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Astronomical References in the Throne Inscription of the Palace of the Governor at Uxmal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2008

Harvey M. Bricker  and
Victoria R. Bricker
Harvey M. Bricker
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology Tulane UniversityNew Orleans, LA 70118, USA
Victoria R. Bricker
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology Tulane UniversityNew Orleans, LA 70118, USA
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Abstract

The Palace of the Governor at Uxmal is known from previous scholarship to be associated with Venus in terms of both its sculptural decoration and its orientation, which is aligned to an infrequently occurring extreme position of Venus on the horizon. A hieroglyphic inscription above the central doorway of the Palace is shown here to relate specifically to the concern with Venus and other celestial phenomena. Part of the inscription depicts zodiacal constellations, and its uppermost row is a sort of map of the constellations at the ‘base of the sky’ at the time of the Venus alignment. The Throne Inscription from Uxmal may now be recognized as one of the major sources of information about the pre-Columbian Maya zodiac.

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Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , October 1996 , pp. 191 - 229
Copyright
Copyright © The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 1996

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