Mesoamerican earthen architecture: a pre-columbian heritage in need of reassessment
Archaeological evidence supports the existence of a vigorous and millenary earthen architecture in the Mesoamerican cultural area; as it has been barely studied, it’s mostly ignored. And yet, it precedes and is the prototype for stone architecture, and continues alongside it, at least until the Span...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | spa |
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Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas “Mario J. Buschiazzo”
2018
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| Online Access: | https://www.iaa.fadu.uba.ar/ojs/index.php/anales/article/view/281 |
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| Summary: | Archaeological evidence supports the existence of a vigorous and millenary earthen architecture in the Mesoamerican cultural area; as it has been barely studied, it’s mostly ignored. And yet, it precedes and is the prototype for stone architecture, and continues alongside it, at least until the Spanish Conquest. The original building systems seem to come from South America, both the mound-building from the Atlantic side and planoconvex mud-bricks from the Pacific Andean side. Then the architecture evolves creatively in the lowlands first, then in the highlands, with mold-made rectangular mud-bricks used to build grids of walls to partition architectural fill, innovations apparently later adopted by the south. The lack of recognition leaves the sites vulnerable. This article summarizes the evidence as an appeal for increased scientific research to promote knowledge and consequently adequate protection and conservation of this pre-Columbian architectural heritage. |
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