#Totonac city

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: African Europeans by Olivette Otele

African Europeans by Olivette Otélé

Africans or African Europeans are widely believed to be only a recent presence in Europe, a feature of our ‘modern’ society. But as early as the third century, St Maurice—an Egyptian— became the leader of a legendary Roman legion. Ever since, there have been richly varied encounters between those defined as ‘Africans’ and those called ‘Europeans’, right up to the stories of present-day migrants to European cities. Though at times a privileged group that facilitated exchanges between continents, African Europeans have also had to navigate the hardships of slavery, colonialism and their legacies.

Olivette Otele uncovers the long history of Europeans of African descent, tracing an old and diverse African heritage in Europe through the lives of individuals both ordinary and extraordinary. This hidden history explores a number of questions very much alive today. How much have Afro-European identities been shaped by life in Europe, or in Africa? How are African Europeans’ stories marked by the economics, politics and culture of the societies they live in? And how have race and gender affected those born in Europe, but always seen as Africans?

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

On Savage Shores by Caroline Dodds Pennock

We have long been taught to presume that modern global history began when the "Old World" encountered the "New", when Christopher Columbus “discovered” America in 1492. But, as Caroline Dodds Pennock conclusively shows in this groundbreaking book, for tens of thousands of Aztecs, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit and others —enslaved people, diplomats, explorers, servants, traders—the reverse was true: they discovered Europe.

For them, Europe comprised savage shores, a land of riches and marvels, yet perplexing for its brutal disparities of wealth and quality of life, and its baffling beliefs. The story of these Indigenous Americans abroad is a story of abduction, loss, cultural appropriation, and, as they saw it, of apocalypse—a story that has largely been absent from our collective imagination of the times.

From the Brazilian king who met Henry VIII to the Aztecs who mocked up human sacrifice at the court of Charles V; from the Inuk baby who was put on show in a London pub to the mestizo children of Spaniards who returned “home” with their fathers; from the Inuit who harpooned ducks on the Avon river to the many servants employed by Europeans of every rank: here are a people who were rendered exotic, demeaned, and marginalized, but whose worldviews and cultures had a profound impact on European civilization.

The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber

For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself.

Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume.

[deblala]

New Evidence Ancient City of Tetelihtic in Mexico Was Founded by the Totonac People | Ancient Origins

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/Totonac-civilization-0021660

[biglisbonnews]

Zona Arqueológica Cempoala in Zempoala, Mexico The remains of pyramids and palaces, interspersed with vast green plazas and towering palms, provide a bucolic, unhurried setting in what was once the capital of Totonacapan, the cultural center of a people caught between two worlds. For the better part of a century, the Totonacs, subjugated by Moctezuma I (1440-1459), begrudgingly paid tribute to their Aztec overlords in Mexico-Tenochtitlan (in what is today Mexico City). Then, in 1518, something unexpected happened: ships, under the command of Juan de Grijalva, arrived carrying unknown men. For the Totonacs, this was their first contact with Europeans, and for the Spanish an initial glimpse of the vast riches of Mesoamerica surpassing anything they had encountered since arriving in the Americas in 1492. After a short stay in Totonacapan, on the coast of central Veracruz, the Spanish sailed on. When they returned a year later, under the command of Hernán Cortes, they had no intention of leaving. Cempoala (or Zempoala) was the first New World city that Europeans had ever seen, and by all first-hand accounts, they were dazzled. The Totonacs, under the leadership of Xicomecoatl, struck a devil’s bargain with Cortes and his troops in order to throw off the yoke of Aztec domination, an alliance that went a long way towards defeating the Aztec Empire. Once a thriving city of between 20,000 and 30,000 people, the site fell into decline and was virtually abandoned just sixty years later (the process accelerated by two smallpox epidemics). Visiting Cempoala today, the combination of Aztec influences and Gulf Coast traditions are plainly evident. What makes Cempoala distinct from many other Postclassic (1100-1521) sites is that, unlike Mexico-Tenochtitlan, it was never the foundation of a major Spanish settlement, and in many ways is much the same as the Totonacs left it in the 16th Century. Even on the humid, sweltering days of summer, you can often catch a sea breeze from the nearby coast, or enjoy a shady spot beneath a tree or along the periphery of the main ceremonial center. Architecture is somewhat squat and weighty in appearance. The pyramids, fronted with dual central staircases framed by wide balustrades, are gradually step-shaped. Principle structures include: the Templo Mayor, or main temple built in the late 13th-early 16th centuries, the Templo de las Chimeneas (Temple of the Chimneys) with several superimposed sections, and fronted by a ground-level entrance with column foundations that once supported a roof, three round structures of varying dimensions: the Edificio del Dios Viento, a temple to the Wind God (known to the Aztecs by the name of Ehecatl), Edificio Las Caritas (or Building of the Little Faces) originally containing a wall of stucco-covered skulls, as well as celestial murals, and the Templo de la Cruz (or Temple of the Cross), which also contained mural paintings. Artifacts from the site are housed in a small museum within the archaeological zone, offering visitors a respite from the sun, along with the excellent display of Totonac sculpture, painting, and ceramics uncovered by INAH archaeologists. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/zona-arqueologica-cempoala

[bautyofworld]

Quiahuiztlan, Veracruz, Mexico: Quiahuiztlán is an archaeological site and ancient Totonac city in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. It is located in the municipality of Actopan on the Cerro de los Metates, near the coastal town of Villa Rica. Wikipedia

[irrfahrer]

Original Texts Here! Because orchids have inhabited the Earth for 200 million years, as long as humans have been here, there have been orchids. As a result, these exotic flowers appear in the mythology and folklore of a number of cultures. Here are some of those stories:

Orchid Meaning in Ancient Greece

The Greeks loved orchids, which they viewed as symbols of love, sexuality, virility, and fertility. To begin, they associated Aphrodite, their goddess of love, with the orchid. And, as mentioned earlier, there is a genus of orchids called Paphiopedilum, which are named for the city of Paphos, Aphrodite’s birthplace.

Orchis In one Greek myth, a character named Orchis was the son of a satyr and a nymph. While partying one evening during a feast to honor Bacchus, Orchis, having drunk a little too much wine, tried to force himself on a priestess. The normally jovial Bacchus was not pleased with this behavior. So, so he had Orchis ripped to shreds by wild beasts, and his pieces thrown far and wide. Yet, wherever those pieces landed, an orchid flower grew.

The Orchid Aphrodisiac The 1st century physician Dioscorides theorized that orchids had aphrodisiacal qualities, including making men more virile. Indeed, Greek parents believed that if would-be fathers ate large new orchid tubers, they would have a male child. And if mothers-to-be ate small ones, they would have a girl.

Orchids in China

The Chinese have cultivated orchids for centuries and used them for medicinal purposes. However, they also appreciated them for their beauty. In the 6th century BC, Confucius referred to them as the “King of Fragrant Plants.” Orchid meanings in China include elegance, fertility, perfection, relaxation, and majesty.

Japan

In Japan, orchids symbolize bravery, luxury, prosperity, and fertility. According to Japanese legends, Samurai warriors would travel far and wide in search of wild orchids to bring back to court as gifts. Hence, the flower’s association with bravery. In addition, orchids were exotic flowers in ancient Japan. Thus they were associated with wealth and exotic beauty.

Orchids in Aztec and Totonac Cultural Mythology

Few people realize that the flavor vanilla and vanilla beans are derived from a species of orchid. Anthropologists believe the first people to cultivate orchids for their vanilla flavor were the Totonacs, who lived on the east coast of Mexico. By the 15th century, however, the Aztecs had conquered the Totonacs, and with that, their vanilla recipes. For the Totonacs and the Aztecs, orchids were sacred plants. Like the Greeks, they viewed them as symbols of beauty, fertility, and virility. The Totonacs had a legend about how the vanilla orchid came to be:

Legend of the Vanilla Orchid Princess The Totonac King Teniztli III had a beautiful daughter with one of his wives. Princess Tzacopontziza, whose name meant Morning Star, was so beautiful that her parents decided she was too good for any mortal man. So, they committed her to be a maiden serving the goddess Tonoacayohua, who ruled plants and food. One day, while Morning Star was carrying offerings to the goddess’ temple, the young warrior prince, Zkatan-Oxga, whose name meant Young Deer, saw her and fell madly in love with her. When Morning Star saw Young Deer, she fell under his spell. The two decided they would run away together, but as they did, they were stopped by a fire-breathing monster. Then, the priests of Tonoacayohua caught up with them. Enraged at the young lovers’ affront to their goddess, the priests beheaded Young Deer and then Morning Star. They then cut out their hearts and threw their bodies into a ravine. However, wherever their blood was spilled, orchids began to bloom. Thus, the priests and priestesses understood that orchids should be presented as divine offerings to the Goddess Tonoacayohua.

So @cardinal-carvings​ said that Orchids symbolism fit Ziv and since its her “Crest” due to having the Murakami Orchid, one had to look into it and....was that meant as a dig on her Lovelife, Xander??

[kuramirocket]

On July 10, 1520, Aztec forces vanquished the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men, driving them from Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec empire. The Spanish soldiers were wounded and killed as they fled, trying in vain to drag stolen gold and jewels with them.

By September, an unexpected ally of the would-be conquerors had reached the city: the variola virus, which causes smallpox.

How the Aztecs responded to this threat would prove critical.

The Aztecs were no strangers to plagues. Among the speeches recorded in their rhetoric and moral philosophy, we find a warning to new kings concerning their divinely ordained role in the event of contagion:

Sickness will arrive during your time. How will it be when the city becomes, is made, a place of desolation? Just how will it be when everything lies in darkness, despair? You will also go rushing to your death right then and there. In an instant, you will be over.

Facing a plague, it was vital that the king respond with grace. They warned:

Do not be a fool. Do not rush your words, do not interrupt or confuse people. Instead find, grasp, arrive at the truth. Make no one weep. Cause no sadness. Injure no one. Do not show rage or frighten folks. Do not create a scandal or speak with vanity. Do not ridicule. For vain words and mockery are no longer your office. Never, of your own will, make yourself less, diminished. Bring no scorn upon the nation, its leadership, the government.

Retract your teeth and claws. Gladden your people. Unite them, humor them, please them. Make your nation happy. Help each find their proper place. That way you’ll be esteemed, renowned. And when our Lord extinguishes you, the old ones will weep and sigh.

If a king did not follow this advice, if his rule caused more suffering than it abated, then the people prayed to Tezcatlipoca for any number of consequences, including his death:

May he be made an example of. Let him receive some reprimand, whatever you choose. Perhaps punishment. Disease. Perhaps you’ll let your honor and glory fall to another of your friends, those who weep in sorrow now. For they do exist. They live. You have no want of friends. They are sighing before you, humble. Choose one of them.

Perhaps he [the bad ruler] will experience what the common folk do: suffering, anguish, lack of food and clothing. And perhaps you will give him the greatest punishments: paralysis, blindness, rotting infection.

Or will he instead soon depart this world? Will you bring about his death? Will he get to know our future home, the place with no exits, no smoke holes? Maybe he will meet the Lord of Death, Mictlanteuctli, mother and father of us all.

Clearly, the Aztecs took the responsibilities of leadership very seriously. Beyond uplifting morale, a king’s principal duty in times of contagion was deploying his subjects to “their proper place” so that the kingdom could continue to function. This included mobilizing the titicih, doctor-healers with vast herbal knowledge, most of them women pledged to the primal mother goddess Teteoh Innan.

What about the rest of the people? As with our own modern call for “thoughts and prayers,” the Aztecs believed their principal collective tool for fending off epidemics was a humble appeal to Tezcatlipoca. The very first speech of their text of rhetoric and moral philosophy was a supplication to destroy plague. After admitting how much they might deserve this scourge and recognizing the divine right of Tezcatlipoca to punish them however he sees fit, the desperate Aztecs tried to get their powerful god to consider the worst-case outcome of his vengeance:

O Master, how in truth can your heart desire this? How can you wish it? Have you abandoned your subjects? Is this all? Is this how it is now? Will the common folk just go away, be destroyed? Will the governed perish? Will emptiness and darkness prevail? Will your cities become choked with trees and vines, filled with fallen stones? Will the pyramids in your sacred places crumble to the ground?

Will your anger never be reversed? Will you look no more upon the common folk? For—ah!—this plague is destroying them! Darkness has fallen! Let this be enough. Stop amusing yourself, O Master, O Lord. Let the earth be at rest! I fall before you. I throw myself before you, casting myself into the place from which no one rises, the place of terror and fear, crying out: O Master, perform your office … do your job!

Smallpox arrived in Mesoamerica with a second wave of Spaniards who joined forces with Cortés. According to one account, they had with them an enslaved African man known as Francisco Eguía, who was suffering from smallpox. He, like many others on the continent of his birth, had no immunity to the disease carried there by the slave traders.

Eguía died in the care of Totonac people near Veracruz, the port city established by the Spanish some 250 miles east of the Aztec capital. His caretakers became infected. Smallpox spreads easily: not only blood and saliva, but also skin-to-skin contact (handshakes, hugs) and airborne respiratory droplets. It raced through a population with no herd immunity at all: along the coast, over the mountains, across the waters of Lake Texcoco, into the very heart of the populous empire.

The epidemic lasted 70 days in the city of Tenochtitlan. It killed 40 percent of the inhabitants, including the emperor, Cuitlahuac. Had he found it increasingly difficult to keep his people’s spirits up as tradition commanded? Had his leadership faltered? Did his subjects pray for his death?

Whatever the case, the memory of that devastation would echo for centuries. Some Nahuas—mostly the sons and grandsons of Aztec nobility—described the devastation decades after the conquest.

Their account harrows the soul:

It started during Tepeilhuitl [the 13th month of the solar calendar], when a vast human devastation spread over everyone. Some were covered in pustules, which spread everywhere, on people’s faces, heads, chests, etc. There was great loss of life; many people died of it.

They could not walk anymore. They just lay in bed in their homes. They could not move anymore, could not shift themselves, could not sit up or stretch out on their sides. They could not lay flat on their backs or even face down. If they even stirred, they screamed out in pain.

Many died of hunger, too. They starved because no one was left to care for the others; no one could attend to anyone else. On some people, the pustules were few and far between. They caused little discomfort, and those folks did not die. Still others had their faces marred.

By Panquetzaliztli [the 15th month of the solar year], it began to fade. At that time the brave warriors of the Mexica managed to recover.

But a hard lesson had been learned. None of the old remedies had worked. Entire families were gone. Funeral pyres effaced the sun.

The epidemic was only the beginning of the unexpected forces working in tandem to bring down the Aztec empire. On May 22, 1521—just as Tenochtitlan was beginning to recover, trying to rebuild trade routes, restock its supplies, replant its fields and aquatic chinampa gardens—Cortés returned.

This time he commanded more Spanish troops, men from the same second wave that had brought the smallpox. With them marched tens of thousands of Tlaxcaltecah warriors, the sworn enemies of the Aztecs. Smallpox had reached Tlaxcallan first, but its people—not as densely packed in urban areas like the Mexica—had fared better and were now ready to finish off their rivals.

The massive military force laid siege to the Aztec capital. Even with more than half the population dead or disabled, with little food or water or supplies, the Mexica held the city for three months.

Then, on August 13, 1521, it fell. Emptiness and darkness indeed prevailed.

Lines from a song composed by an unknown Mexica not long afterward sums up the emotions of the survivors:

It is our God who brings down

His wrath, His awesome might

upon our heads.

So friends, weep at the realization—

we abandon the Mexica Way.

Now the water is bitter,

the food is bitter: that

is what the Giver of Life

has wrought.

Without the smallpox, it’s much less likely Cortés and his allies could have taken Tenochtitlan. 

The plague—cocoliztli—was the most devastating post-conquest epidemic in large parts of Mexico, wiping out somewhere around 80 percent of the native population.

“Somewhere around” because population estimates are difficult to come by, with extrapolations made from incomplete colonial sources that date back to precolonial times. For the ethnohistorian Charles Gibson, there is no “sure method for determining whether the later [colonial era] counts were more accurate or less accurate than the earlier ones,” so that “the magnitude of the unrecorded population seems unrecoverable.”

Nevertheless, Gibson’s best estimate is a population of 1,500,000 inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico at the time of first contact with Europeans. There was a sharp fall of about 325,000 by 1570; a drastic fall to about 70,000 by the mid-seventeenth century; followed by slow growth to about 275,000 by 1800. Gibson’s figures are simply staggering. They give us a rough impression, but tell us little about the suffering and massive social upheaval caused by these catastrophes.

Slavery, forced labor, wars, and large-scale resettlements all worked together to make indigenous communities more vulnerable to disease.

According to the “Virgin Soil” theory, the epidemics were so desctructive because “the populations at risk have had no previous contact with the diseases that strike them and are therefore immunologically… defenceless,” as the psychiatrist David Jones writes in the William & Mary Quarterly. The theory is still widespread, often devolving into vague claims that indigenous people had “no immunity” to the new epidemics. By now we know that the lack of immunity played a role, but mostly early on. Current research instead emphasizes an interplay of influences, for the most part triggered by Europeans: slavery, forced labor, wars, and large-scale resettlements all worked together to make indigenous communities more vulnerable to disease.

According to a group of scholars writing in the journal Latin American Antiquity, in colonial Mexico, “by the mid-17th century, many… communities had failed, victims of massive population decline, environmental degradation, and economic collapse.” This is why it’s crucial for today’s scholars to emphasize the influence of colonial policies—as opposed to the Virgin Soil theory, which shifts responsibility away from Europeans.

One peak of the epidemic occurred in the 1570s. The exact pathogen that caused that epidemic is not yet known. Some scholars have speculated that, since it struck mostly younger people, it might have been something unique to the New World and reminiscent of the Spanish Influenza outbreak, possibly a tropical hemorrhagic fever. Other recent theories include Salmonella, or a combination of diseases. Native communities were the main victims of this epidemic due to their poverty, malnourishment, and harsh working conditions compared to the Spanish population.

Three Circles in the Sun

Aztec authors from central Mexico noted their reactions to the epidemics in fascinating detail. Writing 100 years after the Spanish military takeover, they were painfully aware of the consequences of epidemics and colonization: epidemics had taken place before, but the unprecedented scale of the disasters caused widespread incomprehension, sadness, and anger.

Much of the extant writing by Aztec authors dates to the turn of the seventeenth century. Many of the authors had experienced the plague themselves, its effects still fresh in their memories. I want to focus on two pieces of writing: a report by the well-known historian Diego Muñoz Camargo from Tlaxcala, written in Spanish; and an anonymous text in the indigenous language, Nahuatl, from the Puebla region.

As Diego Muñoz Camargo, the famous historian from the era, wrote:

In 1576, another great pestilence struck this land, bringing death and destruction to the native population. It lasted over a year and brought ruin and decay to most of New Spain [the Spanish Viceroyalty covering today’s Mexico], as the native population was then almost extinct. One month before the outbreak of the disease, an obvious sign had been seen in the sky: three circles in the sun, resembling bleeding or exploding suns, in which the colours merged. The colours of those three circles were those of the rainbow and could be seen from eight o’clock until almost one o’clock at noon.

This passage demonstrates the great importance of omens for the Aztecs. 

It is not surprising that the second report, from the smaller community of Tecamachalco, also links diseases with the appearance of a comet. Probably written by the native noble Don Mateo Sánchez, the text shows the extent of the catastrophe in words quite similar to Diego Muñoz Camargo’s:

On the first day of August [of 1576] the great sickness began here in Techamachalco. It was really strong; there was no resisting. At the end of August began the processions because of the sickness. They finished on the ninth day. Because of it, many people died, young men and women, those who were old men and women, or children… When the month of October began, thirty people had been buried. In just two or three days they would die… They lost their senses. They thought of just anything and would die.

Several of Don Mateo’s family members also died, including his wife and the alcalde (mayor) of his quarter. Don Mateo then took over the post of alcalde. One can sense his incomprehension and anguish. The decimation of the indigenous elites is evident throughout his account.

This decimation contributed to the transformation of native societies well into the seventeenth century, including forced native labor and resettlements, the introduction of hierarchical Spanish laws and government, Christianity, and the alphabet. Together with increasing European immigration, the epidemic led to a massive upheaval of indigenous sociopolitical organization and ways of life, especially in the Valley of Mexico.

Don Mateo’s is not the only surviving account of the epidemic from an indigenous perspective. Other anonymous annals from Puebla and Tlaxcala from the era discuss earlier waves of disease, which remained firmly rooted in collective memory more than 100 years after the events. Like Mateo, these sources do not try to account for the origin of the disease, but they provide an idea of the scale and horror of the epidemic and the personal tragedies involved, the uprooting of families, of whole towns.

Meanwhile, the Spaniards’ narratives tried to explain the catastrophic effect the disease had on the indigenous population by pointing to difficult living conditions. But they also interpreted it as divine punishment for paganism and a sign of the native peoples’ alleged inferiority to Europeans. Of course, European remedies such as bloodletting, used in hospitals to treat indigenous patients, worsened conditions instead of healing them. Ultimately, the Spanish Crown feared above all a further loss of cheap or unpaid labour; the priests a loss of souls to be converted.

Holding Off Oblivion

Despite the harsh conditions, the descendants of the Aztecs did not give up—as has long been claimed in traditional scholarship. As the historian Camilla Townsend has argued, the demographic collapse lent urgency to the projects of major native historians—including the authors I’ve cited in this essay. Nearly all pre-Hispanic sources were destroyed by the Spanish, with some lost over time. The Chalca scholar Domingo de Chimalpahin commented on this confluence of factors: the destruction of sources and abandonment of communities strengthened his sense of responsibility to future generations. By writing history, he attempted to save his ancestors’ past from looming oblivion. Drawing on pre-Hispanic faith, continuing political participation, and recording the histories of their people: these are some of the ways in which Aztecs proactively shaped their lives following colonial devastation.

Centuries of colonial exploitation and violence have made the indigenous peoples of both Americas disproportionately vulnerable to current epidemics. This makes the resilience of indigenous peoples and cultures all the more incredible. Such resilience has developed over more than 500 years, in the face of continual adversity and disregard. Native American peoples provide varied and remarkable testimonies on weathering existential crises. The least we can do, in the midst of the current pandemic, is listen.

Other Source

[tlatollotl]

Teotihuacan is an ancient Mesoamerican city located 40km from modern-day Mexico City.

Construction began around 100 BC, with continuous habitation lasting into the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

The pre-Columbian city had a population estimated at around 125,000 and a large metropolis consisting of dwellings, temples, pyramids and ceremonial spaces that covered an area of 8 square miles.

Teotihuacan is architecturally and anthropologically significant for its complex, multi-family residential compounds, the Avenue of the Dead, the vibrant murals and the giant Mesoamerican pyramids that are comparable in size to the Pyramids of the Giza plateau in Egypt.

Although it is a subject of debate whether Teotihuacan was the center of a state empire, its influence throughout Mesoamerica is well documented; evidence of Teotihuacano presence can be seen at numerous sites in Veracruz and the Maya region.

The later Aztecs saw these magnificent ruins and claimed a common ancestry with the Teotihuacanos, modifying and adopting aspects of their culture. The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan is the subject of debate. Possible candidates are the Nahua, Otomi or Totonac ethnic groups.

[mexican-history-salinas]

First Image: Hernan Cortes and his band of 500 plus men land in Vera Cruz April 21, 1519 and traveling through the Yucatan in search of gold, contesting and spreading christianity. Making allies with the Totonac natives (Allies of Moctezuma and the Aztecs) Cortes and the Spaniards also had some skirmishes with the natives in the cities of Tocoac (Tlaxcalans allies) and Cholula, finally reaching Tenochtitlan in November 18, 1519. 

Second image: Elder of the Tlaxcalan tribe Xicotenga (left in front of Cortes) Tlaxcalan Chief Mase Escasi (Next to Xicotenga), , Hernan Cortes (Right, in front of Xicotenga, Dona Marina (Center). The image represents the peace and alliance between the Spaniards and the Tlaxcalans who join forces to take down the Aztec Empire. The Tlaxcalans are arch enemies with Moctezuma and the Aztecs and are one of the sole reasons for the conquering of Tenochtitlan

Third Image: The massacre at Cholula happened when the city of Cholula, a contributer to Moctezuma. There was a rumor going on where Dona Marina was warned by an Indian wife of a cacique that an ambush was being planned against the Spaniards. Dona Marina then went and told Cortes and the Spanish herded the people into the cities town square trapping them and unleashed their weapons of muskets and crossbows against them and the Tlaxcalans took out their anger against their enemy. 

Fourth Image: Tlaxcalan warrior using Spanish sword against the Cholula people 

Fifth Image: City of Tenochtitlan and the three major causeways that connected the island to the mainland. 

Sixth Image: November 18, 1519, The meeting between Moctezuma and Cortes . Cortes was not allowed to shake hands with Moctezuma as it was not allowed to touch the king so they greeted each other by saluting one another. 

Seventh Image: The Nights of Sorrow (La Noche Triste) happened after the massacre of Aztec people led by Pedro de Alvarado and Moctezuma’s death at either the hands of the Spanish or one of the stones that hit him in the head that was thrown by the citizens of the cities. The Spaniards tried escaping at night time when they were discovered by an Indian woman who saw them making an escape and were bombarded by Aztecs and had to fight their way out to survive. Many Spaniards and allies died or were captured that night. 

Eighth Image: Small pox was a secret weapon that also helped the Spaniards in winning the war against the Aztecs. The smallpox epidemic came in September of 1520 and took the king Cuitláhuac, Moctezuma's predecessor. 

Ninth Image: The Siege of Tenochtitlan. The powers of the Spaniards are in full affect in this image with their horses, steel weapons, cannons, ships, and enormous amount of soldiers and native allies which were the advantage that led to the fall of Tenochtitlan and the Aztec empire on August 13, 1521.

[captainamsel]

Onyx Equinox

So after watching season 1 I decided to make a small guide to help people decide if they want to watch it. I definitely enjoyed it!

First off, some basics:

Genre: fantasy

setting: pre-colonization mesoamerica (see a more detailed explanation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y2R3l94Hps)

Tone: it’s pretty dark and gory

length: 12 episodes, 25 minutes each

where to watch: it’s all free on crunchyroll! https://www.crunchyroll.com/onyx-equinox

Now, what is the setup? Well, the gods don’t get enough blood from humans anymore so some of them decide to just take it for themselves, ie sink an entire city into the ground. Freshly traumatized kid Izel is one god’s Chosen One to prove humanity��s worth because two other gods made a bet. He meets a mean jaguar, ball-playing twins, a warrior with a secret and a novice priestess who also has a secret. There’s also a mysterious healer, an adorable axolotl and aforementioned asshole gods

Strengths:

- Mesoamerica is woefully underrepresented in fantasy and the writers and especially the artists did their research. Not just Maya and Aztec, but Olmec, Mixtec, Totonac, Zapotec and more as well. For example, the different cities have distinct building styles, clothing etc

- the gods specifically have creative and terrifying designs. like yea that’s a god oh fuck

- even within such a short season there are mysteries to uncover, character motivations to be revealed. no spoilers but I was on the edge of my seat

- the character interactions and relationships are good when they find themselves after the first few episodes

- this show knows being a teenage Chosen One is nothing but a cruel joke by gods who are too removed from humanity to actually care about people and I am living for it

- I can’t not mention my love for Zyanya and Xanastaku in particular. They’re so good

https://banannerbread.tumblr.com/post/637370218762600448 check out this cool art of them

weak points:

- I wasn’t too drawn in by the characters after the first few episodes. They take a while to find their footing and even then Izel is not the strongest character of the show. However I am curious to see how he’ll develop in future seasons

- twelve episodes is a short time to develop this kind of story and things happen a lot

- I don’t mean to judge whether or not gore is “good” but don’t ignore that warning, know what to expect

I hope more people decide to watch this show!

Now someone get these kids some grief counseling and a good trauma therapist please

[deetvar]

@arthoure said: A mesoamerican FE would be so cool though.

Yeah except it will never happen. It's not like it's TOO hard to find good, accurate and respectful information on the people of Mesoamerica (shameless plug for David Bowles and Michael E. Smith for being scholars I respect with cool Twitter feeds).

But rather there is this collective misinformation about the people of Mesoamerica. The "Aztecs" never called themselves Aztecs. The "Aztec" Empire was a multi-ethnic EMPIRE that forcibly absorbed other groups like the Totonacs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs. The "Aztecs" as an ancient Empire? Only a hundred years old. As a culture? Less than 300 years old.

The Mayans were never an empire or a unified kingdom, just warring city states with shifting alliances. Mayans did do sacrifice. Mostly bloodletting and sacrificing kings/nobility when it was full sale human sacrifice. But not much. Comparitively to the "Aztecs." Aztec human sacrifice was a political and cultural intimidation tactic. It had a religious purpose but that was secondary.

And of course the human sacrifice and cannibalism. I don't even have to explain. It's something we all know, and no one really wants to touch.

If Apocalypto was any indication, I don't trust Hollywood. Nintendo and/or IntSys? Not much more? It's admittedly a very niche portion of history that most people simply don't know about.

[autodidact-adventures]

Architecture (Part 32): Pre-Columbian Early Sites

From as early as 900 BC to the Spanish conquest in 1519 AD, complex civilizations flourished in Mesoamerica.  The important architectural forms included pyramids and platforms, temples and altars, squares, ball-courts, and processional roads.  The rulers increasingly used monumental architecture to promote themselves and ensure their immortality, and this reflected a strict social hierarchy.

Most of the surviving Mesoamerican buildings are from the Maya civilization; other cultures include the Olmecs and Toltecs, and individual cities such as Teotihuacán.

Monte Albán is a Zapotec site that was occupied in four phases from 500 BC to 700 AD.  It is located on a low mountainous range in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán (municipality), which is in the centre of Valles Centrales of the Oaxaca Valley (geographic region) within the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca.

The Monte Albán complex was planned around a characteristic ceremonial layout.  There are two acropolises (north & south) enclosing a large plaza, which has pyramids, temples, funerary mounds and a ball-court.  All these buildings are raised above the level of the plaza, and are accessed by large stairways.

Aerial view, looking north.

Another aerial photograph.

North Platform.

Steps leading up to the South Platform.

El Tajín is an archaeological site located in the Papantla municipality of the Mexican state of Veracruz.  It was part of the Classic Veracruz culture (around 100 – 1000 AD), and was probably built by the Totonac people.

The most well-known building at El Tajín is the Pyramid of the Niches, which is around 18m tall.  It has 6 tiers (it used to have seven) rising up to an upper sanctuary.  A wide staircase (with balustrades) runs up the eastern side of the pyramid, decorated with a step-and-fret motif that is common at El Tajín.  The pyramid gets its name because of the niches carved on all sides, 365 in total – the solar year is a recurring theme in Mesoamerican architecture.

Teotihuacán, north-west of Mexico, was probably established around 100 BC, with major buildings being constructed until around 250 AD.  These major buildings were sacked & burned sometime around 500 AD, but the city may have still been occupied until around 650 AD.

Teotihuacán was laid out on a grid plan that divided it into quarters, with the Pyramid of the Sun in the centre.  The Avenue of the Dead is its main axis, stretching from the Pyramid of the Moon southwards for 3.2km.  It intersects with the Rio San Juan, a second axis north of the citadel (the Ciudadela). The dividing-into-quarters plan was later copied by the Aztecs.

Pyramid of the Sun.

Talud-tablero is a common architectural style in Mesoamerican pyramids, platforms and temples.  It is also called the slope-and-panel style.

The talud is an inward-sloping surface or panel, and the tablero is a panel or structure perpendicular to the ground, sitting upon the talud.  The tablero is treated as a frieze, and is therefore often framed, sculpted and brightly painted.

In several of Teotihuacán's pyramids, this structure is repeated all the way up.  This form of façade terracing is found throughout Mesoamerica, with regional variations.  It was visually effective and also economic – the elegant framing members were held together by thin slabs tied into a rubble core.

The Pyramid of the Moon consists of a four-storey talud-tablero platform, with a stone stairway cutting through it & leading to a wood-and-thatch sanctuary on the summit.

Pyramid of the Moon.

The stelae at Teotihuacán had a religious function.  They were carved with semi-abstract representations of the gods, including the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl.

The stela below has a feathered disc with emblems relating to Tlaloc, the rain/storm god - the three circles, upper jaw, and "mustache", with three smaller circles in a triangular pattern below them.

[biglisbonnews]

Quiahuiztlán in Miramar, Mexico Driving north from the port city of Veracruz, a rock formation, known as Cerro de los Metates, rises dramatically above the level coastal plain of the Gulf lowlands. The monolithic mountain dominates the surrounding landscape. A steep ascent on a rutted dirt road leads to the base of the landmark’s vertical rock walls, and an ancient necropolis known as Quiahuiztlán. Here, during the Postclassic period (around 1100-1519), the Totonac inhabitants of the region erected 78 stone tombs, approximately four feet high, resembling miniature temples. Their contents originally contained human skeletal remains, polychrome pottery, and the metates (or grinding stones) that give Cerro de los Metates its name. These houses of the dead are scattered throughout three areas of leveled, elevated ground, with some perched like sentries towards the Gulf of Mexico. The archaeological site offers spectacular views of the turquoise waters of Villa Rica, including the beach where Hernán Cortes landed in 1519. Villa Rica was the first European settlement in Mexico, and Quiahuiztlán is mentioned in various 16th-century Spanish chronicles recounting the Spanish-Aztec War. While the tombs are the most unique feature here, two pyramids, a Mesoamerican ballcourt, defensive walls, plazas, stone steps, terraces, and other structural remains are scattered throughout the site. Paths lead through dense tropical foliage. Technical climbing routes entice climbers to scale one of several routes ascending the rock face. Chosen for its strategic position, the city was established around 800. By 1500, Quiahuiztlán was a thriving pre-Hispanic city of 16,000 inhabitants. After exploring the site, consider lunch or a swim at nearby Villa Rica, one of the most beautiful and least discovered beaches in Mexico. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/quiahuitztlan

[allabroadspanish]

Taking it from the streets

(via NYTimes) MT Objects is a ceramics studio that turns out singular pieces referencing local craft traditions and the architectural splendor and battered infrastructure of its home base, Mexico City, and beyond. Thanks to a masked and socially distant pair of artisans employed by the studio, operations have continued throughout the pandemic, said Tony Moxham, a co-founder with Mauricio Paniagua.

In one recent series, slip-cast vessels were drizzled with black glaze in imitation of the tar used by the Totonac people who occupied what is now the state of Veracruz to represent “the moisture, fertility and darkness of the underworld,” Mr. Moxham said. Another collection, described as “brutalist,” is cast from sidewalk rubble and streaked with traditional colonial lead-based glazes from the western state of Michoacán.

“We wanted to create something that was very different from what everyone else was doing,” Mr. Moxham said. “And in Mexico City, almost any sidewalk you walk down has bits of broken concrete.” Prices range from $1,000 to $5,000 per piece. ago-projects.com

[tlatollotl]

Name one civilization located in the Americas that pre-dates the arrival of Europeans, and you would probably think of the Aztecs, the Inca or perhaps the Maya. A new paper, published in De Gruyter’s open access journal Open Archeology by Michael E. Smith of Arizona State University shows how this view of American civilizations is narrow.

Smith, using a map produced by the Teotihuacan mapping project, conducted a comparative analysis of the city with earlier and later Mesoamerican urban centers and has proved, for the first time, the uniqueness of the city. The paper outlines how the urban design of the city of Teotihuacan differed from past and subsequent cities, only to be rediscovered and partially modelled on many centuries later by the Aztecs.

Teotihuacan was in touch with other Mesoamerican civilizations and at the height of its influence between 100 – 650 AD, it was the largest city in the Americas, and one of the largest in the world. It is unclear who the builders of the city were, and what relation they had to the peoples which followed. It is possible they were related to the Nahua or Totonac peoples. It is also unclear why the city was abandoned. There are several theories which include foreign invasion, a civil war, an ecological catastrophe, or some combination of all three.

The Aztecs, who reached the height of their power about a thousand years later, held Teotihuacan in reverence. The site of Teotihuacan is located about forty kilometres from the site of the Aztec capital. They claimed to be the descendants of the Teotihuacans. That may or may not be true, but the Teotihuacans had a huge influence on the later Aztec culture. The name Teotihuacan comes from the Aztec language, and means ‘the birthplace of the gods’ and they believed it was the location of the creation of the universe. But the paper outlines how the influence of this ancient culture on the Aztecs was not limited only to their cultural beliefs, but also how it affected the urban design of their capital city, and also how unparalleled that original design was.

Most ancient cities throughout Mesoamerica followed the same planning principles, and they included the same kinds of buildings. Each city usually had a well-planned central area which included temples, a royal palace, a ballcourt, and a plaza that was surrounded by a much more chaotic (in terms of planning) residential area.

Teotihuacan most likely had no royal palace, no ballcourt, and no central areas. It was much larger than cities before it, and the residential areas were much better planned than its predecessors, and it had an innovation unique in world history – the apartment compound. Buildings with one entrance that contained many households had been rare before the industrial revolution and those that did exist were for the poor. Teotihuacan’s were spacious and comfortable.

“Teotihuacan stood alone as the only city using a new and very different set of planning principles, and its apartment compounds represent a unique form of urban residence not just in Mesoamerica but in world urban history,” said Michael E. Smith.

All of these features were unique in Central America before and after, until the Aztecs drew their inspiration for their capital Tenochtitlan from Teotihuacan using many of the same features.

[artinstituteancientamericas]

ANCIENT GULF COAST: REMOJADAS, VERCRUZ, TOTONAC (200 BC-800 AD) REMOJADAS

Standing, “Smiling” Figure with Hands Raised 

A.D. 600/900

Figure of a Seated Leader A.D. 300/600 This naturalistic figure ranks among the finest works of the Remojadas sculptural tradition. The artist modeled the face of a youthful chieftain as an idealized type, yet there is also a sense of individual portraiture. Sitting cross-legged, with arms extended to the knees, the young ruler’s body conveys tension. He is elegantly dressed with an elaborate turban, belt, and skirt. The jewelry adorning his wrists and neck represents flowers, while the embroidery of the belt likely signals his rank and status.

Sophisticated clay technology was used to create this masterpiece. The head and neck were modeled separately and fitted into the top of the body, with soft clay added to smooth and strengthen the seam. The arms and legs were made of hollow tubes, while the flowers and belt ornaments were prepared from small bits of clay pressed to the moist surface. After the assembled figure completely dried, it was fired. The naturalistic rendition of the human form, close attention to human expression, and technological command of the material attest to a mature artistic tradition and an accomplished sculptor.

Portrait Head A.D. 250

VERACRUZ

EL TAJIN BALLCOURT

Ceremonial Ballgame Yoke A.D. 700/800

Played throughout Mesoamerica, the ceremonial ballgame was a sport as well as a ritual substitute for war in which sacrifice was often the final outcome. Players were required to propel a heavy rubber ball with their hips, thighs, shoulders, and lower arms. A yoke, made of padded leather or wood, was worn at mid-body to protect the torso and direct the ball. Carved stone yokes were intended as ceremonial emblems or trophies and were not used in actual play. 

At least 16 ballcourts have been discovered at El Tajín, suggesting that the city may have been a sort of Olympic center as well as a ruling capital.

Fragment of a Ceremonial Ballgame Yoke A.D. 700/800

Figure Carried in a Litter A.D. 600/950

Dancing Figure Wearing Animal Headdress and Ornate Costume A.D. 600/900

Standing Warrior Figure with Removable Mask and Headdress A.D. 700/1000

HUASTEC

Ballplayer Figurine A.D. 800/1400

Ballplayer Figurine A.D. 800/1400

Figure of a Woman in Ceremonial Dress A.D. 700/900 In the afterlife, it was the role of deceased noble ancestors to communicate with the deified forces of nature on behalf of their people. Presented as offerings at ancestral shrines, mold-made figures of this kind were sometimes reshaped while the clay was still moist to give them more individualized facial features.

Polychrome Plate Depicting a Standing Figure with Ornate Speach-Scroll  A.D. 600/900

Tripod Polychrome Bowl Depicting a Serpent with Scales and Feathers and Fluid Motifs A.D. 500/750

MOTH DEITY; TOBACCO AND DATURA

[loynosca]

(via Monroe Library at Loyola University | Library Lagniappe) 

Dance of the Flyers AKA Voladores ‘Flying Men’

Today in celebration of Cinco De Mayo, we bring you an excerpt of the Mexican Jesuit Francesco Saverio Clavigero’s book, The history of Mexico. Collected from Spanish and Mexican historians, from manuscripts and ancient paintings of the Indians. Illustrated by Charts and other copper plates. To which are added, critical dissertations on the land, the animals, and inhabitants of Mexico.

This book is available for research M-F 9-4:30 and is part of our Archives & Special Collections as well as available electronically as part of the Internet Archive.

I chose to highlight pages 402 through 404 from Volume 1 that give a description of the mesoamerican ritual called the Dance of the Flyers AKA Pole Flying AKA Ceremony of the Voladores (Flying Men). 

The reason I chose to highlight this section is because I had the opportunity to see a performance of this ritual recently outside of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

This dance has been awarded a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity distinction and is described as follows on their website:

“The ritual ceremony of the Voladores (‘flying men’) is a fertility dance performed by several ethnic groups in Mexico and Central America, especially the Totonac people in the eastern state of Veracruz, to express respect for and harmony with the natural and spiritual worlds. During the ceremony, four young men climb a wooden pole eighteen to forty metres high, freshly cut from the forest with the forgiveness of the mountain god. A fifth man, the Caporal, stands on a platform atop the pole, takes up his flute and small drum and plays songs dedicated to the sun, the four winds and each of the cardinal directions. After this invocation, the others fling themselves off the platform ‘into the void’. Tied to the platform with long ropes, they hang from it as it spins, twirling to mimic the motions of flight and gradually lowering themselves to the ground. Every variant of the dance brings to life the myth of the birth of the universe, so that the ritual ceremony of the Voladores expresses the worldview and values of the community, facilitates communication with the gods and invites prosperity. For the dancers themselves and the many others who participate in the spirituality of the ritual as observers, it encourages pride in and respect for one’s cultural heritage and identity.”

As an added bonus, here is a short video I shot on my phone while experiencing the performance in February: