Title: Mesoamerican Architecture as Cultural Symbol
Abstract: In this collection, scholars provide interpretations and syntheses of many of the most significant Mesoamerican architectural traditions from the Preclassic to the Postclassic periods. The essays examine the built environment as a carrier of cultural meanings. The many pyramid-temples, palaces, and ballcourts comprising Mesoamerican centres were constructed in the context of hierarchical societies, and provided monumental expressions of elite authority. The design of individual buildings, as well as the layout of site plans, often embodied Mesoamerican beliefs about the structure of the cosmos, natural forces, or the numinous power of lanscape forms, thus providing sanction for the sociopolitcal order. This book is intended for architectural historians, archaeologists, students of Mesoamerican art and architecture.
Publication Year: 2000
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 83
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