The list of
aspects of a given piece of architecture that give us a clue to what a culture
values is nearly endless but it includes things like: the features, attention
to details in different areas, time spent building it, style, money spent (or
items traded), materials used (much in the same way Alicia talked in her last post about different materials used in record keeping relating to the
importance of the information), functions/purposes.
Astronomy and art were very important to
the Mayans. The merging of these two fields is evidenced through the center
piece of Chichén Itzá: Kukulkan's pyramid (for some detailed architectural
specifications and descriptions on Kukulkan's pyramid click here). The pyramid exhibits a square base
typical of Mayan architecture. It is about 24 meters tall and is formed of four 45 degree staircases that rise to the temple at the top of the pyramid. The temple itself is at the top, signifying the importance of religion to the Mayans. I have already looked into the importance of religion to the Mayan's in some of my previous posts so I won't do much analysis of that here.
The pyramid however serves a
deeper purpose though than meets the eye. The pyramid was constructed in such a
way that at around 3PM, during the vernal and autumnal equinoxes the sunlight illuminates the pyramid, bathing the
western balustrade of the main stairway. Seven isosceles triangles emerge from
the sunlight on the pyramid which form the body of a 37 yard long serpent. As
the sun goes down the serpent slithers his way down the staircase until it
joins the serpent head carved out of stone at the pyramid's base.
YouTube video of the equinox on Kukulkan Pyramid on 3.22.2008
The entire pyramid seems to serve as an elaborate means to present a large scale graphical symbol. In my last post I talked a lot about the importance of animals in the glyphs of the Mayan language and you can find more information on the subject in this online book here. Luis El
Arochi, a Mexican researcher calls it "the symbolic descent of the
Kukulkan (the feathered serpent" (as quoted here) . Researchers believe that this impressive
and almost magical event constructed by the Mayans could be connected with agricultural
rituals.
for some self-directed studying, here
are links as a starting point for further reading on all things Chichén Itzá:
-a very long graduate thesis paper I
found on the BYU online library focusing on murals in Chichen Itza
-an interesting YouTube
video on the mystery on the possibility that the Mayans abandoned
the majestic city of Chichen Itza
-to be honest most of the sources I used were really good, but really long... especially this one about detailed information on the equinox events and architecture of Kulkukan's pyramid
Question: is Kukulkan the same thing as Quetzalcoatl? I realize that they are from different cultures, but they are both giant feathered snakes, creator gods, bringers of maize and civilization. At least according to this site http://www.pantheon.org/articles/q/quetzalcoatl.html. It seems similar to the Minerva Athena situation.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about architecture being a really long lasting medium. When Hitler was building his tausendjährige Reich he was careful to specify that the buildings should be constructed to form impressive ruins when the empire fell after the allotted thousand years. Other good examples are Stonehenge and the coliseum. Both have lasted very well and seem to give a clue to some of the values to their respective civilization.
Hey alicia. Good thinking. Actually Quetzalcoatl IS the equivilent of kukulkan. Quetzalcoatl is the nahuatl name for the feathered serpent. Nahuatl being the principal language of the azcecs and others. Kukulkan also means feathered serpent. Something totally interesting about the feathered serpent story is that it is pretty much universal among the different american tribes. Say like the greeks and the romans had the same stories and gods basically but with different names. Well its like that. Actually basically all the tribes had a story of a white brother/god who had visited them and would some day come back. I read about this in the Hopi stories too which surprised me because I thought it was a mesoamerican thing, but it reached all the way to the american west. The stories of the feathered serpent are pretty similar and the most elaborate in the mythologies too. Cool stuff.
ReplyDeleteDo the Hopi have a feathered Serpent in their mythology?
ReplyDeleteThey don't have a feathered serpent i don't remember that but they do have a name for their "Lost white brother" and they had a prophecy of when he would return. Turns out that like within the month of the prophecy date one of the conquistadores showed up (pizarro or something I can't remember right now) looking for the city of gold. They realized it really wasnt him though after a bit because the white explorers did not live in harmony with the earth.
ReplyDeleteI mean, his symbol just wasnt a feathered serpent but it is a parallel character in their mythology.
ReplyDeleteCoronado was the one looking for the cities of gold there is a good summary of his expedition here http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=466
ReplyDeleteYeah but the deity or legendary character is an archetypical element of many cultures. They need closer similarities than just the foretold return.
Can I just say, I love reading your conversations, Mike and Alicia. They really are interesting. Let's see... I like the idea of the importance of architecture as a medium of expression, but one of the things I think that is unique about it is that it is an expression of the whole culture. In ancient times, it took a lot of man power (or slave power) to build monuments like the Colosseum and the pyramids (both American and Egyptian). Even though one ruler might have ordered them built, a project of that magnitude still had to be impressive and awe their people, so they had to match the values of the people with what is impressive and awe-some and worthwhile according to them. This is how it becomes a reflection of the whole culture, not just an individual. Nowadays, we have architects that can control all the aspects of design because of the relatively low cost of building their creation. Architecture has become more privatized as the world has progressed, and it is interesting to see the changes throughout history.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting to see how different cultures can have a lot of cross-pollination of ideas, like Quetzalcoatl (after whom I'm thinking of naming my first son) and Kukulkan. I've wondered something else before, and I'll mention it here, although I really just intend it to be rhetorical: how do the plants and animals of a geographic region influence the way the people of that region depict things like deities?
ReplyDeleteInteresting point lauren. I think you are on to something. Think about the egyptian gods - hawks, cats, jekyls. The mayans and aztecs both had feathered serpents, eagles, and their most important animal was the jaguar. African gods included giraffes, gazelles, and hyenas. no i'm just kidding. haha. I have no idea about africa.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with what Morgan said, the architecture of a building tells more of the resources and technologies that a civilization had at the time in order to build the structure. It tells just as much about a civilization as would a written account of buildings and architectural achievements.
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ReplyDeleteI was browsing through class blogs and your post caught my eye. I spent my spring in Mérida, Mexico on a study abroad where I got to witness the immaculate architecture of the Maya ruins (Chitzen Itza, Uxmal, Dzibichaltún to name a few) first hand. Like you discussed, it fascinates me how the Mayas incorporated the sun into the architecture and used it as a staple way to express themselves through worship.
ReplyDeleteI have not read your other posts yet William, but in your research have you come across the significance of the Maya ruin Dzibichaltún and the Temple of the 7 Dolls (also known as Temple of the sun)? This ruin also magnifies the perfection in the architecture of the Mayas. Every equinox, the sun shines exactly through the doorway and the windows of the ruin. Another interesting note is this is one of the few Maya ruins that has windows.
Here are a few links if you want to learn more: http://yucatantoday.com/en/topics/dzibilchaltun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B57xqsGXuRM