In Xochtl In Cuicatl

* Acolnahuacatzin ShieldJaguar

In Xochtl In Cuicatl

General meanderings around Mesoamerica

December 28 , 2006

Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2006

Posted at 15:00 EST

How do you know it's been an extraordinary year in archaeology? When the discovery of the earliest Maya writing and a 2,500-year-old sarcophagus decorated with scenes from the Iliad don't crack ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 list:

1. Valley of the Kings Tomb
KV63 was the first tomb to be excavated in the Valley of the Kings since Tutankhamun's in 1922. The chamber held seven 18th Dynasty coffins.

2. 3-Million-Year-Old Child
After years of chiseling tiny bones out of sandstone blocks from Ethiopia's Rift Valley, paleontologists announced the discovery of a nearly complete Australopithecus afarensis child (see "The New Face of Evolution").

3. Olmec Script
A stone block uncovered in the 1990s in Veracruz, Mexico, was shown to bear the first definitive proof that the ancient Olmec had a writing system, the oldest in the New World (see "What We Learn").

4. Irish Bog Psalms
In a peat bog near Dublin, bulldozer operator Eddie Fogarty found a book of Pslams, the first early medieval manuscript discovered in Ireland in 200 years.

5. Peru's Temple of the Fox
Dating to 2200 B.C., an Andean temple was found with unprecedented astronomical alignments, including a facelike disk that frowns at the sunset on the first day of the harvest.

6. China's "Guest Worker"
DNA analysis of bones found near the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi (r. 247-221 B.C.) shows the remains belonged to a Persian man, likely a captive forced to work on the emperor's tomb (see "Worker from the West").

7. Tomb of the Roaring Lions
Grave robbers led Italian authorities to the oldest tomb paintings in the western Mediterranean. The seventh-century B.C. Etruscan scenes feature fanciful lions (see "Flights of Fancy").

8. Lost Kingdom of Tambora
The discovery of a modest house buried by an 1815 volcanic eruption in Indonesia presented the first evidence of the Kingdom of Tambora.

9. Scythian Mummy
A burial mound in the Mongolian Altai Mountains yielded the 2,500-year-old frozen remains of a blond Scythian warrior in full regalia.

10. Brazilian Stonehenge
A circle of some 130 granite blocks in the Brazilian state of Amapa was hailed as a possible 2,000-year-old winter solstice marker.

Source: www.archaeology.org

April 28 , 2006

Debunking the Bosnian 'Pyramid'

Posted at 18:00 EST

It was only a matter of time before someone investigated the Bosnia pyramid story and found it not at all credible. ARCHAEOLOGY magazine are planning on debunking it in their next issue, but in the meantime have published a piece online here: The Bosnia-Atlantis Connection: Frenzied reporting of supposed pyramids in the Balkans ignores the truth and embraces the fantastic

The gist is that Semir (Sam) Osmanagic believes the pyramids in Bosnia resemble those at Teotihuacan, claims the largest is bigger than the pyramid of Khufu at Giza, and that the Bosnian pyramids date to 12,000 B.C.

The media reports have omitted to mention that Osmanagic is a self-described archaeologist, who believes the Maya and others are descended from Atlanteans who came from the Pleiades.

Now reputable archaeologists and the academic establishment are speaking out, condemning Osmanagic for misleading a gullible public and endangering genuine sites and monuments. There is public outcry within Bosnia, and an online petition that seeks to shut down Osmanagic's project. But he apparently has backers within the federal government and the Sarejevo city government. Whether he is allowed to continue or not is unresolved for now, and his website makes no mention of any controversy. And even when the mainstream media catch up and realize that the "Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun" is no such thing, it will have entered the annals of fantastic archaeology and will have a multitude of believers and defenders.

April 25 , 2006

The Bosnian pyramid again

Posted at 08:00 EST

More news here at the Washington Post on the supposed discovery of an 'ancient pyramid ' in Bosnia, where digging began last week.

This has the potential to be a very exciting and significant discovery if it does turn out to be a pyramid, especially since two other pyramid-shaped hills in the Visoko Valley may be connected with this one by underground tunnels.

Maybe it's just me being cynical since I'd love this to be the real thing, but I keep expecting Hancock or Bauval to pop up and start raving about aliens.... LOL

April 14 , 2006

Did the Aztecs take a winter vacation to Bosnia?

Posted at 19:00 EST

Archaeologists have started excavating what they're calling "Europe's first pyramids" - two constructions near Sarajevo. The news report I read doesn't say who's supposed to have built them or how old they are, but the explorer who started probing the site last year "sees astonishing similarities between the structures and Mexican pyramids dating back to about AD 200, which also come in pairs, one believed to represent the Sun and the other the Moon."

The mind boggles... but also retains a healthy scepticism about an Aztec/Bosnian connection! LOL

The full report can be found here: Digging starts on 'Europe's first pyramids' in Bosnia

March 29 , 2006

Werowocomoco

Posted at 06:00 EST

Werowocomoco was Powhatan's headquarters when Jamestown was founded in 1607, and was where Jamestown leader Capt. John Smith met Powhatan several times. It was also at Werowocomoco where Smith alleged that Pocahontas threw her body over his to save him as Powhatan was about to club him to death following his kidnap by Indians in December 1607. Whether that really happened or not is open to question, but since the story has become part of America's folk history it doesn't really detract from the popular or historical importance of the village as a tribal centre of the Powhatan :)

The site of Werowocomoco is on private land today, but the owners reacted with commendable responsibility after they found Indian artifacts, including arrowheads and pottery shards, on their property. They invited in the archaeologists who confirmed the identity of the site and excavations have been ongoing there since 2003.

Now the National Parks Service has approved the site for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. To be listed, a site must meet criteria, such as association with significant historical events or people, or possession of outstanding archaeological or architectural features. Good news for Werowocomoco and the protectors of America's native and Colonial heritage :)

More about Werowocomoco here

March 17 , 2006

In search of my roots

Posted at 17:00 EST

It's embarrassing having a name you don't understand the meaning of (let's not even start going down the road of pronunciation! *lol*) So I decided to do a little research on Google one rainy morning, and came up with the following:

From a Nahuatl-French glossary, Dictionnaire de la Langue Nahuatl Classique, I deduced (if my French is any good...) that ACOL(H)NAHUACATL means "an inhabitant of Acolnahuac". Delving further I found Acolnahuac is a place name that could mean "near the shoulder" (from [acolli], shoulder, and [i]nahuac[/i], near).

ACOLNAHUACATZIN was the Tepanec tlatoani (ruler) of the city of Azcapotzalco c.1304-1363. At the time Azcapotzalco was a great centre, already important in Toltec times. His son, Tezozomoc, suceeded in bringing the whole of the Valley of Mexico under Tepanec control. At this time the Tenochcas/Aztecs were mercenaries and vassals of the Tepanec, though they later became allies. Eventually, the Tenochcas joined forces with the tribes of Texcoco and Tlacopan to form the Triple Alliance and broke the power of the Tepaneca.

I even found a fragment by the Texcocan poet-king Nezahualcóyotl (but only in Spanish!) which mentions my namesake!

¿Qué es de Cihuapatzin
y Cuauhtzontecomatzin el valiente
y de Acolnahuacatzin?
¿Qué es de toda esa gente?
¿Sus voces oigo acaso?
Ya están en la otra vida; ese es el caso.

March 5 , 2006

Articles...

Posted at 11:00 EST

Okay. Well, I was going to post some articles today that I've accumulated, but I've called a halt to it because it seems I can only post them as General rather than Historical articles and they ain't. Rather annoying to say the least, and I'm not sure why it is so I posted a query on the Bugs thread to see if there's a solution. And I noticed all the rooms at my home are displaying a General Summary of posts instead of the usual Social, Historical and Role Play breakdown, so I'm assuming its all related *sighs*

March 13 , 2004

Nezahualcoyotl Fr. XIV

Posted at 08:30 EST

Xic yocoyacan in antepilhuan
cuauht amocelo
ma nel chalchihuitl
ma nel teocuitlatl
no ye ompa yazque
oncan on Ximohua yehuaya
zan tipupulihuizque
ayac mocahuaz Iyyo.

So, meditate on this, eagles and jaguars,
although you may be jade
although you may be gold
you too will journey to the fleshless land.
We all must disappear, no one will remain.

Fragment XI

Posted at 08:00 EST

XI. Ayac chalchihuitl
ayac teocuitlatl mocuepaz
in tlalticpac tlatielo
timochiotonyazque
in canin ye yuhcan: ayac mocahaz
zan zen tlapupulihuiz
ti yahui ye yuhcan [...] ichan
Ohuaya Ohuaya.

XI No one of emerald
no one of gold will remain
we all go away equally;
all must disappear
to Life Giver's home.

Nezahualcóyotl fragment XII

Posted at 08:00 EST

Zan yahqui tlacuilolli Aya
ah tonpupulihui
Zan yuhqui xochitl Aya
in zan toncuetlahui
ya in tlalticpac Ohuaya
ya quetzalli ya zacuan
xiuhquecholli itlaquechuanan
tonpupulihui tiyahui in [...] ichan
Ohuaya Ohuaya

Like a painting we are erased;
like a flower we are dried, here on earth.
Like garments feathered with quetzal,
zacún and bluebird,
we go away to Life Giver's home.