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Can We Read Cosmology in Ancient Maya City Plans? Comment on Ashmore and Sabloff

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael E. Smith
Michael E. Smith*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY 12222 (mesmith@csc.albany.edu)
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Abstract

Arguments for the cosmological significance of ancient Maya city layouts are plausible, but empirical applications are subjective and lack rigor. I illustrate this contention through brief comments on a recent article by Ashmore and Sabloff. I first discuss some of the complexities and pitfalls in studying cosmology from ancient city plans, and then focus on one component of the authors’ cosmological model—the hypothesized north-south axis at Classic Maya cities. My goal is not to down-play or rule out the role of cosmology in Maya city planning, but rather to encourage the use of explicit assumptions and rigorous methods that will provide the study of Maya city planning with a more secure empirical foundation.

Los argumentos para el significado cosmológico de las trazas de las ciudades antiguas mayas son plausibles, pero las aplicaciones empíricas son subjetivas y carecen de rigor. Ilustro este idea con unos comentarios sobre un artículo reciente de Ashmore y Sabloff. Primero discuto algunas de las complejidades y problemas en el estudio de la cosmología basado en los planos de las ciudades antiguas. Segundo, examino una parte del modelo cosmológico de los autores—el propuesto eje norte-sur en las ciudades mayas. Mi objetivo no es disminuir ni negar el papel de la cosmología en la planeación urbana Maya; más bien es fomentar el uso de asunciones explicitas y métodos rigurosos para dar al estudio de la planeación urbana una fundación empírica más segura.

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Latin American Antiquity , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , June 2003 , pp. 221 - 228
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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