Mesoamerican Archaeology

[Minimalist]

I would be pretty certain that the surgeons were also priests.

Possible. I suspect the term "priest" has/had different connotations in differing places and times.

[Ishtar]

The separation of the healing and the medicinal arts from the spiritual (whether shaman or priest) is a relatively recent phenomena.

[Minimalist]

Doubtlessly the result of the doctors finding out the priests are largely a bunch of charlatans!

[Ishtar]

Doubtless!

[kbs2244]

Are we, perhaps, coming full circle?
More and more doctors are coming to believe in the “power of positive thinking.”
Be it faith based or not.

[Digit]

Or possibly part of that 90 per-cent unused brain that Ish mentioned.

[kbs2244]

Maybe they knew where that part was and were careful to only cut there?

[Minimalist]

“power of positive thinking.”

I doubt that they would use that in lieu of anti-biotics.

[Beagle]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 173528.htm

The tomb, one of three excavated by archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania, was of a woman of high status who was buried during the 5th century.

“What was most amazing was that there were as many as 25 layers of fabrics on an offertory platform and covering pottery in the tomb, and they all had a different fabric structure, color, and yarn size, so it’s likely that the tomb was reopened – perhaps several times -- and additional layers of textiles were laid there years after her death,” said Ordoñez.

One fabric in particular had an especially high thread count – 100 yarns per inch – which Ordoñez said is even considered high for modern textiles. “It speaks to the technology they had at the time for making very fine fabrics. It’s gratifying that we’ve been able to document that the Mayans were quite skillful at spinning and weaving.”

More information on an earlier article on Mayan fabrics. From Arch. News. Whaddya think War Arrow?

[Minimalist]

Amazing that fabrics could survive that long in such a wet climate.

[War Arrow]

Intriguing, though I came across an actual cloak sized bit of woven cloth in an exhibition in Mexico City in 1999. Annoying thing is I've seen no reference to this thing I saw with my own eyes anywhere since, so for what little it's worth and as I've just spent 15 minutes trying to find the page, here's what I wrote in my diary at the time (this was a temporary exhibition of specifically Mayan stuff in a building adjacent to the Templo Mayor - September 1999):

However, the item that really blew my nuts off, and which I had to go back and look at again about 4 or 5 times, was the remains of a woven cloak from Chiapas, late classic period [in other words between 900 and maybe 1100]. Not only is it rare for woven material to survive from pre-Conquest times, but although made up of 4 or 5 fragments, there was a lot of this one [about 2 foot by maybe 4 I think], and the design looked like Mixteca-Puebla style in form if not actual content as the only glyph I recognised was the star/eye - it looked like nothing I have seen from Chiapas [although that may just mean I haven't seen much Chiapas matter].

Not much to go on I know, but it's nevertheless amazing that such things can survive under the right conditions. Flash photography wasn't allowed so all I have is that description. Still not sure why what I saw remains apparently unknown unless maybe it turned out to be not half so old as first thought (and that dating does sound pretty incredible I'll admit).

Wahey! Look at me, posting in the discussion forum!

[kbs2244]

Mexico City climate is pretty dry, isn’t it?
And if the cloak you saw was part of a display, then that means it could be in storage someplace?
Is this time for someone to do so basement style archeology?

[War Arrow]

Mexico City climate is pretty dry, isn’t it?
And if the cloak you saw was part of a display, then that means it could be in storage someplace?
Is this time for someone to do so basement style archeology?

True, though Chiapas is pretty damp so far as I know. I've had a google but found nothing beyond references (no images) to cloth fragments found in jars in the "Chiptic caves" (though not even sure if that's Chiapas to be honest) so I guess that's how something of this type would have been preserved.
Sadly my Spanish was of breakfast ordering standard at the time and no better, so my reading of the explanation may have gotten garbled. I've a date and an address of said travelling exhibition though so maybe that might yeild something.
Considering how dry some bits of Mexico are though, it's surprising there isn't more of this kind of thing.

[michaelruggeri]

Listeros,

Erik Boot has posted a report on six Toltec burials being uncovered in the Tula town center. In one burial, there were funerary offerings of 3 complete vessels. One of the burials was of a child between the ages of five and seven. The burials date from 900-1150 AD. The report is from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (in Spanish).

The report is here;

Erik Boot's Ancient Mesoamerican News Updates
http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/


Mike Ruggeri's Aztec and Toltec World
http://tinyurl.com/yqypej

[Minimalist]

Climate notwithstanding, Mike, it frequently seems to me that the odds of recovering any sort of archaeological find are heavily weighted against the possibility.

We can only speculate about the amount of data which has been lost through natural and human activities over the ensuing centuries.

Frankly, we should be grateful for what we do find. I expect that most of the people who post here, or at other historical/archaeological boards do have that gratitude but they are only a miniscule percentage of people who go digging in the earth.