[Aztlan] Tikal Questions... original state great plaza?

[Sven Röhrig]

Hello,
I am new to the list.
My name is Sven Röhrig, born 1965, based in Berlin Germany. Musican  
and sound engineer.

I am fascinated about the architecture and acoustic propertys of maya  
citys and want to learn more about it.

In the moment I have quite a bunch of questions regarding the  
reconstruktion of the great Plaza and associated buildings and the  
Maya in general.



Of cause i will investigate other sources aswell.
But the real Archaelogy books are quite hard to chew for the amateur,  
and all the mabojambo books dont go very deep in details that might be  
important for acoustical conditions or insights how music was  
performed in Tikal.
Is it ok to bother the list with questions like the following ones?
I put them all in one mail to dont waste to much space.

So if this is too low end plese ignore.


1)
http://research.famsi.org/tikal_list.php?_allSearch=Structure+5D-44&hold_search=Structure+5D-44&x=27&y=12

Is this statue still there? Can anybody point me to more actual photos  
in the internet?
Do i see it wright that the hands of the figur are bound with this  
qudratic structure?
What is the meaning of this statue?

2)
Did the Maya had a special thunder god? Or an otherwise special  
relation to thunder?


3)
How has the great Plaza looked originally?
Means the first years after the instalation of Temple 1 and 2.

I heard the buildings was painted colourfull once.
Can this be seen as a fact or is this still in discussion?

Would that apply to all buildings around the central plaza? Or just to  
specific buildings?
Is known which buildings was painted and in what fashion?

4)
The english garden style with some nice trees and the trimmed gras  
looks very tastefull, but is that authentic?

If not.
Are there information or alternativ ideas how the plaza has looked  
originally?
especially the floor... naked earth, gras or stone?

5)
If you would dig a whole in the center of the Great plaza...how deep  
do you have to dig to reach the limestone layer?
I ve read that the soil in the yucatan area is thin..but i ve no idea  
what thin means? just a few meters? or less than a meter?



6)
I am a bit iritatet about all the tombstone and drum like altars in  
front of the mainstage (north acropolis) and the plaza between the  
temple 1 and 2...
They look a bit wild shaped and placed in relation to the perfect  
building style elsewhere.

I theire purpose known?

Is the Plaza in the original found state? especially regarding the  
locations of all the stela and altars?

Were the drum like Altars and the associated Tombstones installed at  
the same time? Or are the tombstones a later feature?

Have they cumulated over time? or mark a change of style and appeard  
all at once?

Do they have a foundation of any kind or just placed on the surface?


The ones before the Pyramids look a bit tighter shaped.

What is theire purpose?
Are they an original feature or added later?
Do they have a foundation? ( foundation in the sense that they go deep  
underground)




Sorry for the long first mail.. As said.. I dont expect to get all  
question answered at once.. but you have to start at one point, or?

best regards,
Sven