A Teotihuacan altar at Tikal, Guatemala: central Mexican ritual and elite interaction in the Maya Lowlands
The nature and extent of interactions between the distant regions and cultures of Mesoamerica remain open to much debate. Close economic and political ties developed between Teotihuacan and the lowland Maya during the Early Classic period (AD 250–550), yet the relationship between these cultures continues to perplex scholars. This article presents an elaborately painted altar from an elite residential group at the lowland Maya centre of Tikal, Guatemala. Dating to the fifth century AD, the altar is unique in its display of Teotihuacan architectural and artistic forms, adding to evidence not only for cultural influence during this period, but also for an active Teotihuacan presence at Tikal.
Authors
- Lorena Paiz Aragón
- A. Scherer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9793-2431)
- Heather Hurst (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1177-6627)
- Thomas G. Garrison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1040-3404)
- Edwin Román Ramírez
- Angelyn Bass (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9377-5897)
- David I. Stuart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3426-4210)
- Stephen Houston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9911-7484)
- R. Castellanos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0649-9407)
- Alejandrina Corado Ochoa
- Cristina García Leal
Institutions
- University of New Mexico (US)
- Unitika (Japan) (JP)
- Skidmore College (US)
- Brown University (US)
- Artistic Realization Technologies (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Antiquity
- Published
- 2025-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.3
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Latin American history and culture
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 26.93