Zenith Sun and Classic Period Alignments in the Southern Gulf Coast Region By Hal Green

https://www.academia.edu/165518004/Zenith_Sun_and_Classic_Period_Alignments_in_the_Southern_Gulf_Coast_Region?email_work_card=title LiDAR surveys of 84,516 km2 in the southern Gulf Coast region have enabled determin-ation of the East-West alignments of 160 architectural structures dating to the Late Classic period (600-1000 CE). These structures belong to two different cultural traditions: Classic Veracruz and Classic generic. Classic Veracruz structures (114) have a standardized plan and are found only in the western part of the region; Classic generic structures (46) exhibit diverse configurations and are found primarily in the eastern part of the region. When the dates reported to be marked by the alignments of these structures are interpreted within the range of reported date error, a pattern of calendrically significant date pairs emerges, defining two horizon reference systems - one for Classic Veracruz structures and another for Classic generic structures - that are similar in structure but with different frequencies of marked dates. The zenith and nadir passages of the 260-day latitudinal band serve as reference poles and the marked date pairs are separated by calendrically significant intervals. Both horizon reference systems are similar in structure to systems that have been defined for other regions of Mesoamerica that enabled precise tracking of time for all purposes. Like all "astronomical systems developed by indigenous civilizations of the tropical latitudes," these horizon reference systems are found to be "both complex and fundamentally different from those originating in civilizations of the temperate latitudes" (Aveni 1981: 161). These horizon reference systems are also consistent with and embody fundamental principles of Mesoamerican cosmology, including duality, quadrilateral world and intervallic patterning. ...