Zenith and Nadir Passages of the Sun in Mesoamerica

Šprajc, Ivan

doi:10.1558/jsa.36092

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…On the other hand, various kinds of data indicate the importance of solar zenith transits, which were probably observed by means of devices that allowed the passage of solar rays at noon. However, an analysis based on a large number of orientations revealed no significant correspondence with the Sun’s positions on the horizon on the nadir and zenith passage dates [ 63 ], and the same conclusion applies to E Groups. The date of the Sun’s passage through the zenith or nadir can be defined as the day when the difference between the absolute values of the Sun’s declination and the local latitude comes to be nearest to 0°.…”

Section: Discussion Of Previous Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Astronomical aspects of Group E-type complexes and implications for understanding ancient Maya architecture and urban planning

Šprajc

2021

PLoS ONE

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In the 1920s, during the first archaeological excavations at Uaxactún, Petén, Guatemala, an architectural complex named Group E was interpreted as an ancient Maya astronomical observatory, intended specifically for sighting the equinoctial and solstitial sunrises. In the following decades, a large number of architectural compounds with the same configuration have been found, most of them in the central lowlands of the Yucatan peninsula. The multiple hypotheses that have been proposed about the astronomical function of these complexes, commonly designated as E Groups, range from those attributing them a paramount role in astronomical observations to those that consider them merely allegorical or commemorative allusions to celestial cycles, without any observational use. This study, based on quantitative analyses of a reasonably large sample of alignment data, as well as on contextual evidence, shows that many of the previous hypotheses cannot be sustained. I argue that E Groups, although built primarily for ritual purposes, were astronomically functional, but also that they had no specific or particularly prominent role in astronomical observations. Their orientations belong to widespread alignment groups, mostly materialized in buildings of other types and explicable in terms of some fundamental concerns of the agriculturally-based Maya societies. I present the evidence demonstrating that the astronomical orientations initially embedded in E Groups, which represent the earliest standardized form of Maya monumental architecture and whose occurrence in practically all early cities in the central Yucatan peninsula attests to their socio-political significance, were later transferred to buildings and compounds of other types. Therefore, it is precisely the importance of the astronomically and cosmologically significant directions, first incorporated in E Groups, that allows us to understand some prominent aspects of ancient Maya architecture and urbanism.

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Section: Discussion Of Previous Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Astronomical aspects of Group E-type complexes and implications for understanding ancient Maya architecture and urban planning

Šprajc

2021

PLoS ONE

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“…It has been suggested astronomical reasons for the pyramids' orientation, influenced by solar conditions according to Sprajc, I. 2018 [1]. At the archaeological site of Tula, the importance is set to the observer's relative position and the reference point with precise alignments with the surrounding [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Similarity in Orientation for Ancient Construction at Mesoamerica and Three World Cases

Herrera-Sánchez¹,

Suárez-Dominguez²,

Arvizu-Sánchez³

et al. 2021

cea

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The study of the pyramids has attracted attention for several centuries because of the construction itself and its positions. We try to understand their formal and geospatial position and implications. There are various hypotheses about the design of them, from the mystical sphere to mathematical analysis. In this research, we carried out a study of the orientation presented in various prehispanic buildings in Mexico, as a part of Mesoamerica; we selected the most important ceremonial places or pyramids and different cultures, including the last one called "Aguada Fenix" that may produce the first knowledge. Separately, we consider three similar cases, Iraq, Iran, and Egypt, as ancient initial constructions. The research shows that orientation prevails from the visualization of the sunset from the location selected by the Mesoamerican culture under a particular specific translational earth position. However, some cultures prioritized solstice sunrise-facing constructions. It does not necessarily imply that they knew explicitly about the cardinal points: the position of the sun may be sufficient. The Giza Pyramid case is analyzed under this perspective, proposing that the arrangement was carried out by following the line from sunrise to sunset through the drawing of lines from the same point, allowing the largest sunny area during the year.

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Symbolism and Archaeoastronomy in Prehistory

Silva

Pimenta

Tirapicos

2021

Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution

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This chapter explores the symbolic and conceptual relations between prehistoric groups and the sky. The study of how people engage with the sky is known as cultural astronomy, a term that comprises any field concerned with sky and culture, including archaeoastronomy. The latter focuses on analyzing the archaeological record for evidence of past skyscapes, i.e., past forms of engagement with the celestial objects, and how they would feature in the world views of the societies under study. The chapter discusses six case studies from the Western part of the Iberian Peninsula that are representative of prehistoric contexts found in other parts of the world. They illustrate how prehistoric skyscapes provided not only spatial axes for the construction of structures that align to celestial objects and events but, more importantly, how such alignments served as temporal anchors moored to key environmental, social, and symbolic moments of transition.

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Zenith and Nadir Passages of the Sun in Mesoamerica

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Astronomical aspects of Group E-type complexes and implications for understanding ancient Maya architecture and urban planning

Astronomical aspects of Group E-type complexes and implications for understanding ancient Maya architecture and urban planning

The Similarity in Orientation for Ancient Construction at Mesoamerica and Three World Cases

Symbolism and Archaeoastronomy in Prehistory

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