre-Columbian times. The Native American civilizations of Mesoamerica extended from central Mexico down to Costa Rica. The Precolumbian cultures of Panama traded both with Mesoamerica and the cultures of South America, and can be considered transitional between the two cultural areas. Spanish Colonial Era After the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century, most of the region now known as Central America shared a common history. The exceptions were the two nations at the north and south ends of Central America. Panama was part of Spanish New Granada, and then of the nation of Colombia, until 1903. Belize was the British colony of British Honduras until 1973. From the 16th century to the.
Human sacrifice - earthquakes, volcanic eruptions etc were seen as a sign of anger or displeasure by deities, and sacrifices were supposed to lessen the divine ire. Such sacrifices occured in the Bronze age religions in Europe, and in rituals related to Ásatrú. Some of the best known ancient human sacrifice was that practiced by various Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica. The Aztec were particularly noted for practicing this on an unusually large scale; a human sacrifice would be made every day to aid the Sun in rising, the dedication of the great temple at Tenochtitlan was reportedly marked with the sacrificing of thousands, and there are multiple accounts of captured Conquistadores being sacrificed during the wars of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Human sacrifice still happens today as an underground practice in some traditional.
Tarascan - small rural villages. The name Tarascan and the Spanish language equivalent Tarascos come from the Nahuatl name for the people; they refer to themselves as Purépecha. The Tarascans or Purépecha were one of the Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica. Their capital city was Tzintzuntzán. Tarascan architecture is noted for step-pyramids in the shape of the letter "T". Pre-Columbian Tarascan artisans made feather mosaics making extensive use of hummingbird feathers which were a highly regarded luxury good throughout the region. The Tarascans were never conquered by the Aztec Empire, despite several attempts by the Aztecs to do so, including a fierce war in 1479. After hearing of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and having the native population much diminished by an epidemic of smallpox, the last native Tarascan king, Tangoxoán II, pledged.
Archeology of the Americas - Archeology of the Americas is the study of the archeology of North America, Central America (or Mesoamerica), South America and the Caribbean, which is to say, the pre-history and Pre-Columbian history of Native American peoples. (Although modern archaeology of contemporary American societies has been conducted, it is not generally considered covered by this term.) The conventional knowledge is that there were a series of migrations from Siberia over a land bridge near the end of the last ice age. There are various anomalies which offer alternatives to the conventional knowledge, and unconventional, unrelated diffusionist theories abound, but no opposing theory has been definitively established. In the United States physical anthropology (archeological investigations based on the study of human remains) is complicated by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, (NAGPRA).
Archaeology and the Book of Mormon - some interpretations of the text of The Book of Mormon, there may have been other people and cultures in the same lands at the same time (though the book concerns itself exclusively with the peoples of the narrative), possibly large populations and many different cultures. This would make it impossible to distinguish which archeological discoveries relate to the culture(s) in the narrative. Anthropological issues are further complicated due to the uncertainty on the location of Book of Mormon events. The Book of Mormon narrative has been placed everywhere from South and Central America to the Finger Lakes region in New York (possibly relating the people in the story to the Mound Builders). Based on extensive textual analysis and current archaeological data, most LDS scholars agree that the Book of Mormon geography.
Auitzotl - ruler of the city of Tenochtitlan. Perhaps the greatest known military leader of Pre-Columbian MesoAmerica, he began his reign by surpressing a Huastec rebellion, and then swiftly more than doubled the size of lands under Aztec dominance. He conquered the Mixtec, Zapotec, and other peoples from Mexico's Pacific coast down to the western part of Guatemala. Auitzotl also supervised a major rebuilding of Tenochtitlan on a grander scale. Auitzotl took power in 1486; his reign was preceded by Tízoc and followed by Moctezuma II..
Aztec calendar - (October 23, 4004 BCE). The Aztec calendar This below was taken from Z.A. Simon (1984: 9-31) by permission, in a condensed form. Some of it is disputed by mainstream scholars of ancient Mesoamerica. 1) Proof of the nonexistence of intercalary days in the Aztec calendar, verifying Professor Michael Coe's theory. 2) Establishment of an exact starting date of the calendar (day, month, and year), which was unknown until 1984. 3) Solution of the contradictory interpretations of the ancient chroniclers: Sahagún and Diego Durán. 4) Mathematical proven evidence of the pre-Columbian contacts between the Mesoamerican and some West-European cultures. Most of our largest libraries have a few dozen books on the history of Mexico, but these books usually interpret the Aztec calendar very briefly. Besides this, they often emphasize only those scientific.
Teotihuacan Spider Woman - Woman The Teotihuacan Spider Woman was a goddess of the Pre-Columbian Teotihuacan civilization, in what is now Mexico. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Discovery 2 Description 3 Domain 4 Similar Deities Discovery In 1942, an interesting discovery was made when a series of murals was found in the Tepantitla compound in Teotihuacan. While many of these murals simply depicted scenes of everyday life in ancient Teotihuacan and some simple Mesoamerican figures, a few contained paintings of a previously-unknown deity. To this day, no one has found any evidence of her name. Although often referred to as the “great goddess”, Karl Taube is the first to appropriately christen her the “Teotihuacan Spider Woman” in his article in the 1983 edition of The Journal of Latin American Lore. The Tepantitla compound was a.
