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DEDICATORY BURIAL/OFFERING COMPLEXES AT THE MOON PYRAMID, TEOTIHUACAN

A preliminary report of 1998–2004 explorations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2007

Saburo Sugiyama  and
Leonardo López Luján
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Abstract

A series of highly elaborated burial/offering complexes have been discovered recently in association with seven superimposed monumental constructions at the Moon Pyramid. The archaeological contexts excavated during the past seven years indicate that these dedicatory complexes were symbols of a state religious ideology and communicated sociopolitical information on behalf of ruling elites. Rich artifacts made of obsidian, greenstone, shell, pyrite, ceramics, wood, and textile, as well as abundant skeletal remains of sacrificed animals and human beings, stand out in these unusual ritual deposits. Many of the offerings possess strong connotations of warfare and ritual sacrifice. After describing the five burial/offering complexes and discussing their possible function and religious significance, we conclude that, when the expanding Teotihuacan state orchestrated these monumental constructions, the most important ritual paraphernalia was buried in the new enlargement programs to express the ideology of sacred rulership.

Resumen

Las exploraciones del Proyecto Pirámide de la Luna (1998–2004) han permitido comprender cómo fue construido el segundo monumento de mayores dimensiones de la antigua ciudad de Teotihuacan. La excavación sistemática de largos túneles en su interior ha revelado una larga secuencia constructiva, compuesta por siete agrandamientos. Dicha secuencia va desde los modestos inicios de la pirámide, hacia el 100 d.C., hasta el colapso de la ciudad, alrededor del 600 d.C. Las exploraciones también han demostrado que al menos tres de los siete edificios de la pirámide contenían ricos complejos de entierro/ofrenda, los cuales fueron sepultados para consagrar cada nuevo agrandamiento. Hasta la fecha han sido recuperados cinco de estos complejos (entierros 2–6), casi todos integrados por una amplia variedad de artefactos, plantas, animales y seres humanos sacrificados. Los entierros 2, 3, y 4 se encontraron en la base de la pirámide, mientras que los entierros 5 y 6 se detectaron en la cúspide y en el centro de la pirámide, respectivamente. Los análisis antropofísicos practicados hasta ahora a las víctimas sacrificiales señalan una amplísima preferencia por los individuos subadultos o adultos y de origen extranjero. Esto, aunado a las armas, la indumentaria, y los símbolos bélicos que muchas veces estaban asociados a los esqueletos, apunta a que la mayoría de ellos eran militares cautivos. Junto a ellos fueron inhumadas varias decenas de mamíferos carniceros y aves rapaces, animales que suelen estar asociados directamente a la guerra y el sacrificio en la pintura mural, la cerámica y la escultura teotihuacanas. Lo anterior pone de manifiesto la enorme importancia del aparato bélico y de los holocaustos colectivos desde épocas muy tempranas y a todo lo largo de la historia teotihuacana, principalmente en el contexto de una ideología religiosa que sustentaba el poder del estado.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , Spring 2007 , pp. 127 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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