Cinabrio y mercurio en Teotihuacán y, en particular, en el túnel bajo el templo de la Serpiente Emplumada, México
The cinnabar, a vivid red pigment, has been used by many ancient cultures around the world. Teotihuacan is one of the Mesoamerican capitals that used it. The physical characteristics of the mineral and its blood-red color gave it particularly high value and significance. A detailed study on the occu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Société des américanistes
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/jsa/20694 |
| Summary: | The cinnabar, a vivid red pigment, has been used by many ancient cultures around the world. Teotihuacan is one of the Mesoamerican capitals that used it. The physical characteristics of the mineral and its blood-red color gave it particularly high value and significance. A detailed study on the occurrence of the mineral in Teotihuacan revealed its particular use in funerary and ritual domains as well as in mural painting. On the one hand, this mineral can be considered as an indicator of social status, this resource—of prestige—being reserved for the elites and, on the other hand, its deposit on the body of the deceased was part of a ritual linked to the notion of rebirth. The discovery of cinnabar and mercury in the recently excavated tunnel under the temple of the Feathered Serpent, one of the most emblematic monuments of the city, confirms the symbolic importance of these two elements and their links with the cosmological thought of the ancient Mesoamerican cultures. |
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| ISSN: | 0037-9174 1957-7842 |