Chac-Mool is the name given to a type of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stone statue. Chichen Itza (tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː from Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' "At the mouth of the well of the Itza " is a The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined
The Chac-Mool depicts a human figure in a position of reclining with the head up and turned to one side, holding a tray over the stomach. The meaning of the position or the statue itself remains unknown.
Chac-Mool statues are found in or around temples in Toltec and other post-Classic central Mexican sites, and in post-Classic Maya civilization sites with heavy Toltec influence, such as Chichen Itza. Toltec-style Vessel 1jpg|thumb|250px|right|A rather expressive orange-ware clay vessel in the Toltec style The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas Chichen Itza (tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː from Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' "At the mouth of the well of the Itza " is a
The ancient name for these type of sculptures is unknown. The name Chac-Mool is attributed to Augustus Le Plongeon, who excavated one of the statues at Chichen Itza in 1875. Augustus Le Plongeon (1825-1908 was a Photographer, Antiquarian and amateur Archaeologist. Chichen Itza (tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː from Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' "At the mouth of the well of the Itza " is a Le Plongeon named it Chaacmol, which he translated from the Maya as "thundering paw. " Le Plongeon claimed the statue was a depiction of a former ruler of Chichen Itza. Le Plongeon's sponsor, Stephen Salisbury of Worcester, Mass. , published Le Plongeon's find, but revised the spelling to "Chac-Mool. "[1]
Chac-Mools should not be confused with Chaac, one of the leading deities in Maya mythology associated primarily with the phenomena of rain and thunder, and with whom they are not associated. Chaac (also rendered as Chaak or Chac) is the originally Yucatec name of the Maya rain deity Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all those Mayan tales in which personified forces of nature deities and the heroes interacting with these play the main
Chac-Mools can be found throughout Central Mexico and Yucatan. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Yucatán is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula. In addition to Tula and Chichen Itza, sites known for Chac-Mools include Mexico City, Cempoala, Tlaxcala, and Quirigua in Guatemala. Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Cempoala (or Zempoala) was an important Mesoamerican city It was the largest city on the Gulf of Mexico and the capital of the kingdom of Totonacapan Tlaxcala (tlasˈkala is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located to the east of Mexico City. Quiriguá is an ancient Maya site in the Izabal department of Guatemala.
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Alternative meanings
Chacmool is the name of an annual conference held by the Archaeology Department of the University of Calgary, located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary is a research-intensive Public university in Calgary Alberta, Canada.
"Chac Mool" is a short story in Los Días Enmascarados by Carlos Fuentes. Carlos Fuentes Macías (born March 11,1928 is a Mexican writer and one of the best-known living novelists and essayists in the Spanish -speaking world
Notes
- ^ Salisbury (1877, p. 80).
References
- Salisbury, Stephen Jr. (1877). "Dr. Le Plongeon in Yucatan". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 69: pp. 70–119.
External links
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