El culto al cocodrilo: cognición y arte del Formativo temprano en Mesoamérica

Autores/as

  • Terry Stocker
  • Verónica Ortega Cabrera

Palabras clave:

olmecas, culto, cocodrilo, cognición, periodo, Formativo, Mesoamérica

Resumen

La tesis central de este artículo propone que, en algún lugar de Mesoamérica donde los cocodrilos abundaban, debió comenzar el culto a ese animal, cuya imagen devino en uno de los símbolos más utilizados por las élites y se extendió ampliamente en el entorno cultural. Por otro lado, algunos arqueólogos plantean que la ausencia de esculturas fuera del área nuclear olmeca significa que esa sociedad no tenía dominio sobre territorios lejanos. Aquí se sostiene que la hegemonía se refleja en que la élite olmeca concentró el culto al cocodrilo en su área nuclear, por ello la constante presencia de esta expresión en San Lorenzo, Veracruz, sitio que se convirtió en un centro de peregrinación. Por último, en aras de evitar las confusiones derivadas de una visión “cristiana” del arte mesoamericano, promovemos interpretaciones animistas; específicamente, reinterpretamos la llamada “Cruz de San Andrés” como un signo/símbolo que debe leerse como sacrificio humano: La Cruz de Sacrificio Humano (LCSH).

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Publicado

2020-05-08

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Stocker, T. ., & Ortega Cabrera, V. . (2020). El culto al cocodrilo: cognición y arte del Formativo temprano en Mesoamérica. Arqueología, (58), 95–114. Recuperado a partir de https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/arqueologia/article/view/15656

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