Group H-North - Mayan preclassic Observatory in the Uaxactun
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Mayan Cities in virtual reakity |
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The site of Uaxactun was located in the northeast corner of Peten,
Guatemala, part of the Mayan Lowlands. Uaxactun was a major Mayan city
situated about twelve miles north of another important Mayan site, Tikal. The Early Development Period began sometime in the second millennium BC. and lasted until about 50 BC. The period around 50.BC represents a change of artistic style in the Uaxactun. Around this time group H- South lost its status as the centre of royal power and the new seat of the kings moved to group H- North. Within Group H-North, three different spaces separated. These levels were created by means of huge platforms and terraces, which have been identifi ed as the Upper platform, Lower platform and Plaza of Rocks. All the buildings atop Upper and Lower platforms were built during the same time period, as part of a greater architectural complex, dating of which, according to results of radiocarbon analyses, falls approximately to around year 50 BC and settlement continued to around 150 AD. The Upper platform, where structures appear to represent the stars of Orion and symbolize the story of creation. The Lower platform was orientated and linked to the Upper platform. It is not markedly delimited and is freely accessible on two sides, which evokes an open space designed for public rituals. It was built to the west of the Upper platform, overlooked by huge masks of the underworld Sun and probably represented the land of the underworld. The radial pyramid H XV located here . The three stars of Orion – Rigel, Saiph and Altinak were identifi ed with the three primordial stones of creation. In the middle of the triangle nebula M 42 is located, visible to the naked eye, which probably represented the fi rst fi re itself, or its smoke, while the stars represented stones of the hearth. The first visible rising of Orion on 20th of June above central pyramid H I observed from radial pyramid H XV marked the victorious return from the underworld. The rising of Orion during this period was most likely a confi rmation of the liberation of maize from the underworld – Xibalba, and the sign of future harvests and prosperity. Maize was symbolically ‘born’. BIBLIOGRAPHY Milan Kovac , Vladimir Karlovsky 2015 New Maya Observatory Identified in Uaxactún, Guatemala Milan Kovac , Carlos Pallán Gayol, Alice Desprat 2015 NEW STUCCO MASKS FROM UAXACTUN: INTERPRETATION, CONSERVATION AND DOCUMENTATION OF EXTRAORDINARY PRECLASSIC MAYA ART Milan Kovac , Eva Jobbova 2015 The Legacy of an Early Maya King: Text, Imagery and Ritual Contexts of a Late Preclassic Cache from Structure H-XVI Sub, Uaxactun |
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