Inomata, Takeshi;
Triadan, Daniela;
Vázquez López, Verónica A;
García Hernández, Melina;
Fernandez-Diaz, Juan Carlos;
Sharpe, Ashley E;
Alvarado, Claudia;
... Nakagawa, Takeshi; + view all
(2025)
Landscape-wide cosmogram built by the early community of Aguada Fénix in southeastern Mesoamerica.
Science Advances
, 11
(45)
, Article eaea2037. 10.1126/sciadv.aea2037.
Preview |
Text
Vazquez Lopez_sciadv.aea2037.pdf Download (7MB) | Preview |
Abstract
There is growing recognition that societies without prominent hierarchies could build large constructions. Scholars are debating what motivated many people to participate in these construction projects. We investigated the site of Aguada Fénix, Mexico, which features the oldest and largest monumental architecture in the Maya area. Using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and excavations, we documented a site plan composed of nested cross forms built between 1050 and 700 BCE. Its center was marked by a large cruciform cache containing the earliest known directional color symbols in Mesoamerica. The overall pattern consisted of 9- and 7.5-kilometer-long axes delineated by canals and corridors. The builders constructed canals, measuring up to 35 meters wide and 5 meters deep, and a dam to supply them with lake water. Although the canals appear unfinished, this site plan exceeded or rivaled the extents of later Mesoamerican cities. Aguada Fénix was probably designed as a cosmogram, which likely attracted people from a broad area.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Landscape-wide cosmogram built by the early community of Aguada Fénix in southeastern Mesoamerica |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.aea2037 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea2037 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2025 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10216759 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
