Probabilities of designed locations of ceremonial foci: the Chaco Meridian, temple IV at Tikal, and a large-scale sacred Adena river landscape
Name:
Doxtater PROBABILITIES OF DESIGNED ...
Size:
4.054Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
Final Accepted Manuscript
Author
Doxtater, DennisAffiliation
School of Architecture, College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2021-04-06
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
Taylor and Francis Ltd.Citation
Doxtater, D. (2021). Probabilities of designed locations of ceremonial foci: the Chaco Meridian, temple IV at Tikal, and a large-scale sacred Adena river landscape. Time and Mind, 1-44.Journal
Time and MindRights
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Considering that prehistoric cultures may have had the socio-religious need and technical ability to create accurate geometric patterns across a large landscape, limited ethnographic and archaeologic evidence are reviewed. Simple but accurate land surveying is discussed. Since any set of existing sites at larger scales coincidentally creates accurate three-point alignments and right-angles, the critical research problem attempts to distinguish designed from random geometry. Unpublished patterns involving great kivas in Chaco Canyon and Temple IV at Tikal are tested for probabilities of design. The more expansive third test considers the location of 26 prominent Adena mounds in relation to 32 river confluence points and four highest mountains in a geographic area some 900 × 1200 km, just slightly larger than a Chacoan world. In 14 test boxes modeling the locations of the 26 mounds, 1000 sets of random points replace equal numbers in each box. Each set is searched for numbers of three-point alignments and ninety-degree angles at or under 0.10º accuracy. Chaco and Tikal tests show a strong likelihood of design at these sites; in the Adena, data indicate a high probability that some number of existing patterns were intentionally surveyed. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Note
18 month embargo; first published online 6 April 2021ISSN
1751-696XEISSN
1751-6978Version
Final accepted manuscriptae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/1751696x.2021.1903178