Aztec funeral masks. Mysterious Aztec artifacts. What do they mean? Navajo ceremonial clothing

A special cultural and geographical region - Mesoamerica - includes Central and Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and the western regions of El Salvador and Honduras.

Existence ancient culture in Mesoamerica, which flourished around 1100 AD. continues to puzzle historians. It's about about the mysterious Olmecs. Their religious rituals are far from fully understood, just as the origins of the Olmecs themselves are not understood. The earliest traces of habitation were found in the La Venta area and date back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e.

According to the most ancient legend, the Olmecs (“people from the land of rubber trees”) appeared on the territory of modern Tabasco about 4000 years ago, they arrived by sea and settled in the village of Tamoanchane (“We are looking for our home”). According to the same legend, it is said that the sages sailed away, and the remaining people settled these lands and began to call themselves by the name of their great leader Olmec Wimtoni.

Some scholars believe that the first empire in America was the Olmec. This was due to the creation of cities (ritual centers) with a unique, simple and powerful architecture.

Olmec culture is called the "mother of cultures" of Central America and the most early civilization Mexico. They are credited with creating the basis of writing, a calendar, and a system of numbers for later cultures of Mesoamerica. But there is still heated debate around this - not many agree that the Olmecs invented it.

IN last century BC, the Olmec civilization completely disappears, but their heritage organically entered the cultures of the Mayans and other peoples of Mesoamerica.

The Mayan civilization covered most region of Mesoamerica.
When we talk about the "ancient Maya" we are talking about the history of one of the most important pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures. Contrary to popular belief, the Mayan civilization never “disappeared.” At least not entirely, as their descendants still live in the region, and many of them speak any of the languages ​​of the Mayan family.

funeral mask of King Pakal

K"inich-Hanaab"-Pacal I (the Great) ("Solar Water Lily - Shield") is probably the most famous of all the kings in the history of the classical Maya. His reign represents perfect example what a deep mark an outstanding personality can leave in history.

Red Queen

Teotihuacan "place where the gods were made; City of the Gods" is the name given to it was one of the largest cities in Central America during the pre-Hispanic era.

MASKS Teotihuacan

Aztec Empire

MASKS Aztecas

Mexican traditional masks created for rituals have not only artistic, but also religious functions. There are countless festivals where masks are used in a combination of Christian and indigenous traditions. These festivals often include parades and street theater. These masks are carved from wood, painted with ornaments and sisal rope, animal horns or teeth.

In earlier times, clothing was much more important. She was much more than a garment for the body. Often, clothing was a real work of art that could tell a lot about the culture, origin, status in society and even about the beliefs of the people. In our review, the most incredible ceremonial costumes of the ancients.

1. Warumungu ceremonial colors

The Warumungu are an indigenous tribe that once lived in northern Australia. Before the tribe was forcibly removed from their homeland, the Warumungu performed regular ceremonies that were passed down from generation to generation. Men wore special costumes for these ceremonies, hats made of tree bark and painted themselves with stripes of red and white. Then they performed entire performances, acting out scenes from Everyday life, as well as stories about their ancestors or spirits.

2. The most ancient mask

People have used masks for rituals for at least 9,000 years. At least that’s how old she turned herself ancient mask that has ever been found. Now we can only speculate about how exactly it was used. Researchers believe that this mask was modeled on the skull of an old man and should have once looked like the face of a deceased person.

3. Creepy clothes of the Selk'nam

The Selk'nam people lived in the extreme south of Patagonia (modern Argentina and Chile). He was notable for his creepy clothes that looked like they were taken straight out of Silent Hill. And these creepy robes were used at the initiation ceremony of teenagers in adult life. The young people were taken into a house where it was dark inside, without any warning. Then someone from the tribe, dressed in a similar costume, jumped out of the darkness at them and tried to scare them, posing as a demonic spirit. This is how the Selknam taught young men to overcome their fear.

4. Aztec masks

Aztec masks not only looked like human skulls, some of them were made from them. Aztec warriors sometimes cut off the faces of their victims and used them to make masks. Other masks were made from skulls, which were brought to the temple, where they were covered with black stone, wood and obsidian.

5. Clay ghosts of Asaro

Representatives of the Asaro people (Papua - New Guinea) went to war, covering their bodies with white clay and wearing terrifying clay masks. According to their legends, the Asaro began to paint themselves White color after they were attacked by another tribe. The survivors were forced to flee and hide on the banks of the Asaro River. In the evening, when everything had calmed down, they went home, by then smeared with white clay from head to toe. The enemy tribe thought they were ghosts and fled in terror. After that " mud people Asaro" began to always cover themselves with clay when going to war.

6. Tibetan chitipati masks

Tibetan monks hold festivals called tsam, during which they wear special costumes, dance, pray and meditate. There are countless different masks and costumes that are used during tsam, but the most creepy is the mask of the chitipati ("guardians of the graveyards"). This mask symbolizes the pair of Buddhist deities Chitipati, who in life were a pair of monks who took meditation seriously. Somehow they were so immersed in meditation at night in the cemetery that they did not notice how a thief snuck into the chapel and cut off their heads. IN afterlife they swore to take revenge on the thieves and protect all practicing yogis from animals and robbers.

7. Ceremonial clothing of Mongolian shamans

Before Buddhism came to Mongolia, shamans, who wore very complex and bizarre costumes, enjoyed special authority in the country. Shamans believed that their clothes gave them magical powers. Deer antlers give them speed, eagle feathers give them strength, and owl feathers give them the ability to see at night. The Mongols chose a person to be a shaman after he had hallucinations. This was perceived as a sign that this person could see the world of gods and spirits, so they began to teach him.

8. Ceremonial clothing “potlatches”

Kwakiutls live in British Columbia (Canada). It is believed that they have the most beautiful art among all American Indians. This is not surprising, since for the Kwakiutl art was an important part of their society, and they tried to instill a sense of taste in every member of the tribe from childhood. Perhaps most notable are the costumes that the Kwakiutl wore during ceremonies called potlatches, where members of the tribe gathered together, exchanged gifts, celebrated marriages, and announced the appointment of new people to important positions. At these gatherings they also often wore masks and performed dances intended to summon otherworldly beings.

9. Masks of Yupik shamans

The Yupik peoples live in conditions of constant cold (in Siberia and Alaska), where from time immemorial obtaining food has been a rather difficult task. It is therefore not surprising that when hunters went out in search of food, they relied on the magic of shamans. Yup'ik shamans, wearing incredible painted wooden masks, performed special ceremonies to ensure a successful hunt and asked the spirits for help. Shamans were also village healers. If someone got sick, they asked the spirits to cure the sick person. When Europeans came north, the Yup'ik peoples were converted to Christianity. Traditional dances were banned and masks became mere decorations.

10. Navajo ceremonial clothing

In the 1930s, a photographer named Edward Curtis decided to live among the Navajo people personally. He photographed the Indians in their traditional costumes, determined to preserve the memory of Navajo culture for future generations. There are photographs of Navajo ceremonies where they wore incredible masks, as well as costumes in which the Indians looked like the gods in which they believed. They danced and performed entire performances, asking for help from the spirits.

While some strive to stand out from the crowd, others dream of being invisible. So, .

30 years ago, on the site of the Aztec city-state of Tenochtitlan (territory modern city Mexico City) archaeologists have discovered eight masks made from human skulls. The masks were found in a burial near the ruins of the Temple of Templo Mayor, built in honor of the god Huitzilopochtli (god of the sun and war) and the god Tlaloc (god of rain and fertility).

Today, American scientists from the University of Montana have come to the conclusion: the skulls belonged to captured opponents of the Aztecs or noble and wealthy representatives of Aztec society, killed for disagreeing with the official authorities. With the results of their research it is possible familiarize in the prestigious journal Current Anthropology.

The skulls from which the masks were made had the backs removed, they were painted, stones were inserted into the empty eye sockets, and stone knives were inserted into the noses. Some masks were decorated with seashells and pieces of copper. “In our opinion, these unusual masks were either worn on the face or used as a headdress,” comment the study authors.

“These are truly amazing finds: previously only masks made from crocodile skulls were discovered in Mexico City.”

During the work, scientists examined artifacts using isotope analysis and atomic absorption analysis chemical composition bone tissue (using these methods you can find out, for example, the health status of the people to whom the remains belong, as well as their age). As a result, the researchers learned: the skulls from which the masks were made belonged to men 30-45 years old. During their lifetime, the men did not have any health problems - in particular, they had good and strong teeth without any hint of caries. “The people whose skulls were used to make the masks were healthier than many others at the time,” said Cory Ragsdale, lead author of the study. “In addition, we found out that they all came from different regions.”

Scientists have determined that the skulls belonged to men who lived during the reign of Emperor Axayacatl. Axayacatl (whose name translates as “mask of water”) led the Aztecs from 1469-1481, had, according to various estimates, from 150 to 450 children and was famous ill-treatment with everyone who disagreed with his political decisions.

According to scientists, the skulls could belong to the enemies of Axayacatl, captured in one of the battles, or noble representatives of the Aztecs who disagreed with the official authorities. “Obviously, the unfortunate people were sacrificed,” the Americans comment. — Human sacrifice was a very common practice among the Aztecs. Historians debate how many people died as a result of these sacrifices.

Corey Ragsdale/Forbes.com

Now it is believed that at least 20 thousand (sacrifices were made 18 times a year - on each of the 18 sacred holidays).

Most often, prisoners of war and people of low status were killed. However, the fact that masks were made from the skulls of eight of the victims suggests that these victims were somehow different from all the others. Most likely, those killed had a high status - and therefore a special fate awaited them after death. Interestingly, next to the masks were found the usual skulls of 30 men and women, the skulls of crocodiles, as well as various figurines. These men and women were most likely also sacrificed, but due to the low social status they didn’t turn their skulls into masks.”

Scientists also do not exclude that the skull-masks could belong to participants in the flower wars - a series of ritual battles that were fought by the Aztec city-states to capture prisoners who were sacrificed to the gods.

“The Aztecs believed that human sacrifices were needed to prevent any “catastrophes” from happening, for example, so that the Sun would not stop shining,” the scientists explain.

Researchers say that in the future they are going to create a 3D model of amazing masks and post them on the Internet so that every user can admire the “art” of the Aztecs.

In the capital of Mexico there is wonderful museum with the richest
a collection of artifacts related to American Indian culture.
Even for a person completely uninterested in history or
anthropology, he will an unforgettable experience.

Aztec Hall. Right at the entrance is a figure of a jaguar with a sacrificial bowl.
The hearts of those sacrificed were placed here.

The Aztecs have always been considered the most brutal culture among all Indians.
IN Lately, however, they found out that other cultures are different from them in this
weren't far behind.

Sacrificial altar.

The Aztecs are the latest Native American culture in America.
Their heyday occurred in the years shortly before the Spanish conquest of America.

The Aztecs had a developed writing system.

Scrolls have been preserved in pictograms and hieroglyphs describing the history
Aztecs.

The Spaniards, fearing witchcraft, or considering them heretical,
They burned all the Aztec writings that fell into their hands.
Entire libraries containing thousands of scrolls were destroyed.

Now this is called one of the most terrible crimes of the conquistadors.
They not only killed most of the population, but also destroyed the very culture of the Indians.

However, the Aztec culture cannot be called harmless.
Every day at sunset in all the Aztec temples, human sacrifices were made to the gods so that they would allow the sun to rise the next day.

Light armor made from tanned human skin, removed in its entirety.

Ritual images of gods and mythical creatures knows no limits of imagination!

This snake head is more than a meter tall.
Very similar to the rattlesnake that is found in this area.

Aztec pyramid in section.
The model shows that the pyramids were built in “layers”.
When the city grew and required a more solid pyramid, another layer was built on top of the existing one.

This is what Mexico looked like before the arrival of the Spaniards.
The city was located on artificial artificial islands in the middle of a large lake.
It was connected to the shore by embankment dams-roads.
The history of the city is interesting.
The tribes, the ancestors of the Aztecs, believed in prediction.
They believed that they would create a great empire in the place where they would be shown a sign - an eagle sitting on a cactus and eating a snake.
One day they saw such a sign.
But the eagle on a cactus was sitting on a small stone in the middle of a mountain lake.
Without doubting the prediction, the Aztecs decided to build a city on the lake.

And in fact, their empire, centered in Mexico, became the greatest on the continent.
The Aztecs waged constant wars, both to conquer lands and to capture prisoners to be sacrificed to the gods.

To this day, the coat of arms of Mexico depicts an eagle sitting on a cactus with a snake in its claws.

The Aztecs did not know how to process iron. They used obsidian for piercing and cutting tools. Obsidian knives were extremely sharp and durable, but fragile. In addition, obsidian has antiseptic properties, which allowed Aztec surgeons to carry out sufficient complex operations and prevent infection.

Reconstruction of the Aztec market. Even in the market one can see order and discipline. The Aztecs were a maniacally ordered and disciplined culture. For any crime there was one punishment - death.

Book of expenses and income. Lists of goods received and exchanged.

This is what the Aztec kitchen hut looked like.

Statues of priests in traditional ritual clothes.

Statue of the goddess Coatlicue - mother of the sun god.

Aztec calendar.
Until recently, it was considered the largest find representing the science and writing of the Aztecs.
More recently, while clearing up a collapse after an earthquake, a slab was found covered with Aztec writing, which has not yet been presented to the public.

This is how the calendar was painted.
Let’s not bring up the topic of 2012 – there’s already enough of this goodness throughout the entire network!

Stylized animal figures. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t find anything like that among the souvenirs.

Obsidian processing was unusually developed among the Aztecs.
Nowadays such things can only be made using diamond cutters.
The secret of processing obsidian with stone tools has been lost.

The fantasy of ancient artists can make, it seems to me, any modern surrealist blush.

Musical instruments. Many are made from animal and human bones.

Aztec god of art. The ornaments on his clothes depict a cactus from which peyote, a hallucinogenic drug, is extracted.

Considering this, many sculptures become clearer :)

And this is from the Olmec hall.
The Olmecs are one of the oldest cultures in Latin America.

It was they who left throughout Mexico and neighboring countries giant stone heads with characteristic features faces.
Some of them still remain in the jungle, but the best preserved ones have been moved to the museum.
No one knows what these heads represent, why they were installed and to whom they were dedicated.

Apart from the giant heads, there are not many cultural relics left from the Olmecs. But they still cause a lot of scientific controversy, including their similarity to Polynesian images and Easter Island idols.

Also mysterious are these images of laughing women. Some scientists believe that they are in a religious or drug trance, but these are only hypotheses.

Looking at some of the sculptures, one is reminded of popular theories about the connection between the culture of South American Indians and aliens.

Mayan Hall:) Mayan images are characterized by certain facial features and head shape.

Facades of Mayan temples.
They were cut down by “black archaeologists” and exported to the USA for private collectors. Subsequently returned by police to Mexican authorities.

A whole small temple was assembled from the “confiscated goods” in the courtyard of the museum! :)

The Mayan culture is a little similar to the Aztec, or rather the opposite, since it is more ancient.

Ritual obsidian knife. Surprisingly fine workmanship for such a fragile stone.

Mayan writing.
It was deciphered quite recently, and, interestingly, by Soviet scientists without leaving the USSR. After the collapse of the Union, he immigrated to Mexico and spent the rest of his life there.

Like some African tribes, the Mayans distorted the shape
skulls of their children using special devices. Hence the characteristic shape of the heads in all Mayan images.

Mayan books.
Having deciphered them, scientists learned that, contrary to earlier
assumptions, the Mayans were not peaceful tribes, but waged constant war with their neighbors and among themselves.

Reconstruction of Mayan burials.
In earlier burials, the Mayans buried their dead lying upright,
or in the fetal position. Later burials are “sedentary”.

The most famous burial one of the Mayan kings.

Because of the green mask and the sarcophagus with images
"chariot" rising into the sky, a theory was put forward
about the alien origin of the Mayan “gods”.

Scientists, however, do not support them.
It is believed that these are metaphorical images of the world of the living and the dead.

One of the images of floating people.

And the bas-relief of the “heavenly ruler” in the courtyard of the museum.