Latin America
Related: About this forumArcheologists in Mexico decipher ancient frieze
The frieze, discovered in Oaxaca in 2018, contains glyphs symbolising themes related to superstition and social hierarchies in the Zapotec and Mixtec cultures
Archeologists discovered the frieze in 2018.
National Institute of Anthropology and History.
Gabriella Angeleti
1 March 2022
Archeologists from Mexicos National Institute of Anthropology and History have interpreted the glyphs of an ancient frieze excavated in Oaxaca that offers significant insight into the cultural norms of the Zapotec and Mixtec cultures.
The limestone and stucco frieze was discovered in 2018 in the Atzompa zone of the Monte Albán archaeological region, a Unesco World Heritage Site built in the sixth century BCE that was inhabited in succession by the Olmec, Zapotec and Mixtec people before the Spanish conquest.
The glyphs primarily allude to themes related to superstition and social hierarchies, including figurines of monkeys, jaguars and supernatural protective figures, and representations of the quincunx, a geometric design that alludes to the four directions and to the centre of the universe, and the quetzal bird, a Mayan and Aztec symbol of nobility or wealth.
The 15m-long frieze, which is dated between 650CE and 850CE, is thought to have originally measured around 30m in length. It adorned the main façade of a structuremost likely a residenceknown as Casa del Sur (House of the South), where it would have been visible to a bustling ceremonial plaza, communicating political or economic eminence.
National Institute of Anthropology and History
More:
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/03/01/archeologists-decipher-ancient-mexican-frieze
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Many more photos of this area near Oaxaca, Mexico. So MUCH of this architecture is unacknowledged or mentioned in the U.S., and one doesn't know about it without accidentally finding it in books, magazines, or on the internet:
https://tinyurl.com/yytm4uh5
abqtommy
(14,118 posts)Bayard
(21,806 posts)Thanks for posting.
I love Zapotec weaving, and have several rugs.