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Introduction
The term Cosmovision refers to a particular view and understanding of the world and universe. The people of Mesoamerica regarded time and space as important aspects of one’s life, mainly because of their connection to supernatural powers and abilities. The cosmovision of the Mesoamerican people involved viewing the universe through the lens of a dynamic fabric. The fabric was ever-changing and had energies that unfolded, expanded, and contracted in response to feelings of creativeness and regeneration of invisible and visible forms.
Scholars have argued that during the evolution of the Mesoamerican people, the cosmovision played a significant role in informing the Mesoamericans of appropriate urban structural organization. This argument is based on structural evidence on the similarities in the urban organization of the Mesoamericans and other original urban societies. The structural design of urban centres in Mesoamerica was mainly informed by the people’s cosmovision.
Discussion
San Lorenzo, which dates back to 1150 BC, is the oldest Olmec centre. The centre sprang up at a time when most of Mesoamerica was at its Neolithic stage, meaning that stones were the major artefacts of urban development. This centre was built to reflect the cosmovision of the people, as evidenced by the extraordinary stone monuments, which were constructed at the time. The stones had colossal heads, which measured up to nine feet high, representing the theme of space.
In line with the cosmovision ideology, the people of San Lorenzo worshipped around these stone monuments, which they took to hold supernatural powers and abilities. The middle formative period (900-300 BC) saw the development of the La Venta urban centre. The Late Formative period, which included the Classic periods, saw the development of the Maya, Totonac, Zapotec, and Teotihuacan civilizations (Adams 314).
The embodiment of the Mesoamerican cosmovision was in the urban design and structural development of the time. The cities of the Mesoamericans constituted a major reflection of their religious beliefs and as such, were constructed as microcosms. The cities were divided into two major sides, north and south. In line with their religious beliefs, the northern side represented the underworld and was marked with tombs. The living world, on the other hand, was represented by aspects such as birth and rebirth and sustenance and had buildings such as residential homes and markets were located in the southern part of the city.
The cosmovision was centrally informed by the concept of celestial life. The Mesoamerican architecture was organized in a way that aligned to such celestial events. The pyramids were aligned in a way that they faced the sun at sunset on August 13. This day was significant to the Mayan Calendar. At the heart of the Mesoamerican urban civilization and development was the ideology of the manifestation of life in the universe (Coe 209).
The Mesoamericans knew and understood the art of life and living so much, that they made efforts to capture and reflect this art in architectural and other structural designs. The true art of living, according to the Mesoamericans, lay in people learning to live in harmony with all the visible and non-visible life and non-life forces. This ideology was heavily reflected in the urban designs, which encapsulated the aspects of time, space, and spirituality.
Works Cited
Adams, Richard. Cambridge History of the Native peoples of The Americas. Cambridge University Press. 2000. Print.
Coe, Michael. Mexico: from the Olmecs to the Aztecs (4th edition, Revised and Enlarged ed.). New York: Thames & Hudso. 1994. Print.
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