Temple I is a Mayan pyramidal temple located in the ancient capital of the Mutul kingdom of Tikale on the territory of modern Guatemala . Other names for this building are the Temple of the Great Jaguar (thanks to the image on the wooden lintel of a ruler seated on a jaguar) [1] and the Temple of Ah-Cacao (Ah-Cacao is the nickname buried in the temple of Khasav-Chan-Kavil I ). The pyramid is built of limestone in typical Tikal style.
Sight | |
Temple I | |
---|---|
View of the temple from the central square | |
A country | Guatemala |
Location | |
Architectural style | |
Founder | Khasav Chan Kavil I |
Founding date | 732 year |
Height | 47 meters |
Material | limestone |
Crowning the temple is characteristic of the Mayan roofing ridge . The location of the temple is unusual: it stands on the east side of the main square, and according to tradition, funerary temples were built north of the Northern Acropolis [2] .
Content
Building Structure
The funerary temple is dedicated to Hasav-Chan-Kavil I, the ruler of Tikal of 682–734 [3] . The grave of Khasav-Chan-Kavilya was discovered during the excavations in the depths of the temple [4] , and the temple was built around the grave. The construction was directed by the son and heir of Khasav-Chan-Kavil Ikin-Chan-Kavil [5] . The construction of the temple was probably planned during the life of the ruler [2] . The temple has nine steps , perhaps they symbolize the nine underground worlds [6] . The temple has carved hollows and inserts in the corners. Steep stairs lead from the ground to the sanctuary at the top of the temple [7] .
The height of the Temple of the Great Jaguar is 47 meters [8] . At the very top is the sanctuary, which houses wooden lintels with elaborate carvings. Perhaps their decoration was led by Khasav-Chan-Kavil himself in preparation for the creation of this monument [2] . The lintels are carved from sapodilla wood, one of them (No. 3) was originally painted red [9] [10] . The wood chosen for the stitching is very hard and heavy, sapodilla grows in the area [10] . The lintels are made of planks installed in small niches. They frame three door jamb. The outer lintel is left unadorned, but the following are finely carved. Two of the boards were removed from their seats in the XIX century and their location is unknown [10] . Two more were shot by , who sent them to the British Museum , where they are still [11] [12] . On one of the lintels, an image of a seated man is carved, above which is a huge snake [10] .
A roofing crest is installed on the sanctuary, on which a sculpture of a sitting ruler of Khasav-Chan-Kavil is installed (difficult to distinguish) [8] [13] . The roofing ridge consists of two parallel parts, between which there is an empty space, reducing the weight of the structure [14] . The weight of the roofing ridge hold bearing walls [8] . In the front part, the crest was covered with stone blocks, on which a gigantic figure of the ruler was carved, and on either side were scrolls and snakes [14] . In addition, stucco was also located there [15] . In the sanctuary there are three narrow dark rooms, which can be accessed through a single doorway [10] [13] . The premises are located one after the other in a row, they have high false-vaulted ceilings , supported by wooden bars from sapodilla [16] .
In the postclassical period , apparently, the burial room was opened and a new burial was made there. There, among other things, placed the censer of the Mayapan type, as well as the ceramic censer of the type common in Petén in the postclassical period. However, after the XV century, such species were not used [17] .
Burial
The grave of Khasav-Chan-Kavil discovered in 1962 [18] . Archaeologists penetrated it through the roof of a tunnel from the base of the stairs of the temple [8] [5] [19] . The grave has the official name "Burial number 116". It is a spacious room in the depths of the pyramid, below the level of the main square of the city. More than half of the room is occupied by a bench, on which the body of Khasav-Chan-Kavilya lies on a woven rug, along with decorations. The burial contains rich offerings: jaguar skins, jadeite items, painted ceramics, rare shells, pearls, mirrors and other works of art [8] [5] [20] . The ruler’s body covered many jade jewelery, including a huge four-kilogram necklace consisting of 114 very large beads, depicted in the sculptural portraits of Khasav-Chan-Kavil [8] [5] .
Among other offerings should be noted decorative mosaic vessel of jadeite, on the lid of which is a sculptural portrait of the ruler. Along with him, 37 human Maya bones were found in the burial with cleverly carved Maya letter folded at the right leg of Khasav-Chan-Kavil [8] [5] [21] . On one of them is written about the allies of Tikal, including Copan and Palenque , the others contain the name and genealogy of the ruler. On one of the bones is a carved portrait of the captive Osh-Ha-Te-Ishil, a vassal of Tikal's main rival, Calakmul . On the bones there are images of the , which is carried to the underworld in a canoe . Also, one of the bones contains a long list of dates of death of notable residents of neighboring states [5] .
Newest History
Tikal was discovered in 1848, in 1877, a significant number of items were rendered from many temples, including Temple I, [1] . Alfred Maudsley made a map of the central part of the city in 1881–1882, noting five main churches (however, he assigned them names by the letters of the alphabet). Theobert Mahler conducted the first topographic study of Tikal and called the Temple of the Great Jaguar "The First Great Temple". conducted a second study in 1911 and generally repeated the naming of Mahler; It was Tozerzer who called this temple "Temple I" [1] .
In 1955, the University of Pennsylvania began the “Project Tikal”, in which he conducted archaeological excavations in the ruins of temples I and II and prepared them for the discovery of tourists [22] . Work on the Temple I continued until 1964 [22] . In 1986, the “National Tikal Project” ( Spanish Proyecto Nacional Tikal ) carried out the restoration of the roof of the temple [23] .
As part of the celebration of the “end of the world” in 2012, modern Maya held a fiery ceremony in front of the temple on the main square of the city on December 21. The ceremony was attended by about 3,000 people [24] [25] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Muñoz & Samayoa, 1996 , p. 302.
- 2 1 2 3 Sharer & Traxler, 2006 , p. 400
- ↑ Sharer & Traxler, 2006 , p. 313, 397.
- ↑ Martin & Grube, 2000 , p. 45-47.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sharer & Traxler, 2006 , p. 397–400.
- ↑ Miller, 2001 , p. 132-113.
- ↑ Fuente, 1999 , p. 145.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Martin & Grube, 2000 , p. 47
- ↑ Coe, 1962 , p. 494.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Coe 1988 , p. 29.
- ↑ British Museum
- ↑ British Museum
- ↑ 1 2 Miller, 2001 , p. 134.
- ↑ 1 2 Coe, 1988 , p. 28
- ↑ Fuente, 1999 .
- ↑ Coe, 1999 , p. 29.
- ↑ Coe, 1988 , p. 482-483.
- ↑ Coe, 1999 , p. 124.
- ↑ Drew, 1999 , p. 277.
- ↑ Drew, 1999 , p. 277, 278.
- ↑ Drew, 1999 , p. 278.
- ↑ 1 2 Muñoz & Samayoa, 1996 , p. 302-303.
- ↑ Muñoz & Samayoa, 1996 , p. 303.
- ↑ Fuego .
- ↑ Calendar .
Literature
- Celebraciones marcan el cambio de era del calendario maya (isp.) , La Nación (Costa Rica) (21 de diciembre de 2012). Archived December 21, 2012. The appeal date is December 22, 2012.
- Coe, Michael D. The Maya. - 6th, revised and expanded. - London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 1999. - ISBN 0-500-28066-5 .
- Coe, William R. A Summary of Excavation and Research at Tikal, Guatemala: 1956–61 (Eng.) // American Antiquity: journal. - Society for American Archeology, 1962. - Vol. 27 , no. 4 P. 479-507 . - DOI : 10.2307 / 277674 .
- Coe, William R. Tikal: Guía de las Antiguas Ruinas Mayas: [ isp. ] . - Guatemala: Piedra Santa, 1988. - ISBN 84-8377-246-9 .
- Drew, David. The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings. - London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999. - ISBN 0-297-81699-3 .
- Martin, Simon. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. - London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 2000. - ISBN 0-500-05103-8 .
- Mayas guatemaltecos inician ceremonia de fuego para recibir nueva era (isp.) , La Nación (Costa Rica) (21 de diciembre de 2012). Archived December 21, 2012. The appeal date is December 22, 2012.
- Miller, Mary Ellen. The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec. - 3rd. - London: Thames & Hudson, 2001. - ISBN 0-500-20345-8 .
- Muñoz Cosme, Gaspar; Óscar Quintana Samayoa. Intervenciones de restauración en el Templo I de Tikal, 1992–1994 (Spanish) // IX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1995 (edited by JP Laporte and H. Escobedo): diario. - Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, 1996. - P. 302-308 . Archived September 14, 2011.
- Fuente, Beatriz de la; Leticia Staines Cicero, Alfonso Arellano Hernández. The Mayas of the Classic Period. - Mexico City, Mexico: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1999. - ISBN 970-18-3005-9 .