Cosmovision in New World Ritual Landscapes: An Introduction

Abstract

‘Cosmovision in New World Ritual Landscapes’ is a Special Section including articles that explore portions of North, Central and South America where ceremonial or conceptual landscapes took differing forms. Two pivotal scholars (Ashmore, Broda) who have previously written on the subject are included in this group. Building upon themes of religious deity and other symbolic markers for clan territorial divisions (Sabo, Hilliard, Walker), urban settlement and modelling (Landau) and ethnographic information on ritual practice or cultural perspectives on land and spatial boundaries (Vining), these authors implicitly consider the possibility that cosmovision is a cultural universal. One unique aspect of their approach is the way that they connect varied landscapes with settlement concentrations or city centres, showing how cosmovision is evident in both rural and central place making.