Dissertation Research: Symbolism and Ritual at Teotihuacan

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Under the direction of Dr. George Cowgill, Mr. Saburo Sugiyama will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. Over the course of many years of excavation by both Mexican and U.S. archaeologists at the site of Teotihuacan in central Mexico, many sacrificial human burials have been uncovered. Recently Dr. Cowgill and his colleagues conducted excavations at the large Feathered Serpent Pyramid and discovered a number more. Although these materials have the potential to provide insight into Teotihuacan political, social and ritual organization they have been relatively little studied. Mr. Sugiyama's project will help to remedy this. Evidence indicates that the burials were carefully placed in relation to the pyramid. Many contain rich grave offerings of carved stone and obsidian tools. As a first step, Mr. Sugiyama will plot the spatial distribution of the graves and then determine associations with burial objects. He will then search for patterns in the arrangement of materials and place the graves in a chronological context. On this basis he hopes to reconstruct the rituals involved. Since these sacrifices were state ceremonies and ritual was manipulated directly or indirectly for political goals, understanding of these ceremonies will also shed light on the organization and maintenance of the Teotihuacan state. Teotihuacan was one of the largest and most influential cities in Mesoamerica in Pre-Columbian times. It flourished in central Mexico between approximately the first century A.D. and the eighth, covering about 20 km2 with a population of at least 100,000 during its peak. The ecological setting, the politics, the economy, the trade system, the technology, religion and other aspects of ideology have been studied for an understanding of the society and its history per se and for theories about the evolution of ancient states in worldwide contexts. It is now known that the city was a unique example of ancient urbanization in the New World. However, still poorly understood are the specific form of the government and the nature of the ideological programs in the development and functioning of this state. Mr. Sugiyama's research will investigate these questions. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will increase our understanding of how complex societies developed and it will assist in the training of a promising young scientist.