Smoke, Flames, and the Body in Mesoamerican Ritual Practice

Papers in this electronic symposium address the evidence for the ritual use of smoke and flame in Mesoamerica, particularly as pertaining to the human body in life and death. In past and contemporary indigenous worldview, heat and flame are animate forces and signify strength and vitality; the most powerful of individuals are embodied with immense heat. Moreover, fire is transformative; both a means to destroy but also to transport offerings to otherworldly places. The source of all heat is, of course, the sun, the central force in the Mesoamerican cosmos. Today, the importance of heat and flames are evident in a spectrum of ritual practices, which range from the use of sweatbaths to the burning of incense and other offerings. In Pre-Columbian times, human bodies were among the most valuable substances burned. The papers in this symposium represent a diversity of case studies pertaining to the application and meaning of heat and fire in ancient, historic, and modern Mesoamerica and are drawn from archaeology, bioarchaeology, epigraphy, iconography, ethnohistory, and ethnography. This session will be followed by a more detailed symposium to be held at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in October, 2015.