Chacmool or Not Chacmool? Was a Mesoamerican Monumental Stone Sculptural Tradition Adopted in Eastern Costa Rica?

Summary

The unique monumental stone sculptural form known as a "Chacmool" —a reclining human with an offeratory bowl on its abdomen— first appeared in the late Epiclassic period in Mesoamerica, most notably at the Toltec site of Tula in Central Mexico and the Maya site of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan. The form is known across Mesoamerica in archaeological contexts from Michoacán, Mexico to Guatamala and El Salvador. It persisted in Central Mexico to the time of the Aztec empire and European Contact, when a Chacmool was a major feature at the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan. Carlson has identified the uniquely posed male human form as having derived specifically from the stance of a Mesoamerican ballplayer. Subsequent research has demonstrated clear associations between Chacmool sculptures and ballcourts. Several examples of a similar sculptural form have been found at the site of Las Mercedes in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. This paper evaluates the examples from Costa Rica with respect to possible Mesoamerican connections and the geographical limits of the rubber ballgame in the Isthmo-Colombian Area.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22608