[Aztlan] Crypt Proportions per John Schwaller

[Falken Forshaw]

Greetings Listeros:

In response to  the notice about the Bonampak crypt:

"Archaeologist Alejandro Tovalin Ahumada, director of the excavation,
informed that the discovery consists on a 75 centimeters high? simple
funerary crypt, which measures 2.20 by 0.70 meters, and a white
stucco-covered vault which is 35 centimeters high."

It's fairly simple to determine that the proportion of the crypt is 1x  
Pi in plan (2.2/0.7=3.1428).
Also, the ends appear to be fairly square: 75cm high and 0.7 meters  
wide.

To be noted is the notion that the ancient Greek value for Pi, known  
to have been 22/7, provides a very practical and accurate value for  
the relationship between a circle's perimeter and its diameter.  I am  
not suggesting at all that the Bonampak crypt builders had Greek  
instructors, just that they may have utilized a Pi relationship in  
their chamber.  If the Maya used a building unit of about a meter,  
then the dimensional values for the crypt plan would be the same as  
the Greek number values for Pi

There is another such room proportion at Becan, Campeche, in the North  
room of Structure IV (R4-6), where it is used to define the space  
between a west end wall and a bench front on its east end.  The  
drawing for this room (without the pi drawing) can be found in  
Hohmann, 1998, Fig. 119, p. 75, and has a whole plan proportion of 1x4.

To add support to the idea that the Maya may have developed units for  
expressing the Pi relationship, it must also be noted that they  
manufactured a large number of cylindrical objects for drinking cacao,  
as well as constructing cylindrical buildings, such as those at  
Chichen Itza (three) and at Mayapan (two).  There is a solid  
cylindrical tower at a small site near Becan (Puerto Rico?), as  
reported by Dr. A. Aveni and Horst Hartung in a short article about  
round buildings.  They note that it is very Caracol-like as it has (or  
had) sighting tubes at mid-height.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Falken Forshaw
NWWL 503
3131 Western Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121

falken at studiofalken.com