The purpose of this work is to show the extreme positions of the full moons of June, seen from th... more The purpose of this work is to show the extreme positions of the full moons of June, seen from the main entrance into the enclosed patio of Complex A at the archaeological site Cañada de la Virgen. These positions are discussed in terms of the cycles known as major and minor lunar standstills, as well as the metonic cycle. Given the publication guidelines, an enormous effort of synthesis had to be made when dealing with the high number of astronomical events and dates that have been worked through the Permanent Program of Celestial Observations at Cañada de la Virgen. For the same reason, I had to limit possible comparative examples that would serve to justify the dates or “date families” detected in the site, with others studied in Mesoamerica. Nevertheless, the architectural, calendrical and symbolic implications of the pre-Hispanic cosmovision are revealed, as well as the intricate autochthonous astronomical features of the specific cultural region of El Bajío. On the other hand, although there are other examples that deal with the functionality of pyramidal structures acting as a hill or artificial horizon, only Rubén Morante (1996) is cited, since he coined such term while working at Teotihuacán in central México. The different lunar positions shown are intertwined with the rhythm of the sunset, emphasizing the moments when such celestial object rests on the different superimposed bodies of the pyramidal base. Particularly in the corners and slopes where these bodies intersect, creating numerical intervals that have certain qualities of multiplicity with recognizable Mesoamerican calendar units: 20, 13, 5, 52, 65, and so on. Actually, 65 is the interval that became evident as the exercise unfolded. The number appears in terms of years and tens of years, within cycles that could -eventually- be associated with the founding moment of the ceremonial center that concerns us, considering the dates of Carbon recovered by Gabriela Zepeda (2012). As coordinator of the exploration of Cañada de la Virgen, Zepeda emphasized the role of cultural astronomy as a complementary method to explain the foundational dates, along with the moments revealed as differentiated stages of occupation through construction system features. The internal congruence of the presented model explains the importance of the major and minor lunar positions and discusses the appropriate terminology in terms of references to lunar standstills, lunistices or maximum and minimum extremes of full moon.
En este artículo se discuten algunas relaciones entre las familias mesoamericanas de la cuenta de... more En este artículo se discuten algunas relaciones entre las familias mesoamericanas de la cuenta de los días y su relevancia en función del ciclo del planeta Venus. Ello, considerando el basamento Cañada de la Virgen como una montaña artificial.
Revista Chicomoztoc, Vol. 2. No. 2. Agosto 2019, 2019
Resumen Cañada de la Virgen es un centro ceremonial prehispánico ubicado en las inmediaciones de ... more Resumen Cañada de la Virgen es un centro ceremonial prehispánico ubicado en las inmediaciones de la Cuenca Central del Río Laja, hacia un región considerada el límite de lo frontera de Mesoamérica durante el siglo IX del horizonte temporal posclásico. En este trabajo se enfatiza el papel del basamento piramidal del conjunto arquitectónico central del sitio, visto como calendario de horizonte artificial yen consecuencia-, como un instrumento calendárico astronómico capaz de capturar las posiciones del Sol, la Luna y Venus, a través de los vértices que conforman sus cuerpos escalonados. La observación directa y su documentación sistemática, a partir de registros fotográficos, así como las mediciones complementarias realizadas con el uso de teodolito, han permitido recrear un modelo que revela la contabilización de cuentas de días en grupos congruentes con las llamadas "familias mesoamericanas". Entre éstas secuencias de días, destacan-para el basamento piramidal-, las cuentas de 73, 63 y 65, 52, 40, 20, 13, 10 y 5 días. Palabras clave: Cañada de la Virgen, astronomía cultural, calendario de horizonte.
La ruta que seguirán estas líneas pisa primero la cuenca central del río Laja. Vamos detrás de lo... more La ruta que seguirán estas líneas pisa primero la cuenca central del río Laja. Vamos detrás de los pasos de Braniff (1965), Nalda (1977), Crespo (1979), Flores (1980), Castañeda (1983), Nieto (1987) y otros, cuando apenas reconfiguraban la anatomía de Mesoamérica Septentrional a partir del mapeo e identificación de un sistema constructivo propio y recurrente, al que denominaron Tradición Patios Hundidos o Cerrados. Conviene detenerse ahora en Cañada de la Virgen, centro ceremonial emblemático de aquella tradición, donde primero Nieto (1996) y posteriormente Zepeda (2000) habrían de coordinar el proyecto que permitió la apertura del sitio, obtuvo las fechas calibradas que ayudaron a definir la temporalidad de la tradición arquitectónica e incluso revelaron el origen étnico de los entierros recuperados en el sitio (Zepeda y Sandoval, 2019).
Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica, 2016
El texto discute un fragmento de la glosa del Códice Huichapan (Siglo XVII) que parece hacer refe... more El texto discute un fragmento de la glosa del Códice Huichapan (Siglo XVII) que parece hacer referencia a una fórmula matemática para calcular y contabilizar los eclipses. Se analiza dicha glosa en términos de los modelos calendáricos de Mesoamericana, la idea de que los otomís eranávidos seguidores de los ciclos lunares y, finalmente, de acuerdo a la estructura cronológica del propio códice y los eclipses que enél se registran.
The purpose of this work is to show the extreme positions of the full moons of June, seen from th... more The purpose of this work is to show the extreme positions of the full moons of June, seen from the main entrance into the enclosed patio of Complex A at the archaeological site Cañada de la Virgen. These positions are discussed in terms of the cycles known as major and minor lunar standstills, as well as the metonic cycle. Given the publication guidelines, an enormous effort of synthesis had to be made when dealing with the high number of astronomical events and dates that have been worked through the Permanent Program of Celestial Observations at Cañada de la Virgen. For the same reason, I had to limit possible comparative examples that would serve to justify the dates or “date families” detected in the site, with others studied in Mesoamerica. Nevertheless, the architectural, calendrical and symbolic implications of the pre-Hispanic cosmovision are revealed, as well as the intricate autochthonous astronomical features of the specific cultural region of El Bajío. On the other hand, although there are other examples that deal with the functionality of pyramidal structures acting as a hill or artificial horizon, only Rubén Morante (1996) is cited, since he coined such term while working at Teotihuacán in central México. The different lunar positions shown are intertwined with the rhythm of the sunset, emphasizing the moments when such celestial object rests on the different superimposed bodies of the pyramidal base. Particularly in the corners and slopes where these bodies intersect, creating numerical intervals that have certain qualities of multiplicity with recognizable Mesoamerican calendar units: 20, 13, 5, 52, 65, and so on. Actually, 65 is the interval that became evident as the exercise unfolded. The number appears in terms of years and tens of years, within cycles that could -eventually- be associated with the founding moment of the ceremonial center that concerns us, considering the dates of Carbon recovered by Gabriela Zepeda (2012). As coordinator of the exploration of Cañada de la Virgen, Zepeda emphasized the role of cultural astronomy as a complementary method to explain the foundational dates, along with the moments revealed as differentiated stages of occupation through construction system features. The internal congruence of the presented model explains the importance of the major and minor lunar positions and discusses the appropriate terminology in terms of references to lunar standstills, lunistices or maximum and minimum extremes of full moon.
En este artículo se discuten algunas relaciones entre las familias mesoamericanas de la cuenta de... more En este artículo se discuten algunas relaciones entre las familias mesoamericanas de la cuenta de los días y su relevancia en función del ciclo del planeta Venus. Ello, considerando el basamento Cañada de la Virgen como una montaña artificial.
Revista Chicomoztoc, Vol. 2. No. 2. Agosto 2019, 2019
Resumen Cañada de la Virgen es un centro ceremonial prehispánico ubicado en las inmediaciones de ... more Resumen Cañada de la Virgen es un centro ceremonial prehispánico ubicado en las inmediaciones de la Cuenca Central del Río Laja, hacia un región considerada el límite de lo frontera de Mesoamérica durante el siglo IX del horizonte temporal posclásico. En este trabajo se enfatiza el papel del basamento piramidal del conjunto arquitectónico central del sitio, visto como calendario de horizonte artificial yen consecuencia-, como un instrumento calendárico astronómico capaz de capturar las posiciones del Sol, la Luna y Venus, a través de los vértices que conforman sus cuerpos escalonados. La observación directa y su documentación sistemática, a partir de registros fotográficos, así como las mediciones complementarias realizadas con el uso de teodolito, han permitido recrear un modelo que revela la contabilización de cuentas de días en grupos congruentes con las llamadas "familias mesoamericanas". Entre éstas secuencias de días, destacan-para el basamento piramidal-, las cuentas de 73, 63 y 65, 52, 40, 20, 13, 10 y 5 días. Palabras clave: Cañada de la Virgen, astronomía cultural, calendario de horizonte.
La ruta que seguirán estas líneas pisa primero la cuenca central del río Laja. Vamos detrás de lo... more La ruta que seguirán estas líneas pisa primero la cuenca central del río Laja. Vamos detrás de los pasos de Braniff (1965), Nalda (1977), Crespo (1979), Flores (1980), Castañeda (1983), Nieto (1987) y otros, cuando apenas reconfiguraban la anatomía de Mesoamérica Septentrional a partir del mapeo e identificación de un sistema constructivo propio y recurrente, al que denominaron Tradición Patios Hundidos o Cerrados. Conviene detenerse ahora en Cañada de la Virgen, centro ceremonial emblemático de aquella tradición, donde primero Nieto (1996) y posteriormente Zepeda (2000) habrían de coordinar el proyecto que permitió la apertura del sitio, obtuvo las fechas calibradas que ayudaron a definir la temporalidad de la tradición arquitectónica e incluso revelaron el origen étnico de los entierros recuperados en el sitio (Zepeda y Sandoval, 2019).
Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica, 2016
El texto discute un fragmento de la glosa del Códice Huichapan (Siglo XVII) que parece hacer refe... more El texto discute un fragmento de la glosa del Códice Huichapan (Siglo XVII) que parece hacer referencia a una fórmula matemática para calcular y contabilizar los eclipses. Se analiza dicha glosa en términos de los modelos calendáricos de Mesoamericana, la idea de que los otomís eranávidos seguidores de los ciclos lunares y, finalmente, de acuerdo a la estructura cronológica del propio códice y los eclipses que enél se registran.
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Papers by Rossana Quiroz
Given the publication guidelines, an enormous effort of synthesis had to be made when dealing with the high number of astronomical events and dates that have been worked through the Permanent Program of Celestial Observations at Cañada de la Virgen. For the same reason, I had to limit possible comparative examples that would serve to justify the dates or “date families” detected in the site, with others studied in Mesoamerica. Nevertheless, the architectural, calendrical and symbolic implications of the pre-Hispanic cosmovision are revealed, as well as the intricate autochthonous astronomical features of the specific cultural region of El Bajío. On the other hand, although there are other examples that deal with the functionality of pyramidal structures acting as a hill or artificial horizon, only Rubén Morante (1996) is cited, since he coined such term while working at Teotihuacán in central México.
The different lunar positions shown are intertwined with the rhythm of the sunset, emphasizing the moments when such celestial object rests on the different superimposed bodies of the pyramidal base. Particularly in the corners and slopes where these bodies intersect, creating numerical intervals that have certain qualities of multiplicity with recognizable Mesoamerican calendar units: 20, 13, 5, 52, 65, and so on. Actually, 65 is the interval that became evident as the exercise unfolded. The number appears in terms of years and tens of years, within cycles that could -eventually- be associated with the founding moment of the ceremonial center that concerns us, considering the dates of Carbon recovered by Gabriela Zepeda (2012). As coordinator of the exploration of Cañada de la Virgen, Zepeda emphasized the role of cultural astronomy as a complementary method to explain the foundational dates, along with the moments revealed as differentiated stages of occupation through construction system features.
The internal congruence of the presented model explains the importance of the major and minor lunar positions and discusses the appropriate terminology in terms of references to lunar standstills, lunistices or maximum and minimum extremes of full moon.
Given the publication guidelines, an enormous effort of synthesis had to be made when dealing with the high number of astronomical events and dates that have been worked through the Permanent Program of Celestial Observations at Cañada de la Virgen. For the same reason, I had to limit possible comparative examples that would serve to justify the dates or “date families” detected in the site, with others studied in Mesoamerica. Nevertheless, the architectural, calendrical and symbolic implications of the pre-Hispanic cosmovision are revealed, as well as the intricate autochthonous astronomical features of the specific cultural region of El Bajío. On the other hand, although there are other examples that deal with the functionality of pyramidal structures acting as a hill or artificial horizon, only Rubén Morante (1996) is cited, since he coined such term while working at Teotihuacán in central México.
The different lunar positions shown are intertwined with the rhythm of the sunset, emphasizing the moments when such celestial object rests on the different superimposed bodies of the pyramidal base. Particularly in the corners and slopes where these bodies intersect, creating numerical intervals that have certain qualities of multiplicity with recognizable Mesoamerican calendar units: 20, 13, 5, 52, 65, and so on. Actually, 65 is the interval that became evident as the exercise unfolded. The number appears in terms of years and tens of years, within cycles that could -eventually- be associated with the founding moment of the ceremonial center that concerns us, considering the dates of Carbon recovered by Gabriela Zepeda (2012). As coordinator of the exploration of Cañada de la Virgen, Zepeda emphasized the role of cultural astronomy as a complementary method to explain the foundational dates, along with the moments revealed as differentiated stages of occupation through construction system features.
The internal congruence of the presented model explains the importance of the major and minor lunar positions and discusses the appropriate terminology in terms of references to lunar standstills, lunistices or maximum and minimum extremes of full moon.