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Mesoamerican religion from the perspective of conquistadors
Fajkus, Jaromír ; Kostičová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Lyčka, Milan (referee)
Mesoamerican religion from the perspective of conquistadors (Human sacrifice as observed by Spanish conquerors in contrast with contemporary reflection) Annotation The thesis describes human sacrifice in one of the most important ethnic groups in Mesoamerica - the Aztecs - and deals with the overwhelming influence of the ritual that has been performed on a large scale. The two primary contexts, in which the human sacrifice is interpreted, are the political context and the dietary one, more specifically the ritual cannibalism. While the thesis exploits the scientific research of Mesoamerica from the 20th century onwards, the emphasis is put on the textual evidence from the Spanish conquerors, which is used to either prove or disprove the aforementioned research and as the main source of description of the discussed phenomena. The goal of the thesis was to demonstrate the plurality of approach to human sacrifice, the questionable findings of certain research and the complexity of thought that the human sacrifice is based upon.
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Ritual Decapitation in Mesoamerica
Baudiš, Adam ; Kostičová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Křížová, Markéta (referee)
This master's thesis deals with sacrifice by decapitation. Its goal is to describe systematicaly this phenomenon which was widely practiced in the Mesoamerican area. To accomplish this there were firstly introduced the main interpretation lines of human sacrifice. The importance of maize for the Mesoamerican culture was described in the next chapter. The third part of this thesis introduces some Aztec festivities which are connected with ritual decapitation in Sahagún's Historia general. Then this thesis deals with the main aspects of the Mesoamerican ballgame and its connection with the story of the Hero twins from Popol Vuh is introduced here and analyzed. The fourth chapter describes the methods of ritual decapitation. It deals with the question of the fixation method described by Sahagún as "espaldas con espaldas" and the question of the ritual instrument which should have been used in this situation. Then it describes this method in the context of Maya sacrifices. The final part deals with the posthumous dealing with the head and the body of the sacrifices. Big part is given to the problem of tzompantli and the treating of the body. Two main techniques are presented here - skinning and ritual cannibalism. Then it describes the Maya techniques of treating the head which include storing skulls...
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Ritual Decapitation in Mesoamerica
Baudiš, Adam ; Kostičová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Křížová, Markéta (referee)
This master's thesis deals with sacrifice by decapitation. Its goal is to describe systematicaly this phenomenon which was widely practiced in the Mesoamerican area. To accomplish this there were firstly introduced the main interpretation lines of human sacrifice. The importance of maize for the Mesoamerican culture was described in the next chapter. The third part of this thesis introduces some Aztec festivities which are connected with ritual decapitation in Sahagún's Historia general. Then this thesis deals with the main aspects of the Mesoamerican ballgame and its connection with the story of the Hero twins from Popol Vuh is introduced here and analyzed. The fourth chapter describes the methods of ritual decapitation. It deals with the question of the fixation method described by Sahagún as "espaldas con espaldas" and the question of the ritual instrument which should have been used in this situation. Then it describes this method in the context of Maya sacrifices. The final part deals with the posthumous dealing with the head and the body of the sacrifices. Big part is given to the problem of tzompantli and the treating of the body. Two main techniques are presented here - skinning and ritual cannibalism. Then it describes the Maya techniques of treating the head which include storing skulls...
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Ritual Decapitation in Mesoamerica
Baudiš, Adam ; Kostičová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Křížová, Markéta (referee)
This master's thesis deals with sacrifice by decapitation. Its goal is to describe systematicaly this phenomenon which was widely practiced in the Mesoamerican area. To accomplish this there were firstly introduced the main interpretation lines of human sacrifice. The importance of maize for the Mesoamerican culture was described in the next chapter. The third part of this thesis introduces some Aztec festivities which are connected with ritual decapitation in Sahagún's Historia general. Then this thesis deals with the main aspects of the Mesoamerican ballgame and its connection with the story of the Hero twins from Popol Vuh is introduced here and analyzed. The fourth chapter describes the methods of ritual decapitation. It deals with the question of the fixation method described by Sahagún as "espaldas con espaldas" and the question of the ritual instrument which should have been used in this situation. Then it describes this method in the context of Maya sacrifices. The final part deals with the posthumous dealing with the head and the body of the sacrifices. Big part is given to the problem of tzompantli and the treating of the body. Two main techniques are presented here - skinning and ritual cannibalism. Then it describes the Maya techniques of treating the head which include storing skulls...
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End of the Katun Periods in the Maya Calendar
Dimelisová, Eleni ; Kostičová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Křížová, Markéta (referee)
This diploma thesis is focused on the question how the Maya from Tikal celebrated ends of the katun cycles of their calendar during the Classic period. To answer this question the tesis brings the analysis of all Tikal's katun period-ending steale and altars. The accent is put on katun period-ending rituals. This thesis is also concerned with twin-pyramid complexes which were developed at Tikal to host katun-ending commemoration. Keywords Pre-Columbian America, Mesoamerica, the Maya, the Maya calendar, katuns, rituals, stelae.
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Teotihuacan - religious and cultural centre
Horníková, Lucie ; Janák, Jiří (advisor) ; Kostičová, Zuzana (referee)
The aim of this work is to clarify the religious and cultural level of Teotihuacan, over a period of at least five hundred years of its existence, actively influenced much of cultural and geographic region of Mesoamerica and after his termination remained an integral part of its culture. Despite the fact that the only information we obtain from material sources, which come directly from Teotihuacan itself or centers, which had a significant impact, we can afford to say that it was a major urban center to its size, degree of social organizations, etc. extraordinarily exceeded level of other contemporary settlements of mesoamerican region. With its 25 square kilometers and 125,000 inhabitants was the sixth largest city in the world in the 6th century BC. With its megalithic structures, such as the Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon and the Citadel with Quetzalcoatl pyramid, etc., and structural refinement evokes awe and admiration of current and contemporary visitors. Unfortunately, the original names of temples, palaces, pyramids, gods and other parts of the city are not known in Teotihuacan original language because of the absence of literary records remains unknown, and all the signs which researchers use, takes over from the Aztec language Nahuatl. Methodology of this study was to compile the...
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Mesoamerican religion from the perspective of conquistadors
Fajkus, Jaromír ; Kostičová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Lyčka, Milan (referee)
Mesoamerican religion from the perspective of conquistadors (Human sacrifice as observed by Spanish conquerors in contrast with contemporary reflection) Annotation The thesis describes human sacrifice in one of the most important ethnic groups in Mesoamerica - the Aztecs - and deals with the overwhelming influence of the ritual that has been performed on a large scale. The two primary contexts, in which the human sacrifice is interpreted, are the political context and the dietary one, more specifically the ritual cannibalism. While the thesis exploits the scientific research of Mesoamerica from the 20th century onwards, the emphasis is put on the textual evidence from the Spanish conquerors, which is used to either prove or disprove the aforementioned research and as the main source of description of the discussed phenomena. The goal of the thesis was to demonstrate the plurality of approach to human sacrifice, the questionable findings of certain research and the complexity of thought that the human sacrifice is based upon.
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The cult of the Quetzalcóatl in the Indian civilizations of Mesoamerica
DOHNALOVÁ, Barbora
The aim of this bachelor thesis is to present the role of Quetzalcóatl in the Indian civilizations of Mesoamerica. The work focuses on the cult of the Feathered Serpent in the pre-Columbian period. In the first part the author approaches Mesoamerican cultural-geographic area, provides a short overview of the most significant civilizations and than focuses on the religion beliefs of native population. The next part of the thesis takes special attention to the own part of the cult of Quetzalcoatl, specially taking care about the chronological development of the deity and perception of the god by the natives. The last chapter reflects the relation between the god Quetzalcóatl and conqueror Hernán Cortés, it also informs about the religious changes that suffered Mesoamerican region after the arrival of the Spaniards.
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