ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

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Gods in Real Places: Mesoamerica

Exploring how Mesoamerican deities were anchored to mountains, rivers, springs, and temples, showing the overlap of the spirit world with the physical landscape.

Chapters

0:07 Sacred Peaks
2:26 Waters of Life
4:48 Temples as Portals
5:57 Everyday Overlap

On-screen text

0:07 Sacred Peaks
0:22 Codex Mendoza: Popocatépetl = fire god Xiuhtecuhtli Historical record · Codex Mendoza
0:38 Who rests upon these peaks?
1:20 Altar of the 9 Lords shows cave entrance – rain god Tlaloc Historical record · Altar of the 9 Lords, National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico)
2:18 What binds these mountains?
2:26 Waters of Life
2:33 Chichén Itzá, Classic Maya, 10th century
3:03 How did they summon rain?
3:33 Sacred Cenote yielded thousands of offerings (Miller, 2005) Historical record · Archaeological study of Cenote Sagrado, 2005 (Miller)
4:02 Lake Atitlán, wind god Huracan (Kaminaljuyu inscription) Historical record · Mayan inscriptions at Kaminaljuyu
4:48 Temples as Portals
4:55 Temples as Portals
5:12 Stairway links Pakal to night god Historical record · Hieroglyphic Stairway, Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque
5:30 Bloodletting reenacts underworld descent The Institute's interpretation · C. L. Stevenson, "Maya Ritual and the Underworld" 2002
5:48 Stone bridges guide Tlaloc's spirit The Institute's interpretation · David Carrasco, "The Archaeology of Mesoamerican Religion" 1990
5:57 Everyday Overlap
6:04 Everyday Overlap
6:21 Copán ruler before mountain of Chaac Historical record · Stela 5, Copán (Altar Q)
6:39 Yaxchilán altar shows deity from mountain Historical record · Altar of the Mountain, Museo del Prado (Spain)
6:57 Tikal spring offerings to Ixchel Historical record · Excavation of Spring at Tikal, 2010 (López)

Sources

Historical record: Codex Mendoza · Excavation report, Teotihuacan, 1995 (UNAM) · Altar of the 9 Lords, National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico) · Archaeological study of Cenote Sagrado, 2005 (Miller) · Mayan inscriptions at Kaminaljuyu · Hieroglyphic Stairway, Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque · Stela 5, Copán (Altar Q) · Altar of the Mountain, Museo del Prado (Spain) · Excavation of Spring at Tikal, 2010 (López)

Tradition / scripture: Popol Vuh · Relación de Yucatán by Diego de Landa

The Institute's interpretation: C. L. Stevenson, "Maya Ritual and the Underworld" 2002 · David Carrasco, "The Archaeology of Mesoamerican Religion" 1990

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 88 s of CPU.

Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (3) — the next things to make

Night sky over the three sacred peaks, stars aligned with cardinal points, a faint aurora over the volcano.
Underwater view shows shimmering offerings settled on the cenote floor, illuminated by shafts of sunlight piercing the surface.
Archaeologists uncovering a spring shrine, 2010 dig.