CARVED MONUMENTS AND CALENDRICAL NAMES | CU Experts

This paper describes 15 stone monuments documented until the ; 1995 field season at Río Viejo, the largest settlement ; in the alluvial plains of the Río Verde drainage in Coastal ; Oaxaca from 100 B.C. to A.D. 1100. The monuments, all seemingly ; dating to the Classic period (A.D. 600–900), include mainly ; carved stelae that most often depict elaborately dressed human ; figures accompanied by their calendrical names. The large size of ; these monuments and the political primacy of Río Viejo ; strongly suggest that the named individuals were local rulers. We ; posit that additional flattened sculptures and slabs riddled with ; small circular depressions were foci of sacred activities aimed at ; petitioning favors from supernatural forces. The analysis of the ; inscriptions is framed in terms of graphic similarities with highland ; scribal traditions in the central valleys of Oaxaca, the Mixteca Baja, ; and the Mexican Highlands.

VIVO