1 of 3 These sculptures are often associated with the Mayan culture Photo: Getty Images/Via BBC These sculptures are often associated with the Mayan culture Photo: Getty Images/Via BBC
Looking for evidence to support his “peculiar ideas”—such as that Egyptian culture originated in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula—explorer Augustus Le Plongeon and his wife Alice Dixon made a discovery in southeastern Mexico in 1875.
The FrenchAmerican and his wife had been on a twoyear expedition through the jungle, where they entered the ruins of the Mayan civilization.
They made maps, took one of the first photo series of the temples and documented the murals they found.
They have also unearthed some sculptures and other items from ancient civilization.
Although they found no evidence to support their theories about the origins of the Egyptians, one of the finds in the city of Chichén Itzá was one of the most striking: the portrait of a semireclining man.
Le Plongeon named this sculpture “chac mool,” which means “red tiger” in Mayan.
Since then, Chac Mool carvings have continued to be discovered not only in the Maya region, but also in many other places in Mesoamerica, a cultural region that stretches from central Mexico to Costa Rica and was the cradle of great civilizations.
Over the decades, archaeologists have attempted to answer several questions about this sculpture, such as who is depicted in it, what its function is, where the image came from, and why these sculptures appear in so many different locations. These questions have been the subject of extensive debate and study.
“There are speculations about many things, but we have no scientific data,” archaeologist José Luis Punzo Díaz told BBC News Mundo. He is responsible for leading a team investigating the recent discovery of a sculpture of this type in the city of Pátzcuaro, in the Mexican state of Michoacán.
“The discovery of this Chac Mool is the tip of the iceberg that will allow us to truly understand these pieces. That’s what I find extremely exciting about this discovery,” he says.
He explains that they are using technological and scientific tools that were not previously available.
2 of 3 Augustus Le Plongeon in undated image Photo: Wikipedia Augustus Le Plongeon in undated image Photo: Wikipedia
The Le Plongeons found and named the sculpture in 1875, but this piece the best known was just one of many finds dating from around 600 BC. BC to beyond 1500 AD.
Although a notable sculpture found in relevant locations in palaces and preHispanic cities, the Chac Mool has never been depicted or explained in historical documents of the Toltec, Aztec, Mayans, Purépechas, or other major Mesoamerican cultures.
This led archaeologists to formulate theories about various aspects, according to researchers Alfredo López Austin and Leonardo López Luján in an extensive documentary compilation of studies on these sculptures published in the 2000s.
As for their origin, archaeologists say there is debate as to whether they correspond to the cultures of central Mexico, the Maya region or northern Mesoamerica. They also debate whether they were born in eras such as the Classical or Postclassical.
Experts disagree about the function of the image. “(We wonder) whether this eccentric figure was used as a sacrificial table, a container for hearts or a sacrificial stone,” the experts say.
There is also disagreement as to whether the figure depicted was a victim, a soldier, a priest, a historical figure, a “godman,” a divine messenger, or a deity.
3 of 3 The Chac Mool found in Chichén Itzá is the most famous of this type of sculpture Photo: Getty Images/Via BBC The Chac Mool found in Chichén Itzá is the most famous of this type of sculpture Photo: Getty Images/Via BBC
There have even been archaeological debates about the appearance of the various pieces found: whether the head faced left or right, the face they represented, their decorations, the position of the stomach, legs, and even the variety of bases they have.
“Both the form and meaning of Chac Mool change depending on geographical, chronological and cultural location,” point out López Austin and López Lujan.
And the fact that it is a piece that is present in different cultures, with different rituals and world views, raises questions.
The consensus of various studies offers some evidence of Chac Mool.
The fact that one of the oldest pieces (between 600 and 900 AD) was documented in a region of northern Mesoamerica called Chalchihuites may be an indication of the Chac Mool’s “journey” through different cultures and areas over the centuries.
In the Toltec culture, numerous sculptures of this type were found in Tula. This city had a significant influence on other dominant cultures such as the Mexicans and the Mayans.
“These sculptures in Tula are extremely important. They are found in contexts such as palaces or square doors, not just pyramids, which is often thought of,” says Punzo Díaz.
“The point is that migrations were the driving force that explains a lot of these things in Mesoamerica. It seems that there are migrations from the north to the center and west that bring with them this type of sculpture,” says the archaeologist.
The Toltecs settled hundreds of kilometers from the Yucatán, but are now known to have influenced the Mayans in places like Chichén Itzá, who in turn influenced the peninsular region and what is now Central America.
“Everyone associates Chac Mool with the Mayans, but in reality it is an influence that comes from central Mexico,” says Punzo Díaz.
Another consensus is that the Chac Mool is an intermediary figure or messenger “between the world of men and the world of gods.”
“It is a piece intended as an offering,” explains the archaeologist, due to the obvious altar or flat surface (some in the form of a container) on which these figures were found.
López Austin and López Lujan state that research from the last century suggested that they may have been used to place offerings and offerings. But it is only today that available technologies and science can ensure greater security.
“There are hypotheses that are repeated and become the truth, but there is no scientific data to be able to talk about their functions. And we are investigating this with a team of archaeologists, restorers, chemists, volcanologists and IT specialists. This is us moving forward,” says Punzo Diaz.
And although the name Chac Mool, arbitrarily given to it by the explorer Le Plongeon, is enshrined in scientific literature, the current state of knowledge could also give it a new name.
“Waxanuti,” which means “the one who sits in a courtyard” in the language of the Purépecha people who dominated the Mexican state of Michoacán, is an alternative to the piece found in Pátzcuaro.
As is often the case, the discovery of Chac Mool last month in the city of Pátzcuaro was a coincidence during excavations at a construction site.
It is the first sculpture of its kind found in the context of the Purépecha culture living there, although other pieces have been found in the state of Michoacán in the last century.
For Punzo Díaz and his team, the condition of this piece and the discovery of presumably very old elements such as coal will allow better conclusions to be drawn about the questions surrounding these sculptures.
“The discovery of this Chac Mool is the tip of the iceberg that will allow us to truly understand these pieces. “That’s what I find extremely exciting about this discovery,” says the archaeologist.
“Archaeology is at a very interesting moment as there are a variety of technological and scientific tools that can be used to study the past. Today we can ask ourselves questions that couldn’t be answered 20 or 30 years ago.”