Archaeologists working amid the smog and din of Mexico City may be on the verge of unlocking an extraordinary time capsule.
The leaders of a team exploring a site opened up by earthquake damage believe that they have found the first tomb of an Aztec ruler. If they are right the site may yield one of [...]
Posts Tagged ‘cults’
16 Jun
Aztec royal tomb discovered in Mexico City
3 Jun
Sardonic grin – mystery solved?
The word ’sardonic’ has its roots in the name Sardinia, because a plant commonly found on the island was used in potions which gave corpses a grimace after death.
Researchers have established that chemical compounds in the plant, tubular water-dropwort, cause muscles in the face to contract, producing a strange rictus grin.
“Our discovery supports what many [...]
12 Jan
The Maya suffered for their looks
We may think we make sufficient sacrifices for our idea of beauty, what with false eyelashes, body perforations supporting various bits of metalwork from earrings to tongue studs, toupees and hair extensions, Spanx and padded bras. The Ancient Maya went much farther, however, reshaping their children’s skulls and inlaying their own teeth with jade.
“The Maya [...]
22 Jun
CULT-places
The cult-place of a hero could be called by a variety of terms. Some emphasize the fact that the hero was dead: sēma, mnēma, thēkē, and taphos are all terms used for regular burials as well as heroic tombs. Hērōon refers to a cult-place with a tomb, but the term seems to denote something more [...]
4 Jun
RITUAL: Consumption or Destruction
Our view of the sacrificial rituals of hero-cults has in the last decade undergone substantial changes. The traditional notion of hero-sacrifices consisting of holocausts on low hearth-altars, libations of blood in pits, and the offering of prepared meals, but never including ritual dining, needs to be fundamentally revised.
This view of hero-cult ritual has been based [...]
