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1 Structure of the Mesoamerican Universe, from Aztec to Olmec John E. Clark and Arlene Colman our original intent in this essay, which proved impractical, was to explicate Mesoamerican cosmological beliefs known for Postclassic Mesoamericans and then adduce archaeological evidence of these beliefs for the earliest city dwellers of Mesoamerica, the olmecs. in the spanish-language literature the beliefs of interest are known as a people’s cosmovisión, a generous cognitive category that includes cosmogony,cosmography,and the nature of the gods, humans, and all other creatures, things, and animate forces of the universe (see Brundage 1979 for an excellent summary for the Aztecs). several attempts to outline a minimum, shared cosmovision for the Aztecs and Maya at the time of the spanish Conquest proved too vast for the historical exercise possible here, so we restrict attention to the slice of cosmological beliefs dealing with cosmography or “configurations of space” (Brotherston 1992:82)—notions about the structure of the heavens and the earth. We attempt to compare beliefs of the latest Mesoamericans at the time of the Conquest with those of their first civilized ancestors 3,000 years earlier. Looking at the shape and structure of the universe is an excellent place to begin evaluating similarities and differences between the cosmovisions of the first and last Mesoamericans because both built notions of space into their cities and offerings. details of Mesoamerican cosmography come from native accounts recorded before the Conquest, or written soon thereafter, and from ethnographic descriptions of the descendants of Mesoamerican peoples (see López Austin 1994). Beliefs varied somewhat between groups, but there was broad agreement about the shape and organization of the universe,and these similarities appear to derive from a long tradition. The proposition of a shared tradition is built into the concept of Mesoamerica itself. Mesoamerica is a 16 John E. Clark and Arlene Colman cultural-geographical term for a region of peoples who shared a common history of city living (Kirchhoff 1943, 1952, 1966). Continuities between early and late Mesoamericans have been known for centuries, and there is no doubt these peoples were part of a single tradition.This does not mean,however , that there were not significant changes through time in core beliefs. in fact, the definition of Mesoamerica as a historical-cultural phenomenon of high civilization dictates that fundamental changes necessarily occurred in the past to effect the transformation from egalitarian lifeways to urban living .Most of these changes probably happened during the emergence of civilization about 1500 b.c.e. What beliefs changed during this revolutionary transition, and how and why, are questions for another time. A first step for addressing the origins of core concepts is to document the earliest Mesoamerican cosmovision.We begin this task here by comparing archaeological indicators of olmec concepts to those known for later periods.We avoid imposing Postclassic views on these earlier peoples,but we rely on concepts from the Postclassic period to inform the search for their possible beginnings.We first outline late Mesoamerican views on the configuration of the cosmos and then turn to possible archaeological manifestations of these beliefs as known for the Aztecs and olmecs. The Postclassic universe Mesoamerican myths record that the earth and its creatures have been divinely created and cataclysmically destroyed on multiple occasions.The Maya describe four creations and the Aztecs recount five. Aztecs believed they were living in the last age of the world, which they described as the Fifth sun (for detailed summaries see Brundage 1979; de la garza 1978; gardner 1986; León-Portilla 1963; López Austin 1994; Monjarás-ruiz 1987).The universe was a complex affair, and the earthly plane was its central pivot. space extended in six directions from the center of the earth’s surface: up, down, and to four directions. The earth was a disk of land floating on a sea. This sea extended out and up until it “merged with the sky, which then appeared to be the ceiling of a towering edifice. sea and sky were thus one substance” (Brundage 1979:6). Human beings, gods, creatures, and other beings each had their place in this universe, as specified during creation. For the Aztecs, the First sun was ruled by their supreme deity,tezcatlipoca, associated with the earth, moon, and jaguars: “The light of this original sun was only a half light. People existed in this age but were finally destroyed by a race of misshapen giants. Food consisted of acorns and pine nuts...

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