| Object Name: | Sacred landscape with Mt. Popocatepetl on horizon |
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| Site: | Chalcatzingo | |
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| Image source: | © Dr. Manuel Aguilar | |
| The area surrounding Chalcatzingo has been considered a sacred landscape since ancient times. Mt. Popocatepetl ( "Smoking Mountain" in Nahuatl) in the background, is one of the tallest and most majestic volcanoes in Mesoamerica. In Mesoamerica, the image of the Sun, the Mountain, the vital Water and the Community settled in a special environment to form the heart of the most ancient religions of the American Continent. The archaeological sites located throughout this vast territory, the design of the cities, the setting and orientation of monuments, and the diverse systems of signs and symbols show the existence of an ancient dialogue held among the diverse ways of Life and the surrounding landscape. The Art and Architecture are supported by an underlying Order, derived from the way the ancient people perceived, used and transformed symbolically the landscape. | ||
