Izapa

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Izapa is a major pre-Columbian city in Mesoamerica . With Chiapa de Corzo , Takalik Abaj , Kaminaljuyú and some smaller sites, it is mostly counted among the early sites - influenced by the Mokaya culture or the Olmecs .

Map of the presumed Olmec area of ​​influence

location

Izapa is located in the southeast of the Mexican state Chiapas near the border with Guatemala - the border crossing over the Puente-Talismán is about eleven kilometers away. The partially restored ruins are only about twelve kilometers south of the Tacaná volcano at an altitude of about 260 m above sea level. d. Nearby flows the small Río Izapa , which flows a few kilometers further south into the Río Suchiate .

history

The probably already since about 1500 BC. Settled and - after several interim periods of crisis - finally abandoned around 1200 AD, the site reached its peak around 300 BC. Chr. To 300 AD. It was not noticed and examined for the first time by archaeological research until the 1930s and 1940s; most of the finds are in the period from about 600 BC. Classified to approx. 300/400 AD.

economy

Cocoa plants thrive in the area ; Dried cocoa beans , along with chicle and bird feathers , may have been exported to other parts of Mesoamerica as commodities , which may have contributed to the city's economic and cultural wealth.

meaning

With an area of ​​more than three square kilometers, Izapa is one of the largest cities of the pre-Columbian era; the number of inhabitants at that time is estimated at around 10,000. Most scholars commonly assume that it was under Olmec influence in its early days and later became a link between the early cultures of Mesoamerica and the Maya ; a few archaeologists consider the culture of Izapa to be largely original and independent. Due to its outstanding importance and due to astronomical and geographical measurements, some researchers suspect the origin of the Mesoamerican 260-day calendar here.

Ruin site

Only about ten percent of the Izapa area has been scientifically intensively examined; today's main group is the longest-inhabited complex 'F'; Groups 'A' to 'E' are largely natural and are located south of the CF200. The reconstructed buildings represent around 1.5% of the area covered by many mounds of earth that were piled up by human hands .

architecture

Reconstructed buildings from the late Izapa period
Stele 1 and altar in the shape of a snake's head

The archaeological site comprises eight subgroups with probably more than 100 artificially raised mounds of earth, of which the early mounds were partly covered with large rounded river pebbles from the nearby Río Izapa , whereas the later - about ten meters high - buildings were more structured and on several levels raised. There were temple pyramids with upstream stairs, squares and probably also two ball courts , which, however, lacked the laterally positioned ends of the playing field and the lateral 'galleries', which were otherwise provided with sloping embankments, were kept rather flat. The late buildings were probably covered with stucco and paintings, but none of them has survived.

Steles

The total of 89 steles from Izapa are dated back to 100 BC. And dated 300/400 AD; some of the later steles have scenes in relief, as can also be found in the Maya area. However, no stele is provided with date or other written glyphs - rather, there are profile representations of unknown gods or priest-kings that are not statically representative, but shown in active ways of acting. Especially in group 'B' from Izapa, located south of the CF200, there are also some strange-looking columnar or pillar-like steles with round stones (heads?) At the top.

Altars

So far 61 'altars' have been found, some of which are zoomorphic ; others are simple smooth stone slabs. It is unclear whether they were all used for sacrificial purposes. Already in Izapa there is a close connection between altar stone and stele, which a few centuries later will be found in various Maya sites ( Tikal , Quiriguá, etc.).

Other

In addition, three monuments called 'thrones' were discovered in Izapa, as well as 68 other sculpted objects, some of which - due to their poor state of preservation - could not even be classified.

storage

Some of the steles and other finds from Izapa are exhibited in a hall of the newly established Tapachula Museum (see web link).

photos

  • Stele 50 with a skeletal figure

  • Stele 21 with a scene of beheading

  • Stele 25 with a small figure in front of a plant on which a bird is sitting

  • Small bearded figurine with an animal mask as headgear

Stele 5

Izapa - stele 5

The extraordinarily large stele with the number 5 (height approx. 2.50 m; width 1.50 m; thickness 0.50 m) , which was discovered around 1940, consists of volcanic andesite rock and is the most complex and extraordinary monument that so far found in Izapa. The stele shows a tree of life or the world in the middle, with a small bird sitting in its crown-like branches. Several people are sitting cross-legged on the ground; they are in turn arranged in smaller groups - they could be rulers or priest-kings who receive gifts, tributes or offerings; behind the main characters sit servants with open umbrellas or fronds. To the left and right of the tree trunk are two standing people with strange beak masks - the one on the left seems to be helping a figure emerging from the tree trunk; two birds sit on her shoulder or head. To the left and right of the treetop there are large abstract glyph-like or cloud-like structures.

Although a conclusive interpretation of the depicted scenes or details is still pending, the wealth of figures and the almost narrative representation make Stele 5 one of the most extraordinary found objects not only in Izapa, but in the entire cultural area of ​​Central America. Artistically remarkable is the fact that the various levels of representation are not strictly separated from one another, but are linked to one another by the tree and other details.

See also

Other early cultures in southern Guatemala, where some researchers suspect Olmec influences as well, are the Monte Alto culture and the Cotzumalhuapa culture .

literature

  • Gareth W. Lowe, Thomas A. Lee, Eduardo Martínez Espinosa: Izapa - an introduction to the ruins and monuments. New World Archaeological Foundation, Brigham Young University 1982
  • Julia Guernsey, Julia: Ritual and Power in Stone - The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas 2006, ISBN 978-0-292-71323-9 .
  • Christopher Pool: Olmec Archeology and Early Mesoamerica. Cambridge University Press 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-78882-3 .
  • Virginia G. Smith: Izapa Relief Carving - Form, Content, Rules for Design, and Role in Mesoamerican Art History and Archeology. Dumbarton Oaks, 1984.

Web links

Commons : Izapa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 14 ° 55 '24.3 "  N , 92 ° 10' 47.4"  W.