Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Astronomy, Cosmovisión , and Ideology in Pre‐Hispanic Mesoamerica

1982; Wiley; Volume: 385; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1749-6632.1982.tb34260.x

1749-6632

Johanna Broda,

Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond

Annals of the New York Academy of SciencesVolume 385, Issue 1 p. 81-110 Astronomy, Cosmovisión, and Ideology in Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica JOHANNA BRODA, JOHANNA BRODA Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad Universitaria Mexico 20, D.F.Search for more papers by this author JOHANNA BRODA, JOHANNA BRODA Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad Universitaria Mexico 20, D.F.Search for more papers by this author First published: May 1982 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1982.tb34260.xCitations: 8AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat References 1 Anthony F. Aveni, Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico ( Austin : University of Texas Press, 1980); 2 F. Aveni Anthony, ed., Archaeoastronomy in Pre-Columbian America ( Austin : University of Texas Press, 1975). 3 Native American Astronomy ( Austin : University of Texas Press, 1977). 2 I became interested in this subject quite some years ago when, from the point of view of my research on Aztec religion, I became aware of the need to know more about the astronomical dimensions of Aztec calendrics and cult matters. Earlier authurs – Seler, Beyer, Lehmann, etc. -naturally influenced me in my interests, but I am especially indebted to K. A. Nowotny and Paul Kirchhoff, and, more recently, to A. Aveni, H. Hartung, and F. Tichy. I owe very much to Franz Tichy's studies of the orientation of Mexican pyramids, in which he combines cultural geography and astronomy with an ethnohistorical study of the Mesoamerican calendar. His recent research shares much with Kirchhoff's approach to the study of pre-Hispanic chronology, and, in a way, can be considered its fruitful continuation. 3 See Aveni, 1 Skywatchers; 6 Johanna Broda, “ The Mexican Calendar,” Acta Ethnologica et Linguistica, no. 25 (Vienna: 1969); 7 Alfonso Caso, Los Calendarios Prehispánicos ( México : Universidad Nacional AutÓnoma de México, 1967). 4 See Vincent H. Malmstrom, “Origin of the Mesoamerican 260-Day Calendar,” Science, vol. 181 (1973). pp. 939–41; 9 Robert H. Merrill, “Maya Sun Calendar Dictum Disproved,” American Antiquity, vol. 10 (1945), pp. 307–11; 10 Zelia Nuitall, “La Observación del Paso del Sol por el Zenit por los Antiguos Habitantes de la América Tropical,” Publicaciones de la Secretaría de Educación Pública, vol. 17 (Mexico: 1928), no. 20. 5 See the Dresden Codex; for an excellent synthesis of the interpretation of the astronomical contents of this unique pre-Hispanic codex, see Aveni, 1 Skywatchers, pp. 161–83. 6 Eugene G. Dursin, “ Orientations of Mesoamerican Structures: A Study in Astro-Archaeology,” M.A. Thesis, Universidad de las Américas, Puebla , México (1968); 13 Robert H. Fuson, “The Orientation of Mayan Ceremonial Centers,” Association of American Geographers, Annals, vol. 59 (1969), pp. 494–511; 14 George Kubler, “La Traza Colonial de Cholula,” Estudios de Historia Novohispana, vol. 2 (1967), pp. 111–27; 15 Ignacio Marquina, “ Algunas Consideraciones Acerca de la Orientación de los Monumentos Arquelógicos de México,” Boletín INAH, series 2, vol. 19 ( Mexico : INAH, 1976). p. 59, 16 Arquitectura Prehispánica ( México : INAH, 1964); 17 Merrill;4 Nuttall;4 O. G. Ricketson, “Astronomical Observatories in the Maya Area,” Geographical Review, vol. 18 (1928), pp. 215–25; 18 “Uaxactún, Guatemala, Group E, 1926–31,” Carnegie Institution of Washington Publications, no. 477 (1937). 7 Veni; 1 Anthony F. Aveni, “ Concepts of Positional Astronomy Employed in Ancient Mesoamerican Architecture,” in Aveni, Native, pp. 3–19, 20 “Possible Astronomical Orientations in Ancient Mesoamerica,” in Aveni, 1 Archaeoastronomy, pp. 163–90: 21 Anthony F. Aveni and Sharon L. Gibbs, “On the Orientation of Pre-Columbian Buildings in Central Mexico,” American Antiquity, vol. 41 (1976), pp. 510–17; 22 Anthony F. Aveni, Sharon L. Gibbs, and Horst Hartung, “The Caracol Tower at Chichén Itzá: An Ancient Astronomical Observatory Science, vol. 188 (1975), pp. 977–85; 23 Anthony F. Aveni and Horst Hartung, “ The Observation of the Sun at the Time of Passage through the Zenith in Mesoamerica,” Archaeoastronomy (1981); 24 Anthony F. Aveni, Horst Hartung, and Benth Buckingham, “The Pecked Cross Symbol in Ancient Mesoamerica,” Science vol. 202 (1978); pp. 267–79: 25 Anthony F. Aveni, Horst Hartung, and Charles Kelley, “ Alta Vista, Chalchiuhtes, a Mesoamerican Ceremonial Outpost at the Tropic of Cancer. Implications,” Science (in press); 26 Horst Hartung, “ Ancient Maya Architecture and Planning: Possibilities and Limitations for Astronomical Studies,” in Aveni, 1 Native, pp. 111–29, 27 “A Scheme of Probable Astronomical Projections in Mesoamerican Architecture,” in Aveni, Archaeoastronomy, pp. 191–204, 28 Die Zeremonialzentren der Maya: Ein Beitrag zur Untersuchung der Planungsprinzipien ( Graz : Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 1971). 8 Franz Tichy, “El Calendario Solar como Principio de Ordenación del Espacio para Poblaciones y Lugares Sagrados,” Communicaciones, Simposio de la Fundación Alemana para la Investigación Científica, vol. 15 (1978), pp. 153–64, 30 “Explicación de las Redes de Poblaciones y Terrenos como Testimonio de la Ocupación y Planificación del Altiplano Central en el México Antiguo,” Comunicaciones, Fundación Alemana para la Investigación Cientifica, Proyecto Puebla-Tlaxcala, vol. 11 (1975), pp. 41–52, 31 “Der Festkalender Sahaguns. Ein Echter Sonnenkalender Latein-Amerika-Studien, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaftliches Bewusstsein in Mexiko seit der Kolonialziet, vol. 6 ( Munich : Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1980), pp. 115–37, 32 “Ordnung und Zuordnung von Raum und Zeit im Weltbild Altamerikas, Mythos oder Wirklichkeit Ibero-Amerikanisches Archiv, n.s., vol. 2 (1976), no. 2, pp. 113–54, 33 “Orientacion de las Pirámides e Iglesias en el Altiplano Mexicano,” Suplemento Comunicaciones, Fundacion Alemana para la Investigación Cientifica, Proyecto Puebla-Tlaxcala, no. 4, “Sonnenbeobachtungen und Agrarkalender in Mesoamerika,” in Festschrift Gerdt Kutscher ( Berlin : Gebrüder Mann Verlag, in press). 9 Kubler, 6 p. 116. 10 Tichy, 8“Ordnung,” p. 123. 11 In the latitude of Cholula (19° 3′), the sun reaches the altitude of 94.5° on the meridian of the southern horizon, which means that it moves 4.5° north of the altitude of the zenith. This fact is very interesting, since, according to Tichy, 4.5° was the pre-Hispanic unit used to divide the circle into 80 parts (Tichy, 8 “ Ordnung,” pp. 128–29). These and several other calendrical reasons suggest that the location of Cholula might have been selected on the basis of cosmological considerations. The same might apply to Malinalco and Xochicalco, which both have practically the same latitude as Cholula. It has also been suggested that the latitude of Copán, Honduras might have been deliberately selected for calendrical reasons (see Malmstrom4). 12 Ricketson; 6 Tichy, 8 “Ordnung,” fig. 10. 13 Tichy, 8 “ Ordnung,” p. 118. 14 Fuson, 6 p. 499. 15 Ulrich Köhler, “ On the Significance of the Aztec Day Sign ‘Olin,’” in Time and Space in Ancient Mesoamerican Cosmovision, ed. F. Tichy and A. F. Aveni (University of Erlangen-Nurenberg: in press). 16 Rafael Girard, Los Mayos Eternos ( Mexico : Libro Mex., 1966). 17 See Köhler;15 Alfonso Villa Rojas, “ Los Conceptos de Espacio y Tiempo Entre los Grupos Mayances Contemporáneos,” in Tiempo y Realidad en el Pensamiento Maya. Ensayo de Acercamiento, ed. M. Leon-Portilla ( Mexico : Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, serie Culturas Mesoamericanas 2, UNAM, 1968), pp. 119–67; 43 Evon Z. Vogt, Zinacantan. A Maya Community in the Highlands of Chiapas ( Cambridge , Mass. : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969). 18 See Tichy, 8 “ Sonnenbeobachtungen.”. 19 Tichy, 8 “ Sonnenbeobachtungen.”. 20 A population living at the northern limits of Teotihuacan civilization built a ceremonial site precisely at the Tropic of Cancer. This site, Alta Vista (Zacatecas), consisted of several constructions that specifically permitted the observation of the summer solstice, i.e., the zenith. It is impossible to overestimate the calendrical importance of this site, the location of which cannot but have been chosen deliberately. Therefore, the recent excavations and measurements undertaken by Kelley, Aveni, and Hartung at Aka Vista acquire a particular significance (Aveni et al. , 7 “ Alta Vista”). 21 See Pedro Carrasco, “ Las Fiestas de los Meses Mexicanos,” in Mesoamerica: Homenaje al Doctor Paul Kirchhoff ( Mexico : SEP-INAH, 1979), pp. 51–60. 22 Tichy, 8 “ Festkalender,” pp. 129–34. 23 Hartung, 7 “ Scheme,” p. 194. 24 Aveni and Hartung, 7 Tichy, 8 “ Festkalender,” p. 131–32, “Sonnenbeobachtungen.”. 25 The aforementioned studies by Tichy and Aveni and Hartung 24 contain the first serious measurments and interpretations of the astronomical significance of the tube that have been made at Xochicalco. However, they did not take into consideration the fact that, although the center line of the tube is vertical, its northern side is slightly inclined to the south, which gives an orientation towards noon on the day of the summer solstice (private communication from Emilio Bejarano, director of the Centro Regional del INAH, Cuernavaca, Morelos, and personal observation on zenith and solstice days, May-June, 1980). 26 Tichy, 8 “ Calendario,” “Festkalender,”“Ordnung,”“Sonnenbeobachtungen.”. 27 The true length of the year could be observed not only by the zenith passages, but also by the recurrence of the position of certain stars and constellations. In this context, the heliacal risings were considered most important, particularly so the heliacal rising of the Pleiades (see Johanna Broda, “ La Fiesta Azteca del Fuego Nuevo y el Culto de]as Pléyades,” in Time and Space in Ancient Mesoamerican Cosmovision, ed. F. Tichy and A. F. Aveni (University of Erlangen-Nurenberg; in press). 28 Tichy, 8 “ Calendario,” “Festkalender,”“Ordnung,”“Orientación,”“Sonnenbeobachtungen.”. 29 Perhaps one should explore further the possibility that there existed different kinds of calendrical counts that functioned in a parallel way. The Vague Year of 365 days was a mathematical necessity for the calendrical system. However, an agricultural year in tune with the seasons was a practical necessity. The big question still remains, How would this “pragmatic” agricultural year have been coordinated with the rigid cycles of the calendar? A calendar correction of thirteen days every 52 years might have been a possibility; however, so far no proof for this or any other calendar correction has been found in the historical or archaeological record (see Broda).27. 30 Edouarde De Jonghe, “Le Calendrier Mexicain,” Journal de la Société des Americanistes, vol. 3 (1906) no. 2, pp. 197–229: 57 Karl Anton Nowotny, “Die Aztekischen Festkreise,” Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, vol. 93 (1968), pp. 84–106; 58 Eduard Seler, Gesammelte Abhandlungen, 5 vols. (Berlin: 1902–24). 31 See Carrasco. 21 . 32 See Johanna Broda, “ Relaciones Políticas Ritualizadas: El Ritual como Expresión de una Ideologia,” in Economía Politica e Ideología en el México Prehispánico, ed. P. Carrasco and J. Broda (Nueva Imagen-CISINAH, 1978), pp. 219–55. 33 Fray Francisco de las Navas, Calendario de Fray Francisco de las Navas, de Don Antonio de Guevara y Anónimo Tlaxcalteca, manuscrito inédito, Colección Ramirez, Opúsculos Históricos, tomo 21, Colección Antigua, vol. 210, pp. 93–203 (Archivo Histórico del INAH, Mexico). 34 Carrasco. 21 . 35 See Johanna Broda, “Tlacaxipehualiztli: A Reconstruction of an Aztec Calendar Festival from 16th Century Sources,” Revista Española de Antropología Americana, vol. 5 (1970), pp. 197–274. 36 See Broda. 27 . 37 This table is based upon astronomical data provided in Aveni, 1 chap. 3. I would also like to acknowledge Aveni's personal communications on these points. A more detailed comment on this table can be found in Broda, 27 and Johanna Broda, “ Ciclos Agricolas y Culto Mexica,” unpublished. 38 R. Tom Zuidema, “ The Inca Calendar,” in Aveni, 1 Native, pp. 219–59: “Catachillay: The Role of the Pleiades and of the Southern Cross and a and β Centauri in the Calendar of the Incas,” this volume. 39 Gary Urton, At the Crossroads of the Earth and the Sky: An Andean Cosmology, Latin American Monographs ( Austin : University of Texas Press, in press). 40 Aveni, 27 Skywatchers, p. 296. 41 Broda. 27 . 42 Broda. 37 . 43 Broda, 27, 32, 35, 37 Johanna Broda,” Cosmovisión y Estructuras de Poder en la Evolución Cultural Mesoamericana,” Comunicaciónes, Simposio de la Fundación Alemana para la Investigación Científica, vol. 15 (1978). pp. 165–72; 72 “Los Estamentos en el Ceremonial Mexica,” in Estratificación Social en la Mesoamérica Prehispánica, ed. P. Carrasco, J. Broda, et al. ( Mexico : SEP-INAH, 1976), pp. 37–66. 44 See Walter Lehmann, Die Geschichte der Königreiche von Colhuacan und Mexiko, Quellenwerke zur Alten Geschichte Amerikas, vol. 1 ( Stuttgart-Berlin : Verlag Kohlhammer, 1938). 45 Unfortunately, most of these studies are in his unedited notebooks. It is urgent that someone edit these valuable notes and papers, so that they may be available for future research. See Paul Kirchhoff, Unedited Papers, Archivo del Museo Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico: see also “Calendarios Tenochca, Tlatelolca y Otros,” Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos, vol. 14 (195455); 75 “ The Mexican Calendar and the Founding of Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco,” Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2nd ser., vol. 12 (1950) no. 4, pp. 126–32. 46 Kirchhoff, 45 Unedited Papers. Translated from the Spanish original by J. Broda. 47 See Lawrence Krader, A Treatise of Social labor ( Assen , The Netherlands : Van Gorcum, 1979): El Estado en la Historia, manuscript, Centro de Investigaciones Superiores del INAH, Mexico. 48 See Maurice Godelier, Economía, Fetichismo y Religión en las Sociedades Primitivas ( Mexico : Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 1974), pp. 335–37. 49 Kirchhoff, 45 Unedited Papers. Translated from the Spanish original by J. Broda. Citing Literature Volume385, Issue1Ethnoastronomy and Archaeoastronomy in the American TropicsMay 1982Pages 81-110 ReferencesRelatedInformation