Who owns the cosmogram? Adaptations in ritual activity in the wake of political transformation at Dainzú, Oaxaca Valley of Mexico

Summary

Dainzú, located in the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico, has a long history of religious-ceremonial significance. In the Classic Period (A.D. 200 – 900), the site expanded significantly from its once small core into an urban settlement covering around 4 km2. Our mapping project reveals that the new site construction was carefully planned out to represent a "cosmogram", or spatial representation of the ancient Zapotec ritual calendar. After the decline of Monte Albán, Dainzú was slowly abandoned as people moved to smaller, regionally dispersed settlements. In that time, the relationship between the landscape, elites, and ritual activities in the region transformed as a new political order emerged. In this paper, I will present findings from recent excavations at the site, which help detail this slow transformation. Additionally, we will discuss patterns of ritual that also indicate cultural resilience in the wake of this political transition.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Ritual during Periods of Decline, Collapse, and Regeneration in Archaic States

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14908