US EditionAncient Mesoamerican Farmers Might Have Used Scorpion Mound to Track the Sun - Archaeology Magazine
5 Articles
5 Articles
Archaeologists discover rare scorpion-shaped mound likely used for solar observation
A 1,400-year-old scorpion-shaped effigy mound discovered in the Tehuacán Valley in the state of Puebla might have served as an astronomical observatory, researchers say. The discovery, disclosed in the University of Cambridge’s Ancient Mesoamerica journal, has been described as “unprecedented.” Effigy mounds — prehistoric earthen mounds shaped like an animal, spirit or other figure — are common in the midwestern United States, but extremely unco…
Ancient Mesoamerican Farmers Might Have Used Scorpion Mound to Track the Sun - Archaeology Magazine
Potsherds collected near the Scorpion Mound AUSTIN, TEXAS—According to a Live Science report, James Neely of the University of Texas at Austin and his colleagues suggest that country farmers used a 205-foot-long, scorpion-shaped effigy mound in Mexico’s Tehuacán Valley to mark the winter and summer solstices from about A.D. 600 to 1000. The scorpion, which is oriented east-northeast, is one of 12 mounds in a complex covering about 22 acres. Made…
During archaeological excavations in the Tehuacán Valley in the state of Puebla, Mexico, scientists have identified an ancient scorpion-shaped mound. The article Scorpion-shaped mound from Mexico. Was the mysterious structure an astronomical observatory? comes from the website Everything that matters.
Observing the sky has long been essential in order to survive. In pre-Hispanic agricultural societies, the cycles of the sun rhythmized sowing, harvests and rituals. In Mesoamerica, this astronomical knowledge was not limited to the large state-city or religious elites. A recent study, published in 2025 in the journal Ancient Mesoamerica, reveals that a scorpion-shaped mound, located in the Tehuacán Valley in Mexico, could have served as a solar…
Huge Ancient Mesoamerican Scorpion-Shaped Mound Served As An Astronomical Observatory - Not Just For The Elite But Farmers Too - Ancient Pages
Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - In North America, the tradition of constructing earthen mound structures dates back over 2,500 years, from around 1400 B.C.E. to approximately 1300 C.E. These mounds are found in a vast region stretching from Michigan down to Louisiana and vary in form from small conical shapes to large rectilinear platforms like those […]
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