[Aztlan] lake archaeology

Mon May 28 08:40:14 CDT 2007

Dear Richard Diehl

I don't think INAH will ever take cultural patrimony, under or over water,
in a serious manner.

Greetings,

Miguel Covarrubias Reyna

2007/5/27, Diehl, Richard <rdiehl at as.ua.edu>:
>
>
> Many thanks to Mike for posting the news about the finds in the Laguna
> de la Luna on the Nevado de Toluca. Sport/recreation divers have been
> bringing up archaeological materials from there since at least the 1960s
> and I am delighted to see that professional archaeologists finally are
> taking over. Artes de Mexico, a Mexican art magazine devoted a 1972
> issue to underwater archaeology that featured the recovery of large
> quantities of copal from the Nevado de Toluca lakes.
>
> With all the emphasis on cenotes and other water features in the
> lowlands, we tend to forget that highland Mesoamerica is studded with
> lakes that attracted the attention of ancient worshippers. Those in the
> crater of the Nevado may have been very special, given their altitude,
> location at a mountain top but many others have yielded spectacular
> remains. Unfortunately most of these were simply looted, or, if
> archeologists were involved (i.e. Stephan de Borhegyi in Guatemala),
> they remain poorly reported. Now it appears that INAH is taking its
> underwater cultural patrimony seriously and we can hope to learn
> something about this fascinating realm of pre-Hispanic religious
> activity.
>
> Dick Diehl
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org
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> aztlan-request at lists.famsi.org
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> To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
> Subject: Aztlan Digest, Vol 18, Issue 24
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> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. AZTEC LIGHTNING BOLT SCEPTERS FOUND IN THE LAKE OF THE MOON
>      (michael ruggeri)
>   2. PHOTOS OF AZTEC SCEPTERS JUST FOUND (michael ruggeri)
>   3. AZTEC SCEPTER PHOTOS (michael ruggeri)
>   4. Re: AZTEC SCEPTER PHOTOS (Jules Siegel)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 19:51:48 -0500
> From: michael ruggeri <michaelruggeri at mac.com>
> Subject: [Aztlan] AZTEC LIGHTNING BOLT SCEPTERS FOUND IN THE LAKE OF
>        THE MOON
> To: Aztlan <aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
> Message-ID: <B8740B58-9429-4809-9E3D-B430311E5D83 at mac.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; delsp=yes;
>        format=flowed
>
>
>
> Possible Aztec offerings found in Mexico
>
> By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer
>
> Archaeologists diving into a lake in the crater of a snowcapped
> volcano found wooden scepters shaped like lightning bolts that match
> 500-year-old descriptions by Spanish priests and conquerors writing
> about offerings to the Aztec rain god.
>
> The lightning bolts ? along with cones of copal incense and obsidian
> knives ? were found during scuba-diving expeditions in one of the
> twin lakes of the extinct Nevado de Toluca volcano, at more than
> 13,800 feet above sea level.
>
> Scientists must still conduct tests to determine the age of the
> findings, but the writings after the Spanish conquest in 1521 have
> led them to believe the offerings were left in the frigid lake west
> of Mexico City more than 500 years ago.
>
> Lightning bolt scepters "were used by Aztec priests when they were
> doing rites associated with the god Tlaloc," said Johan Reinhard, an
> anthropologist and explorer-in-residence for National Geographic
> Society who took part in more dives Thursday at the Lake of the Moon.
> "We think it is pretty clear that the Aztecs considered this one of
> the more important places of Tlaloc."
>
> The research, which also involves the volcano's Lake of the Sun, is
> being led by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.
> Stanislaw Iwaniszewski, an archaeology professor at the institute,
> said Aztec iconography often associates Tlaloc with lightning bolts.
>
> "They were left in the lake to bring rain storms," Iwaniszewski said.
> Copal incense was burned to form "clouds," and sharp spines from the
> maguey cactus ? which does not grow at that altitude ? indicated
> worshippers brought them there to draw blood from themselves as part
> of the sacrifice.
>
> Luis Alberto Martos, the institute's director of archaeological
> studies, said other artifacts found in the clear 32-degree waters of
> the lake indicate the ritual may have started about 100 B.C. ? long
> before the Aztecas settled in the area in 1325.
>
>
>
> Mike Ruggeri's Ancient America and Mesoamerica News and Links
> http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/MIKERUGGERISANCIENT/
> index.html
>
> Mike Ruggeri's Maya Archaeology News and Links
> http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/MIkeRuggerisMaya/index.html
>
> Mike Ruggeri's Ancient America Museum Exhibitions, Conferences and
> Lectures
> http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/AncientAmerica/index.html
>
> Mike Ruggeri's Mound
> Builders and Ancient Southwest News and Links
> http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/MIKERUGGERISMOUND/index.html
>
> Mike Ruggeri's Andean Archaeology News and Links
> http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/MikeRuggerisAndean/
> index.html
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 20:04:49 -0500
> From: michael ruggeri <michaelruggeri at mac.com>
> Subject: [Aztlan] PHOTOS OF AZTEC SCEPTERS JUST FOUND
> To: Aztlan <aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
> Message-ID: <CA6CBF5D-228A-42E6-9AE6-418BDF80D147 at mac.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
>
> Listeros,
>
> This slideshow will be up for a limited time on Yahoo
>
> Mike Ruggeri
>
>
> feed://rss.news.yahoo.com/imgrss/events/sc/021903anthroarchaeo
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 20:56:54 -0500
> From: michael ruggeri <michaelruggeri at mac.com>
> Subject: [Aztlan] AZTEC SCEPTER PHOTOS
> To: Aztlan <aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
> Message-ID: <2ABB12E3-2BEA-4767-A8A7-48624D71E650 at mac.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
>
> Listeros,
>
> If you have trouble calling up the Aztec scepter photos I posted the
> URL of, type in the phrase Yahoo archaeological photos into google
> and it will come up that way. When you see the photo of the box with
> the scepters, click on multiple photos in the top right corner and
> you will see a slide show of the discovery.
>
> Mike Ruggeri
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sat, 26 May 2007 08:33:01 -0500
> From: Jules Siegel <jules at cafecancun.com>
> Subject: Re: [Aztlan] AZTEC SCEPTER PHOTOS
> To: Aztlan <aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
> Message-ID: <4658370D.8020202 at cafecancun.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> michael ruggeri wrote:
> > Listeros,
> >
> > If you have trouble calling up the Aztec scepter photos I posted the
> > URL of, type in the phrase Yahoo archaeological photos into google
> > and it will come up that way.
> >
> Here's a good one: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3213220
>
> A slide show:
> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/25/ap/tech/main2852525.shtml
>
> --
> JULES SIEGEL Apdo. 1764, 77501-Cancun, Q. Roo, Mexico
> http://www.cafecancun.com/bookarts
>
> Newsroom-l, news and issues for journalists
> http://www.newsroom-l.net/
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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