The Maya were a highly advanced civilization who dominated many different fields, among them agriculture, the fine arts, astronomy and mathematics.
What to us may be a series of separate scientific specialties may have been a single body of deeply interconnected religious and mythological knowledge & belief system to the Maya, which permeated all aspects of their lives.
To them astronomy was an every day matter as it was intertwined with their religion and their agriculture. All the heavenly bodies probably had deep mythical and spiritual meanings and if they did reality might seem to suggest they continue do to so this day among their descendants. Their agricultural practices throughout Chiapas and the Guatemalan highlands, which have been extensively documented, point at the use of the positions of stars as guiding directors for the times to plant, harvest and prepare the seeds for the following year. Research and thorough excavations at Maya archaeological sites, particularly dating from the Pre Classic Maya period, has revealed that both theearly and the modern Maya have much in common. What is unique to the ancient inhabitants of sites such as El Mirador is that they also recreated their mythological beliefs and astronomical interpretations in the symbolism represented in their grand ceremonial architecture. The “triadic pattern” comes to mind and we wil try to explain in a bit more detail in this section.
A triadic structure is one that consists of three buildings: a main central building and two smaller buildings, each flanking a side of the main structure and facing each other. There is an abundance of triadic structures at El Mirador, El Tigre Complex has 2 triadic structures: Structure 34 and the top of the Great Tigre Pyramid itself is a triadic structure. La Danta Complex has 2 triadic structures as well: one at the top of the main building or Danta Pyramid and the other at La Pava, on the acropolis in the first platform. There are other triadic patterns in buildings all around El Mirador and at other cities in the Mirador Basin.
What archaeologist Richard Hansen believes is that the triadic pattern was a representation of the Maya’s creation myth. It portrayed the place of origin, which they represent in every day life as well as in every Maya home. These three stones, known as the three hearth stones or Ox Te Tun, are found in every Maya kitchen even today, where the fire they cook in recreates a celestial image. Other Maya archaeologists have dedicated much thought to these questions. The following quotes and bibliography are specially recommended and essential reading for everyone interested in approaching the study of ancient religion in Mesoamerica.
The structures at El Mirador might be telling us of an early mythological conception derived from the position of these stars and other heavenly bodies and what the Maya interpreted them to be in their creation myths. We have tried to animate the mythological origin represented in the symbolism of a triadic structure in the hopes of simplifying its understanding to our readers. (Carla Molina/ Christian Wehner 2010)
“…the act of seating the stones in the triangular pattern of the hearth created an image on the face of the earth and in the sky at the same time…”
Freidel, David A.
2001 Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman’s Path, David Freidel, Linda Schele and Joy Parker, photographs by Justin Kerr and MacDuff Everton, pp. 79. Harper Collins Publishers, New York, New York.
A triangle is formed by these three hearth stones and at the center is an area the Maya identified as the place of origin, the seat of creation, represented by the smoke that comes out of the burning fire...
A closer look at the astronomical facts that would seem to support this statement will allow us to peek into the mentality and religious conceptions of these ancient Mesoamerican peoples who lived in the Mirador Basin.
The three hearth stones, in fact, represent a triangle formed by 3 stars in what we (the Western civilization) know as the Orion Constellation or “The Hunter”. These stars are:
Rigel (Betha Orionis, a blue supergiant and the 6th brightest star in the night sky, about 700 to 900 light years away from Earth. Rigel is Orion’s left foot).
Alnitak (Zeta Orinionis, a blue supergiant and part of the triple star system that forms Orion’s Belt. Alnitak is the one due left or east, as seen from the Northern hemisphere. Epsilon Orionis is Alnilam, the middle star. Delta Orionis is Mintaka, the one furthest to the right or west, again as observed from the Northern hemisphere. The triple star system is also known as the “String of Pearls” or “Las Tres Marias” in Spanish speaking countries, but formed a tortoise’s shell in the Maya’s perspective, which is one of the constellations we know they could “see” in the night sky. Alnitak, meaning “the girdle”, is 800 light years away from Earth and is one of 3 stars regarded as a hearth stone by the ancient Maya.
Saiph (Kappa Orinionis, a blue supergiant and the 6th brightest in the Orion constellation, derived its name from saif al jabbar, an Arabic phrase that means “the sword of the giant”. However, the star is outside the area now known as Orion’s sword and is on Orion’s right leg).
The fire and smoke at the center of the three hearth stones is a Messier Object*: M42, the name given by Charles Messier to this collection of dust particles and gas that has the appearance of a star, but is in fact the Orion Nebula, containing about 700 stars, in different stages of formation and development. M42 is at the center of what is known today as the “Orion’s Sword” located in the “Orion Constellation” and is referred to as the Orion nebula… the “fuzzy” star in the middle of Orion’s sword which is not a star at all. M42 is perhaps one of the brightest objects in the night sky and is the brightest nebula ever to be recorded. It shines with the brightness of a star of the 4th magnitude and can be seen with the naked eye in good weather conditions. The Maya could view M42 without the need of astronomical devices or facilities, such as telescopes or observatories just like we do. M42 is between 1500 and 1600 light-years away from our planet, Earth.
All of the above formed the three hearth stones which surrounded a burning and smoking fire. Altogether, these are just below to what the Maya regarded as “The Turtle” constellation.
As David Friedel tells us in his book Maya Cosmos, “… Dennis Tedlock identified Orion as the three stones of the hearth … Alnitak, Saiph, and Rigel in Orion are said to be the three hearthstones of the typical Quiche kitchen fireplace, arranged to form a triangle, and the cloudy area they enclose is said to be the smoke from the fire… These had to be the same three stones that were laid at Creation when the sea was still lying down on the face of the earth. The first act of the gods was to create the hearth at the center of the universe where the first fire of Creation could be started…
Freidel, David A.
2001 Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman’s Path, David Freidel, Linda Schele and Joy Parker, photographs by Justin Kerr and MacDuff Everton, pp. 79. Harper Collins Publishers, New York, New York.
In astronomical classification M42 falls under the category of a “stellar nursery” meaning that it is a nebula that forms stars. Thus it is interesting to note that the early Maya religious belief system recognized this as the place of origin or creation, and perhaps -in their perspective- where the universe had sprung from in the beginning of times. Whether it is a coincidence or not that what to the Maya represented fire and smoke and that they identified as the place of creation or the place of origina is actually a place where stars are formed is something scholars might need to take a closer look at in the future. It is really beyond our scope of work, but we hope our readers at Miradorpark.com will have a better understanding on what is meant when we say that the essential Maya myth is transposed to the Pre Classic Maya ceremonial architecture at El Mirador and of what the symbolism of the triadic pattern represents: a deep belief the Maya had in that everything is sacred and that “thy will be done on Earth as thou art in Heaven”.
The major significance these astral bodies’ alignment had on the Maya’s belief system and on the triadic structures they built is undeniable and reflected on the celestial pattern in their architecture and in the three hearth stones placed in every kitchen’s fire. The Pre Classic Maya seem to have been more profoundly mythical and religious when it came to their art and architecture, and less obsessed than their Classic descendants to use these motifs centering them around a character´s personality or on the idea of magnifying a ruler’s prestige and exploits. During the Classic period, art and architecture were also used as accessories of politics and of the rulers' agendas and propaganda mechanisms. All of these concepts remain an important part of present day Maya life and their religion, symbolism and practice. What is amazing is that the passing of time and the roots and trees that have grown on top of the ancient buildings have not quieted the intention of the artist and architects at El Mirador, but that their very spirit lives on in the hearts and minds of a living culture and their artistic heritage and wealth, representing perhaps more than 3000 years of history and tradition.
* Messier ObjectsCharles Messier was the astronomer who catalogued deep space objects. M42 falls under the classification of nebulae, which is one of the three different space object categories proposed by Messier, which include nebulae, galaxies and clusters. Furthermore, nebulae may fall into different categories, such as star forming nebulae, supernova remnants and planetary nebulae.
