Obsidian studies in Mendoza (Argentina): A sinuous way to do the things without following the rules

GIESSO, M;; CORTEGOSO, V, ; DURÁN; V,; NEME, G. ; BARBERENA, R,

Austin

Congreso; 79th SAA Symposium: The Gold Anniversary of Obsidian Studies.; 2014

Society for American Archaeology

This paper explores the ways in which Maya centers in the Comitán Valley of Chiapas, Mexico adhered to and diverged from widespread Maya concepts of sacred landscape. From the cenote at Chinkultic to the caves of Quen Santo, the Maya of this area both shaped and paid homage to the contours of the land on which they lived in the Late Classic and Early Postclassic periods (600-1200 C.E.). This paper considers the ways in which architecture interacted with landscape to express fundamental aspects of Maya cosmology and site-specific identity. I begin with Chinkultic, where a mountaintop acropolis surrounded by lakes and cenotes expressed the city?s control over the surrounding lake region. I continue with Tenam Puente, where rulers constructed a physical and conceptual center by harnessing ideas of mountains and caves. Finally, I examine the caves of Quen Santo, where a previously unexplored sculptural record enables us to understand the site as a center for pilgrimage and ancestor worship. Throughout, I place an emphasis on how these areas would have been used and understood, paying particular attention to ritual and performance as important means of interaction between people, landscape, and worldview.