[Aztlan] Plater and Echoes/Mayan design systems

[Falken Forshaw]

Greetings listeros: Having just noticed more discussion about units of 
measurements, which also involve comment about the use of geometrical 
templates and non-parallel lines, I would like to add further comment.  
This also is a follow-up to Sam Edgerton's interest in the matter.

The situation is complex.  At one level, the application of geometric 
templates is simple: the use of circles, rectangles (in a lengthy 
catalogue) and triangles is fairly clear, just from looking at extant 
remains.  Complexity abounds when these templates are matched with 
alignments in various ways, something latitude-dependent and requiring 
more careful analysis, as some parts of a built form can be aligned on 
one astronomical (or distant geographic) event, while another part is 
aligned on another (the Caracol is a good example).  Sometimes the 
alignment is another place at the same site (the placement of stelae at 
Copan)  Thus, non-parallel lines at a building or platform are highly 
intentional.  Another example of this can be found at the Temple of the 
Three Lintels at Chichen Itza, which has a front length of 27 units and 
a rear length of 26 units, and a width of  units (units being a segment 
in the moulding band.)  I am now working towards getting my own 
research on this written up: a short PDF synopsis about the platforms 
at the Caracol is available at: www.studiofalken.com.  My dissertation 
that this is based upon is: "Cosmography at the Caracol, Chichen Itza, 
Yucatan, Mexico," (UO, Eugene, 1984) and includes over 70 drawings 
about how various parts of the Caracol were designed.  The Caracol's 
Upper Platform is not quite rectangular: it has a skewed north side 
that is the result of non-rectilinear geometry involving points along 
the Lower Platforms perimeter, possibly with an astronomical purpose.  
This is shown in a drawing in the PDF.  The use of geometry in Mayan 
architecture in my experience is quite exact, so skewed edges I find 
have a specific design intention.  This is evident in the skewed 
alignment at the Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza, which is aligned on 
Polar North using a diagonal across the 1x3 proportioned main playing 
alley (a standard detail that I encourage listeros to explore.)

Units, etc.: Paul Troemner is referencing the work of Hugh Harleston at 
Teotihuacan; I think there are references to the larger Teo planning 
grid dimensions there in Thompkins'  book as well.  I don't think 
Harleston's work has been replicated.  Horst Hartung sent me an article 
in the 70's written by the late Andrjew Wiercinski  which showed the 
dimensions of the various levels of the Pyramid of the Sun to contain a 
unit of 2.72 meters (Alexander Thom's Megalithic Yard) in whole units.  
This sort of study would stand up under repeated experiment (I used the 
published units in meters contained in Wiercinski's article for this 
purpose; the article appeared in Canarium, the journal of the 
Institutum Canarium.)  Hasso Hohmann also did some research on units at 
Copan, that are contained in the two volume work on Copan's 
architecture that he did with A. Vogrin.

Harleston's suggestion that a unit very close to a meter might have 
been used in Mesoamerica could be accurate: I have found its use in 
Mayan buildings (wall and door widths), though not part of a systematic 
study focused entirely for that purpose.  One of the complications is 
that more than one unit could relate geometrically to a base unit, as 
is the case in Japan and ancient Egypt, where a unit is the [square 
root of two] times a base unit.  One can imagine a variety of units at 
hand, perhaps each peculiar to a region or site.  I think this matter 
received some attention in a previous list discussion thread, which 
highlighted the use of the "pace" or "vara" which is about 2.72 feet.

With this sort of design intention already, one can imagine some 
acoustic intention at work as well, especially for interior spaces; the 
medieval Dominicans in Europe were known for this sort of intention.

There's plenty of room for more research.

Thanks, Falken