[Aztlan] THE TEO. PYRAMIDS ARE *NOT* TOMBS!

[kim Goldsmith]

ACK!  Not to flog a dead horse, but I wouldn't feel right if I didn't set this straight.  In the link from (John?) of the paper given to (Mike?) by Arturo Menchaca-Rocha, it states something to the effect that Rubén and Saburo's studies in the Pyramid of the Moon seem to support the theory that the pyramids here are tombs...

THIS IS NOT THE CASE.  The sacrificial victims in the Moon serve the same purpose as those sacrificial victims found in the Temple of the Feathered Serpent (or, "Quetzalcoatl"):  They are OFFERINGS *TO* the Gods that the buildings are dedicated to, and are there to insure the success of the structure in all its purposes (much like throwing a lucky rabbit's foot in the foundation of a new house, etc.).

This is not to say that new evidence in the future will never show anything to the contrary, but as of right now THIS IS HOW IT STANDS.

I personally think that we will never find a ruler's tomb here (at least not anyone from the later phases) because I believe that the rulers may have been taken to JAINA for burial.  Just an educated guess, of course, but even if they cremated/incinerated them, we should still see a ton of non-perishable offerings indicating their status upon burial, and so far nothing like that has ever been found.

And don't EVEN get me started on the "astronomical markers", which, especially since some of the digs in the early '90s, I have every reason to believe are either an earlier version of or a game similar to the later "Patolli", but with an astronomic THEME (sort of like how Monopoly has the theme of buying real estate, "Life" mimics the stages of life, etc.).

Arturo Menchaca-Rocha and his team are incredible at what they do, make no mistake about that.  The muon detector was an interesting idea, and it is a shame they have not had more success with it this time around.  It stands to be noted, however, that they are NOT in the Archaeology Dept. of the UNAM.  Because of that, it is easy to understand why some of their info. in that regard may not be totally precise.  All you have to do is look here on Aztlan - - even those of us who are seasoned professionals in our fields sometimes have conflicting sources/theories/heresay.

Maybe my dad was right - - I SHOULD have gotten a "real" job.

:)  KIM