Бирюзовый очаг
After David Stuart’s post on Zacpeten altar 1 I reread " The Turquoise Hearth: Fire, Self-Sacrifice, and the Central Mexican Cult of War" by Karl Taube and once again was driven by his observations in quite an unforeseen direction. The paper didn’t supply any new ideas for what I had sensed beneath the unusual inscription analyzed by DS. The altar is indeed a form of "turquoise enclosure" and a hearth of a new sun as he suspects, although the relationship between the text and the corresponding calendric underpinning is not as straightforward as our comprehension would expect. The narrative overlays two other structural levels, one similar to Borgia 25 and Vaticanus B 70, and the other - to the calendar wheel from Tovar calendar.
The following excerpt, however, brought to my attention first three stelae from amazing Xochicalco, excavated in the 1960-s by César A. Sáenz, and then the pictorial history of Lady Three Flint from Codex Zouche-Nuttall. Quite unexpectedly (which is how it usually happens) I found myself reading the numerical signs and dating the stelae, while checking the possibility of '283 correlation in one location and being completely certain that '285 is correct for another, and figuring out the particulars of calendar math and number representation in the codex, assumed to be a purely historical account of the people who just avoided proper nouns and used calendar expressions instead.
Taube, Karl. "The Turquoise Hearth: Fire, Self-Sacrifice, and the Central Mexican Cult of War". In Carrasco, Davíd et al., eds. Mesoamerica's Classic Heritage: From Teotihuacan to the Aztecs. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2000, pages 269-340.
César A. Sáenz with Xochicalco stela 3, the earliest of the set and first to be deposited in the cache.
Pages 311-316.
A version of the Fifth Sun creation myth may also have been present at Late Classic Xochicalco. Two of the three stelae from Structure A seem to constitute a pair, and portray busts of individuals wearing War Serpent headdresses above rectangular enclosures {…}. The two figures are topped by large day names with broad fans of radiating feathers. In the case of Stela 3, the date is 4 Motion, or in Nahuatl, Nahui Ollin, the name of the sun born at Teotihuacan. In the first analysis of these stelae, excavator César Sáenz {…}interpreted this date as an explicit reference to the Fifth Sun created at Teotihuacan. The other monument, Stela 1, has the date 7 Reptile’s Eye. Unfortunately, the meaning of this date is poorly known, as the Reptile’s Eye sign has yet to be correlated with any of the known twenty day names of Late Postclassic Central Mexico. Another, recently excavated Xochicalco monument may refer to the creation of the moon. The sculpture portrays a lunar crescent with a complex hieroglyphic sign {…}. Along with containing a lifeless human head, the glyph is topped with flames, both elements suggesting the fiery self-sacrifice at Teotihuacan. The upwardly pointed feet at either side may refer to the ascent of the newly born moon. At the base of the sign are the remains of a coefficient, with only a portion of the bar for the number 5 surviving. The complex glyph may have contained the curl of the Reptile’s Eye sign above the human head. However, a far clearer representation of the Reptile’s Eye sign with a lunar crescent occurs on an Early Classic Escuintla vessel {…}. The glyph and lunar crescent form the torso of a male with upraised arms, a probable rare representation of the moon god. Whereas Xochicalco Stela 3 represents the sun, Stela 1 probably depicts the moon.
Both the Stela 1 and 3 figures are atop rectangular enclosures marked with the Saint Andrew’s cross, also known by the Mayanist term of “Kan cross” in Mesoamerican studies. During the Late Postclassic period, this element served as an Aztec sign for turquoise, recalling the description of the turquoise enclosure at Teotihuacan. For the Classic period, however, the Kan cross probably did not refer to turquoise, as this exotic stone was not common in Mesoamerica until the Postclassic period. Nonetheless, some of the other major meanings of this sign, including “fire” and “centrality,” were already present in Classic Mesoamerica. A text from Tomb 5 at Huijazoo suggests that the Late Classic Zapotec regarded the Kan cross as a fire sign. In this text, the sign sprouts flames, much as if it were a burning hearth {…}. The Classic-period Huehueteotl censer from Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz, has a series of Kan crosses encircling the rim of the surmounting brazier, recalling the Aztec description of the fire god residing in center of the turquoise enclosure hearth, the tlalxicco earth navel {…}.
Recent research indicates that the ancient Maya regarded the central axis mundi and surrounding world as a three-stone hearth placed on the carapace of a turtle {…}. In a number of instances, the center of the turtle shell is marked with the Kan cross {…}. In Late Classic Maya scenes illustrating Teotihuacan iconography, the Kan cross often appears in contexts of fire and centrality. For the previously discussed Late Classic Maya scene of fire offering, a brazier and probable yauhtli bundle appear with an enclosure marked with Kan crosses {…}. The yauhtli bundle Tlalocs appearing on the rim of the previously described Petén-style bowl are also accompanied by curving bands of Kan crosses and vegetal material, effectively making an enclosure around the central, burning War Serpent {…}. Marked with Kan crosses, the rectangular elements at the base of Xochicalco Stelae 1 and 3 probably refer to an early form of the turquoise enclosure, a place identified with fire and centrality.
The Codex Nuttall of the Late Postclassic Mixtec contains a probable representation of the creation of the sun and moon at Teotihuacan. This scene is squarely embedded in the early mythological and legendary portion of the codex, and precedes an account of the deity 9 Wind, the Mixtec version of Ehecatl- Quetzalcoatl. However, it should be noted that the mythological scene on page 17 of the Codex Nuttall is not the native Mixtec account of solar creation, but rather, represents an intentional borrowing of Central Mexican mythology. John Pohl {…} notes that the principal protagonist of the Codex Nuttall, Lord 8 Deer, consciously identified himself with Central Mexican Chichimec individuals, rites, and iconography. The left half of page 17 of the Nuttall and the neighboring right portion of page 18 represent a series of Mixtec gods convening at a great burning pyre. A pair of individuals seated atop mountains flank the sides of the pyre {…}. Whereas one of the figures is named 4 Motion, the other has the name 7 Reed. Clearly enough, 4 Motion is identical to Nahui Ollin, the name of the sun born at Teotihuacan. In the Central Mexican Historia de los reyes de Culhuacan, 7 Reed is the name of the moon {…}. The scene on page 17 of the Codex Nuttall probably represents the Central Mexican sun and moon gods engaged in penance on their two mountains, the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. At the base of the pyre there is the Mixtec sign for town surmounted by a U-shaped enclosure marked with two merlons on either side. This enclosure is painted the color of turquoise, probably referring to the xiuhtetzaqualco containing the sacrificial pyre.
Codex Zouche-Nuttall 17-18.The highlighted dates can be seen also on the front of the Xochicalco stelae (stela1 - 7 Reed, stela 2 - 10 Rain, stela 3 - 4 Movement).
The mythological scene on Nuttall pages 17 and 18 apparently represents the assembling of the gods at the creation of the sun and moon at Teotihuacan. In the immediately following scene on page 18, there is the first appearance of the sun in the manuscript. Hovering in the sky with an aged creator couple, it is explicitly marked with the Motion or Ollin sign, despite the fact that the Mixtec sun god was named 1 Death, not 4 Motion. On page 21 of the Nuttall, there is a clear contrast between a sun marked with the Motion sign and another with the day name Death, that is, the Mixtec sun. The sun first appearing on page 18 is an explicit reference to Nahui Ollin, the sun born at Teotihuacan.
Codex Borgia 46.
Another probable reference to the birth of the Fifth Sun at Teotihuacan appears on page 46 of the Codex Borgia. This complex scene is dominated by an enclosure formed of four burning Xiuhcoatl serpents surrounding a central turquoise hearth {…}. Combined, the serpents and central hearth represent the turquoise enclosure. In the center of the hearth, there is a vessel containing a figure with upraised arms. An aspect of Quetzalcoatl, this character appears no less than six times on page 46 of the Borgia. Both Seler {…} and I {…} have interpreted this scene as a version of the self-immolation of Nanahuatzin and the creation of the sun. However, page 46 of the Borgia has also been viewed as a depiction of the New Fire rites, such as were performed every fifty-two years by the Aztecs {…}. Indeed, page 46 contains an explicit representation of fire drilling upon the abdomen of Xiuhtecuhtli. The use of Xiuhtecuhtli probably relates to the Aztec practice of drilling the new fire on the chest of a captive warrior whose name contained the term xihuitl {…}.
Codex Borbonicus 34.
The two cited interpretations of page 46 of the Codex Borgia are by no means contradictory; the New Fire rites reenacted the birth of the sun at Teotihuacan. The body of the captive warrior was entirely consumed in the flames of the new fire, the same fate as Nanahuatzin and Tecuciztecatl {…}. During the nocturnal New Fire ceremonies, a series of deity impersonators assembled at the place of fire making, recalling the convening of the gods in darkness at Teotihuacan. In the New Fire scene on page 34 of Codex Borbonicus, the series of god impersonators file toward the new fire burning in the Tlillancalco, the house of darkness. This procession of god impersonators is notably similar to the assembly of gods in the aforementioned scene on pages 17 and 18 of the Nuttall. Four individuals holding bundles of firewood stand within the house of darkness {…}. According to Seler {…}, these figures are dressed as the warrior spirits who accompany the sun, the tonatiuh iluicac yauh. In support, Seler notes that the xiuhuitzolli crown, xolocozcatl pendant, and paper costume is notably similar to the warrior bundle effigy appearing in the Codex Magliabechiano {…}. It will be recalled that such bundle effigies contained a core of ocote, and were probable embodiments of Xocotl, a god of deceased warriors and the making of new fire. The central, burning hearth is painted turquoise blue, once again alluding to the turquoise enclosure {…}.
The following excerpt, however, brought to my attention first three stelae from amazing Xochicalco, excavated in the 1960-s by César A. Sáenz, and then the pictorial history of Lady Three Flint from Codex Zouche-Nuttall. Quite unexpectedly (which is how it usually happens) I found myself reading the numerical signs and dating the stelae, while checking the possibility of '283 correlation in one location and being completely certain that '285 is correct for another, and figuring out the particulars of calendar math and number representation in the codex, assumed to be a purely historical account of the people who just avoided proper nouns and used calendar expressions instead.
Taube, Karl. "The Turquoise Hearth: Fire, Self-Sacrifice, and the Central Mexican Cult of War". In Carrasco, Davíd et al., eds. Mesoamerica's Classic Heritage: From Teotihuacan to the Aztecs. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2000, pages 269-340.
César A. Sáenz with Xochicalco stela 3, the earliest of the set and first to be deposited in the cache.
Pages 311-316.
A version of the Fifth Sun creation myth may also have been present at Late Classic Xochicalco. Two of the three stelae from Structure A seem to constitute a pair, and portray busts of individuals wearing War Serpent headdresses above rectangular enclosures {…}. The two figures are topped by large day names with broad fans of radiating feathers. In the case of Stela 3, the date is 4 Motion, or in Nahuatl, Nahui Ollin, the name of the sun born at Teotihuacan. In the first analysis of these stelae, excavator César Sáenz {…}interpreted this date as an explicit reference to the Fifth Sun created at Teotihuacan. The other monument, Stela 1, has the date 7 Reptile’s Eye. Unfortunately, the meaning of this date is poorly known, as the Reptile’s Eye sign has yet to be correlated with any of the known twenty day names of Late Postclassic Central Mexico. Another, recently excavated Xochicalco monument may refer to the creation of the moon. The sculpture portrays a lunar crescent with a complex hieroglyphic sign {…}. Along with containing a lifeless human head, the glyph is topped with flames, both elements suggesting the fiery self-sacrifice at Teotihuacan. The upwardly pointed feet at either side may refer to the ascent of the newly born moon. At the base of the sign are the remains of a coefficient, with only a portion of the bar for the number 5 surviving. The complex glyph may have contained the curl of the Reptile’s Eye sign above the human head. However, a far clearer representation of the Reptile’s Eye sign with a lunar crescent occurs on an Early Classic Escuintla vessel {…}. The glyph and lunar crescent form the torso of a male with upraised arms, a probable rare representation of the moon god. Whereas Xochicalco Stela 3 represents the sun, Stela 1 probably depicts the moon.
Both the Stela 1 and 3 figures are atop rectangular enclosures marked with the Saint Andrew’s cross, also known by the Mayanist term of “Kan cross” in Mesoamerican studies. During the Late Postclassic period, this element served as an Aztec sign for turquoise, recalling the description of the turquoise enclosure at Teotihuacan. For the Classic period, however, the Kan cross probably did not refer to turquoise, as this exotic stone was not common in Mesoamerica until the Postclassic period. Nonetheless, some of the other major meanings of this sign, including “fire” and “centrality,” were already present in Classic Mesoamerica. A text from Tomb 5 at Huijazoo suggests that the Late Classic Zapotec regarded the Kan cross as a fire sign. In this text, the sign sprouts flames, much as if it were a burning hearth {…}. The Classic-period Huehueteotl censer from Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz, has a series of Kan crosses encircling the rim of the surmounting brazier, recalling the Aztec description of the fire god residing in center of the turquoise enclosure hearth, the tlalxicco earth navel {…}.
Recent research indicates that the ancient Maya regarded the central axis mundi and surrounding world as a three-stone hearth placed on the carapace of a turtle {…}. In a number of instances, the center of the turtle shell is marked with the Kan cross {…}. In Late Classic Maya scenes illustrating Teotihuacan iconography, the Kan cross often appears in contexts of fire and centrality. For the previously discussed Late Classic Maya scene of fire offering, a brazier and probable yauhtli bundle appear with an enclosure marked with Kan crosses {…}. The yauhtli bundle Tlalocs appearing on the rim of the previously described Petén-style bowl are also accompanied by curving bands of Kan crosses and vegetal material, effectively making an enclosure around the central, burning War Serpent {…}. Marked with Kan crosses, the rectangular elements at the base of Xochicalco Stelae 1 and 3 probably refer to an early form of the turquoise enclosure, a place identified with fire and centrality.
The Codex Nuttall of the Late Postclassic Mixtec contains a probable representation of the creation of the sun and moon at Teotihuacan. This scene is squarely embedded in the early mythological and legendary portion of the codex, and precedes an account of the deity 9 Wind, the Mixtec version of Ehecatl- Quetzalcoatl. However, it should be noted that the mythological scene on page 17 of the Codex Nuttall is not the native Mixtec account of solar creation, but rather, represents an intentional borrowing of Central Mexican mythology. John Pohl {…} notes that the principal protagonist of the Codex Nuttall, Lord 8 Deer, consciously identified himself with Central Mexican Chichimec individuals, rites, and iconography. The left half of page 17 of the Nuttall and the neighboring right portion of page 18 represent a series of Mixtec gods convening at a great burning pyre. A pair of individuals seated atop mountains flank the sides of the pyre {…}. Whereas one of the figures is named 4 Motion, the other has the name 7 Reed. Clearly enough, 4 Motion is identical to Nahui Ollin, the name of the sun born at Teotihuacan. In the Central Mexican Historia de los reyes de Culhuacan, 7 Reed is the name of the moon {…}. The scene on page 17 of the Codex Nuttall probably represents the Central Mexican sun and moon gods engaged in penance on their two mountains, the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. At the base of the pyre there is the Mixtec sign for town surmounted by a U-shaped enclosure marked with two merlons on either side. This enclosure is painted the color of turquoise, probably referring to the xiuhtetzaqualco containing the sacrificial pyre.
Codex Zouche-Nuttall 17-18.The highlighted dates can be seen also on the front of the Xochicalco stelae (stela1 - 7 Reed, stela 2 - 10 Rain, stela 3 - 4 Movement).
The mythological scene on Nuttall pages 17 and 18 apparently represents the assembling of the gods at the creation of the sun and moon at Teotihuacan. In the immediately following scene on page 18, there is the first appearance of the sun in the manuscript. Hovering in the sky with an aged creator couple, it is explicitly marked with the Motion or Ollin sign, despite the fact that the Mixtec sun god was named 1 Death, not 4 Motion. On page 21 of the Nuttall, there is a clear contrast between a sun marked with the Motion sign and another with the day name Death, that is, the Mixtec sun. The sun first appearing on page 18 is an explicit reference to Nahui Ollin, the sun born at Teotihuacan.
Codex Borgia 46.
Another probable reference to the birth of the Fifth Sun at Teotihuacan appears on page 46 of the Codex Borgia. This complex scene is dominated by an enclosure formed of four burning Xiuhcoatl serpents surrounding a central turquoise hearth {…}. Combined, the serpents and central hearth represent the turquoise enclosure. In the center of the hearth, there is a vessel containing a figure with upraised arms. An aspect of Quetzalcoatl, this character appears no less than six times on page 46 of the Borgia. Both Seler {…} and I {…} have interpreted this scene as a version of the self-immolation of Nanahuatzin and the creation of the sun. However, page 46 of the Borgia has also been viewed as a depiction of the New Fire rites, such as were performed every fifty-two years by the Aztecs {…}. Indeed, page 46 contains an explicit representation of fire drilling upon the abdomen of Xiuhtecuhtli. The use of Xiuhtecuhtli probably relates to the Aztec practice of drilling the new fire on the chest of a captive warrior whose name contained the term xihuitl {…}.
Codex Borbonicus 34.
The two cited interpretations of page 46 of the Codex Borgia are by no means contradictory; the New Fire rites reenacted the birth of the sun at Teotihuacan. The body of the captive warrior was entirely consumed in the flames of the new fire, the same fate as Nanahuatzin and Tecuciztecatl {…}. During the nocturnal New Fire ceremonies, a series of deity impersonators assembled at the place of fire making, recalling the convening of the gods in darkness at Teotihuacan. In the New Fire scene on page 34 of Codex Borbonicus, the series of god impersonators file toward the new fire burning in the Tlillancalco, the house of darkness. This procession of god impersonators is notably similar to the assembly of gods in the aforementioned scene on pages 17 and 18 of the Nuttall. Four individuals holding bundles of firewood stand within the house of darkness {…}. According to Seler {…}, these figures are dressed as the warrior spirits who accompany the sun, the tonatiuh iluicac yauh. In support, Seler notes that the xiuhuitzolli crown, xolocozcatl pendant, and paper costume is notably similar to the warrior bundle effigy appearing in the Codex Magliabechiano {…}. It will be recalled that such bundle effigies contained a core of ocote, and were probable embodiments of Xocotl, a god of deceased warriors and the making of new fire. The central, burning hearth is painted turquoise blue, once again alluding to the turquoise enclosure {…}.