Human sacrifice, militarism, and rulership : materialization of state ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Human sacrifice, militarism, and rulership : materialization of state ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan
（New studies in archaeology）
Cambridge University Press, 2005
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Note
Revision of the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--Arizona State University, 1995
Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-271) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Teotihuacan was one of the earliest and more populous preColumbian cities, and the Feathered Serpent was its vital monument, erected circa 200 AD. This work explores the religious meanings and political implications of the pyramid with meticulous and thorough analyses of substantially new excavation data. Challenging the traditional view of the city as a legendary, sacred, or anonymously-governed centre, the book provides significant new insights on the Teotihuacan polity and society. It provides interpretations on the pyramid's location, architecture, sculptures, iconography, mass sacrificial graves and rich symbolic offerings, and concludes that the pyramid commemorated the accession of rulers who were inscribed to govern with military force on behalf of the gods. This archaeological examination of the monument shows it to be the physical manifestation of state ideologies such as the symbolism of human sacrifice, militarism, and individual-centred divine authority, ideologies which were later diffused among other Mesoamerican urban centres.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction: cognition of state symbols and polity
- 2. Background: data and ideation
- 3. The Ciudadela and the city layout
- 4. Architecture and sculpture
- 5. Burials
- 6. Offerings
- 7. Overview: sacrificial and elite burials
- 8. Conclusion: Feathered Serpent Pyramid as symbol of sacrifice, militarism, and rulership.
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