Mesoamerican ‘Fool’s Gold’ Mirrors Found in Arizona Reveal Ties to Ancient Mexico

I just found this nifty little article this morning,

Mesoamerican ‘Fool’s Gold’ Mirrors Found in Arizona Reveal Ties to Ancient Mexico
Posted by Blake de Pastino on January 12, 2015
Archaeologists exploring the ties between ancient cultures in the Southwestern U.S. and central Mexico have turned their attention to some unusual artifacts excavated in Arizona: more than 50 mirrors encrusted with the brilliant mineral pyrite, crafted in distinctly Mesoamerican styles.
The mirrors were originally unearthed in the 1930s and 1960s, during excavations of a major settlement of the Hohokam culture now known as Snaketown.
Most of the mirrors were found broken, burned, and buried with cremated human remains, with 36 mirrors having been discovered in 16 separate graves.
They were just one of the many signs of cultural interaction from Mesoamerica discovered at Snaketown — along with ceremonial ball courts, copper bells, and the remains of colorful macaws.
But until an effort was undertaken in 2001 to analyze the grave goods and repatriate them to the modern Gila River Indian Community, the pyrite mirrors went unstudied.
“I thought that the pyrite mirrors were a very interesting topic and that I’d find a lot of information on them,” said Dr. Emiliano Gallaga of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, who took part in the repatriation project.

And a pic of the snake town site

His analysis revealed that the mirrors were likely created in central Mexico from local materials, in a painstaking, time-consuming process that made them costly status symbols.
“Today, a mirror is a normal item of our daily life, but in the past, an item that could reflect an image was really expensive.
“According to our research, a single, small mirror could need 900 to 1300 hours, or 110 to 160 days, for a single craftsperson to do. So they are expensive to make.”
Early accounts and depictions of mirrors used among the Olmec, Maya, and Aztecs showed that they were often worn by elite members of society as ornaments, sometimes on the chest, other times on a belt at the base of the back, or on headgear.
“Mirrors were not only an item to see yourself; they were also portals to another dimension, to the ancestors, and a prestige item too,” Gallaga said.
Radiocarbon dates associated with the burials dated the mirrors from between 650 to 950 CE, a broad range from the Classic Period of Mesoamerica, when the Maya network of city states and the metropolis of Teotihuacan were at their peaks.
What’s more, the techniques used to make them — with delicate flakes of pyrite glued to sandstone or other rock with adhesive likely made from tree resin — bear the distinctive signs of Mesoamerican craftsmanship.
This, combined with the fact that there were no known deposits of pyrite, also known as fool’s gold, that were used by the Hohokam, suggest that the mirrors were made much farther south from where they were buried.

This reassesment of the artifacts is but one of many new finds that point to extensive contacts between meso america and north america, from chocolate found in Fremont associated sites in utah(westerndigs.org...) to chihuahas(lostworlds.org...) showing up in mound builder sites along the misssippi.
There is certainly a crafstmanship link between the Hohokam mirrors and the pyrite globes found beneath the pyramid of the sun at teotihuican.

The pyramid of the sun pyrite globes
www.abovetopsecret.com...



westerndigs.org...

a reply to: punkinworks10

The lack of a local source for iron pyrite indicates that at least the material came from elsewhere. There are some similarities between the artistic style and Teotihuacan murals, particularly the colors — and it doesn't look much like the Hohokam art I've seen. Another thing that occurs to me is that it looks a bit like Kokopelli sans flute.

“Mirrors were not only an item to see yourself; they were also portals to another dimension, to the ancestors, and a prestige item too,” Gallaga said.

Funny, I used to tell my son when he was younger that mirrors were just a window into a parallel universe where everything was happening exactly the same.

Cool post...thanks!

I am one of those that sees some relationship between the Mound Builders, the Anasazi, and the Aztec.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I am one of those that sees some relationship between the Mound Builders, the Anasazi, and the Aztec.

it is very clear from the archeology that the Anasazi had trade contacts with the mesoamericans, as did the missisipian cultures, and the later aztecs bult upon those earlier trade and imigration contacts.
Tropical bird feathers and emsoamerican pottery show up in chaco canyon, as does an individual who had filed teeth, a fashion popular among mid millenium meso americans. Also the spatial relation ship between great kivas shows an understanding of mesoamerican religio astronomy.
i'll have to look it up, but i believe that the great kiva at chaco lies on a meridian with the chaac mool at palenque, and other great kivas are spaced by even fractions of the earths circumference from chaco.

a reply to: punkinworks10

It is entirely likely that relationships were well established throughout the Americas. You might not have a lot of Iriquois trading with central america directly. But the people were constantly moving around N. America, and would have likely had time to develop relationships somewhere along the way.

As I understand it, the Apache's were fairly new to the area i live in, arriving from up north and descending onto the plains like the Mongols and Hun's.

My understanding of interrelations in Amerind peoples is not that strong, however.

On a side note....not knowing what became of the Mound Builders, it can be assumed that the people (once again) became migratory. Where did they end up after the Cahokia collapse happned?

Did another culture come up afterwards that started engineering the earth?

That is the relationship I see. Especially with MB culture and the Aztecs.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Bfft,

The apache are part of the very recent,(less than 800 years ago) movement of sub arctic NaDene speaking people into the basin and ranges area.

See my thread,www.abovetopsecret.com...

 And yes you are correct in that some native Americans migrated around quite a a bit. The Algonquin peoples of the north east, originally started some where in the Montana/Wyoming area before moving east. Just as the uto Aztecans moved from central/southern ca into Mexico before agriculture became widespread.

 Or like the Comanche, who moved from the Owens valley in ca to take up residence in the southern plains.

 There is also good ethnological evidence that meso Americans moved into the southern us very early, 3500-3000 years ago, after being driven out by a volcano.

 Which is one reason native Americans appear to all be related genetically, 20,000+ years of mixing has muddied the water.

a reply to: punkinworks10

Is there a correlation between the volcano, and the rise (or fall) of mesoamerican cultures?

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: punkinworks10

Is there a correlation between the volcano, and the rise (or fall) of mesoamerican cultures?

Volcanos are a somewhat regular occurance in central america and mexico. Volcanoes did not affect meso american cultures as a whole, but did on a local level. Since meso america political structures were based on the city state, a local displaced people might have to journey some distance to find a place to start over, as they were usually at odds with their neighbors.