Human Sacrifice, Militarism, and Rulership: Materialization of State Ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan

by Saburo Sugiyama

Overview

Teotihuacan was the largest urban center in the New World in the first two centuries AD, and the Feathered Serpent Pyramid was a spectacular symbol of state power. Saburo Sugiyama investigates the ritual sacrifice of some 200 men and women that marked the erection of the Pyramid in this volume, the first substantial archaeological analysis of the political institutions of Teotihuacan based on stratigraphically recorded evidence. In the process, he illuminates our understanding of urbanization, the ritual behavior of elites, and the role of warfare and sacrifice in early Teotihuacan statecraft.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521780568
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/10/2005
Series:	New Studies in Archaeology
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	7.17(w) x 10.04(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Saburo Sugiyama is a Professor in the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Aichi Prefectural University, Japan. He has contributed to a number of edited works on Mesoamerican archaeology including Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice (Blackwell Publishing, 2003).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: cognition of state symbols and polity; 2. Background: data and ideation; 3. The Ciudadela and the city layout; 4. Architecture and sculpture; 5. Burials; 6. Offerings; 7. Overview: sacrificial and elite burials; 8. Conclusion: Feathered Serpent Pyramid as symbol of sacrifice, militarism, and rulership.

Editorial Reviews

'This is a remarkable achievement and will be a deeply influential contribution to all future discussions of Teotihuacan.' Dr David Freidel, Southern Methodist University

From the Publisher