[Aztlan]Ma: When is a Mushroom Stone just a Mushroom Stone?

[Karrie Porter Brace]

FOLKS!!

Let's not be speculating on hanging things on architectural sculpture, 
mushrooms or otherwise.

Let's be clear on what these are.  Phallic temples were a part of Late and 
Post Classic Maya communities.  There were phallic temples at both Uxmal and 
Chichen Itza.  When you see these pieces of architectural sculpture up 
close, you know exactly what they represent.  (BTW: Great story on this in 
the bio on S.G. Morley...) The last time I was at Uxmal I walked all the way 
back to the building just to see one of its downspouts in situ.

Mushroom stones are found in Guatemala and really are "mushroom stones."  
There was some speculation in the earlier literature that they were used to 
stretch the latex for the balls used in the Mesoamerican ballgames.  These 
are shorter, seem to have been constructed to stand up from the ground and 
reaaly look more like mushrooms.

Let me know if you're having trouble identifying these.  Anyone need a 
diagram?

Karrie Porter Brace, La Pelirroja Peligrosa
Ever feel like you just want to stay in bed all day with a box of chocolates 
and the landscaping crew?


From: "D. M. Urquidi" <deamayaspin at yahoo.com>
Reply-To: deamayaspin at yahoo.com
To: Aztlan <Aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
Subject: Re: [Aztlan] Those pesky enemas again
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:38:38 -0700 (PDT)
>It seems that the feathered headresses in the temples needed to be hung 
>somewhere out of the way. Plus the sacred robes, especially when they had 
>to be changed during the ceremonies.
>
>Dea
>
>Nick Hopkins <nhopkins at mailer.fsu.edu> wrote:
>\It is my understanding that those
>"mushroom stones" from Chichen (for instance) were originally mounted
>on the wall sticking straight out (as they are in one reconstructed
>temple), not so much like a mushroom but much more like something
>else that has the same general shape.
>
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>
>D. M. Urquidi
>P. O. Box 49485
>Austin, Texas 78765
>http://www.mayalords.org
>http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ancientamericas/
>
>
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