Mesoamerican Religions and Archaeology

Mesoamerican Religions and Archaeology PDF

Author: Aleksandar Bošković

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd

Published: 2017-01-26

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 1784915033

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The main goal of this book is to produce a methodologically sound and ethically valid interdisciplinary introduction into the exciting world of ancient Mesoamerica.

Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica

Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica PDF

Author: Patricia Plunket

Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press

Published: 2002-07-30

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1938770692

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Although the concepts and patterns of ritual varied through time in relation to general sociopolitical transformations and local historical circumstances in ancient Mesoamerica, most archaeologists would agree that certain underlying themes and structures modeled the ritual phenomena of this complex culture area. By focusing on ritual expression at the household level, this volume seeks to compare the manifestations of domestic ritual across time and space in both the cores and peripheries, in the cities and in the villages. The authors explore the ways in which cosmological principles and concepts of the sacred were used in the construction of ritual space and practice, how local landscapes provided templates for the images and paraphernalia recovered from archaeological contexts, how foreign enclaves relied on ritual for social reproduction, and how domestic ritual was related to, and indeed embedded in, institutionalized state religions.

Religions of Mesoamerica

Religions of Mesoamerica PDF

Author: David Carrasco

Publisher:

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13:

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Highly regarded scholar Davíd Carrasco provides an overview of the history of Mesoamerican cultures and vivily describes their religious forms, structures, myths, and prevailing 'cosmovision'--the Mesoamerican view of time and space and its ritualized representation and enactment. Carrasco details the dynamics of two important, representative cultures--the Aztec and the Maya --and discusses the impact of the Spanish conquest and the continuity of native traditions into the post-Columbian and contemporary eras. Integrating recent archaeological discoveries in Mexico City, he brings about a comprehensive understanding of ritual human sacrifice, a subject often ignored in religious studies."--Back cover.

Religion in the Prehispanic Southwest

Religion in the Prehispanic Southwest PDF

Author: Christine S. VanPool

Publisher: Rowman Altamira

Published: 2007-01-19

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 0759113955

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Religion mattered to the prehistoric Southwestern people, just as it matters to their descendents today. Examining the role of religion can help to explain architecture, pottery, agriculture, even commerce. But archaeologists have only recently developed the theoretical and methodological tools with which to study this topic. Religion in the Prehispanic Southwest marks the first book-length study of prehistoric religion in the region. Drawing on a rich array of empirical approaches, the contributors show the importance of understanding beliefs and ritual for a range of time periods and southwestern societies. For professional and avocational archaeologists, for religion scholars and students, Religion in the Prehispanic Southwest represents an important contribution.

Religions of Mesoamerica

Religions of Mesoamerica PDF

Author: Davíd Carrasco

Publisher: Waveland Press

Published: 2013-08-26

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1478611030

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The Second Edition of Religions of Mesoamerica comes at a turning point in the study of the Americas and the religious and cultural histories of the New World. To that end, esteemed scholar Davíd Carrasco integrates past and current research, developments, and excavations to vividly synthesize the history of Mesoamerican cultures—their religious forms, ceremonial centers, complex social structures, view of time and space, myths, and rituals. Carrasco’s deep yet concise overview takes readers on an absorbing journey where they experience the dynamics and complexities of Aztec and Maya cultures, the Spanish conquest, and cultural combinations of European and indigenous ideas and practices. He skillfully demonstrates how the religious imagination was and continues to be crucial to the survival and creativity of Mesoamerica and its Chicano/a descendants.

Ancient Zapotec Religion

Ancient Zapotec Religion PDF

Author: Michael Lind

Publisher: University Press of Colorado

Published: 2015-04-15

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1607323745

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Ancient Zapotec Religion is the first comprehensive study of Zapotec religion as it existed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on the eve of the Spanish Conquest. Author Michael Lind brings a new perspective, focusing not on underlying theological principles but on the material and spatial expressions of religious practice. Using sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spanish colonial documents and archaeological findings related to the time period leading up to the Spanish Conquest, he presents new information on deities, ancestor worship and sacred bundles, the Zapotec cosmos, the priesthood, religious ceremonies and rituals, the nature of temples, the distinctive features of the sacred and solar calendars, and the religious significance of the murals of Mitla—the most sacred and holy center. He also shows how Zapotec religion served to integrate Zapotec city-state structure throughout the valley of Oaxaca, neighboring mountain regions, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Ancient Zapotec Religion is the first in-depth and interdisciplinary book on the Zapotecs and their religious practices and will be of great interest to archaeologists, epigraphers, historians, and specialists in Native American, Latin American, and religious studies.

Pre-Columbian American Religions

Pre-Columbian American Religions PDF

Author: Walter Krickeberg

Publisher:

Published: 1969

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13:

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Four readable essays by two archaeologists and two social anthropologists summarize knowledge gained from written sources, archaeological finds, and studies of present-day inhabitants concerning the pre-Columbian religions of Mesoamerica, South Central American and Andean civilizations, North America except for the Arctic, and primitive South America and the West Indies.

Urbanization and Religion in Ancient Central Mexico

Urbanization and Religion in Ancient Central Mexico PDF

Author: David M. Carballo

Publisher: Oxford Studies in the Archaeol

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0190251069

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This volume examines the ways in which urbanisation and religion intersected in pre-Columbian central Mexico. It provides a materially informed history of religion and an archaeology of cities that considers religion as a generative force in societal change

The Totally Gross History of Ancient Mesoamerica

The Totally Gross History of Ancient Mesoamerica PDF

Author: Abbie Mercer

Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc

Published: 2015-12-15

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 1499437633

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Bloody sacrifices, disgusting diets, and shocking religious rituals are some of the gruesome aspects of the totally gross history of Mesoamerica. Concise and entertaining, this text covers some of the more nauseating facts about pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (the region spanning Central America). The gruesome details about the Mesoamerican diet, religion, and medicine will shock readers. But beyond the ickiness, this fascinating title also introduces its audience to the significant contributions of this important culture, as well as the tools that historians and archaeologists use to study ancient life.

The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology

The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology PDF

Author: Deborah L. Nichols

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2012-09-24

Total Pages: 1000

ISBN-13: 0199996342

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The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology provides a current and comprehensive guide to the recent and on-going archaeology of Mesoamerica. Though the emphasis is on prehispanic societies, this Handbook also includes coverage of important new work by archaeologists on the Colonial and Republican periods. Unique among recent works, the text brings together in a single volume article-length regional syntheses and topical overviews written by active scholars in the field of Mesoamerican archaeology. The first section of the Handbook provides an overview of recent history and trends of Mesoamerica and articles on national archaeology programs and practice in Central America and Mexico written by archaeologists from these countries. These are followed by regional syntheses organized by time period, beginning with early hunter-gatherer societies and the first farmers of Mesoamerica and concluding with a discussion of the Spanish Conquest and frontiers and peripheries of Mesoamerica. Topical and comparative articles comprise the remainder of Handbook. They cover important dimensions of prehispanic societies--from ecology, economy, and environment to social and political relations--and discuss significant methodological contributions, such as geo-chemical source studies, as well as new theories and diverse theoretical perspectives. The Handbook concludes with a section on the archaeology of the Spanish conquest and the Colonial and Republican periods to connect the prehispanic, proto-historic, and historic periods. This volume will be a must-read for students and professional archaeologists, as well as other scholars including historians, art historians, geographers, and ethnographers with an interest in Mesoamerica.