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ESEMPI DI ARCHITETTURA
International Journal of Architecture and Engineering

THE END OF XOCHICALCO, A RITUAL DESTRUCTION?
Very numerous and different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the abandon of cities in ancient Mexico: natural catastrophes, exhaustion of the soils, drought, end of goods, famines, intestine revolts, attacks by foreign invaders, religious changes, ideological fights, and so on. Another one was presented by René Millon for the fall of Teotihuacan, who claimed that Teotihuacan was destroyed by the leaders and elites of the city themselves, but does not present any clear or precise reasons for such a strange and dramatic decision only proposing socio- economic or ideological changes (Millon, 1988). Maybe the destruction was done in order to appease the anger of the gods and beg for their clemency when would come the unavoidable end of their world. I think such a possibility can be considered seriously for the destructions of Teotihuacan and Xochicalco. The dates of the New Fire Ceremonies and the general cosmology of pre-Hispanic Mexico point at the year 623 AD as the end of a “Sun” (a Mesoamerican era), the fourth and last Sun of their cosmology (Lebeuf, 2003). We find that date as the most important anchor of the Venus counts in the Dresden Codex (1-Ahau 18 Kayab, 9.9.9.16.0). This event would have required an exceptional sacrifice of the gods and for the gods in Teotihuacan and the ritual destruction and profanation of its religious centre at the end of their fourth Sun. At the same time another sacrifice would have taken place in Xochicalco for the founding of a new ideal city, another Tollan constructed to be destroyed 208 years later, in the year 830 A.D. (Lebeuf, 2003: 223-240, 230, 239 note 655) as an offering to the gods when would come the end of the great cycle of 5200 years of their own cosmology.Keywords: Mexico, Teotihuacan, Xochicalco, Cosmology.
pagine: 9-25
DOI: 10.4399/97888255398682
data pubblicazione: Dicembre 2020
editore: Aracne