essay
The altar and associated features
ancient chalcatzingo • Austin • Published In 1987 • Pages: 82-94
By: Fash, William Leonard.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Fash provides detail on the construction of a patio area at Chalcatzingo with a stone altar on a terrace wall depicting an earth-monster deity, analogous to the monolithic altars/thrones of the Olmec core area. Similar to those mostly earlier Gulf Coast monuments that may have been ritually mutilated and buried or recycled upon the ruler's death, this highland 'altar' appears to have been periodically reconstructed, perhaps for the same reason. Associated burials of presumably special status and possible evidence of human sacrifice are used to suggest related patterns on the Gulf Coast where human remains generally do not survive and few graves have been identified. An addition to the terrace for a structure with an associated stela late in the Cantera phase (2700-2500 B.P.) may be a ruler's residence.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Burial practices and funerals
- Sacred objects and places
- Religious and educational structures
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Olmec
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Mexico
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Leon G. Doyon ; 2006
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1972-1976
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 3100 BP-2500 BP
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Chalcatzingo, Morelos State, Mexico
- NotesAdditional notes
- William Fash, Jr.
- For bibliographical references see Grove: 1987 (Document 3)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 85022673
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Olmecs