I’ya Xhína Santuario de la lluvia en San Juan Luvina, Sierra Norte, Oaxaca, Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The paper is dedicated to the presentation of the archaeological site of I'ya Xhína, the « Nose Mountain », in the zapotec Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, in Mexico. The site reveals a consecration to the worship of water and rain with a ritual pond at the summit of the mountain as well as an unknown Sierra Norte Zapotec’s version of the deity Quetzalcoatl named Bel’la Inda, the “Water Serpent”. Moreover, it seems that I'ya Xhína was occupied in an unusual chronological period, during the transition between the Classic and Postclassic periods. Finally, these finds allow us to extend the geographical limits of the tradition of zapotec writing monuments since there was no previous known record of such writing in this area of Oaxaca.

Concerning the research methodology, this investigation was realized with a strong focus on inhabitants' participation in interpreting the sacred places and the relationship between the community of Luvina and its environment. Furthermore, the focus on memory and meaning has shown promising results concerning its correlations with archaeological prospection and iconographical analysis. I’ya Xhina shows us how intangible heritage is relevant for studying tangible heritage and thus how sacred places unify archaeology and indigenous communities’ memory.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32650