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ANTHROPOLOGY

Early Mesoamerican monumentality

Monumental architecture is fundamental for understanding ancient complex societies as it is the result of coordinated projects that frame political and ceremonial activity1. A new study documents hundreds of architectural centres in Mexico, revealing monumental architecture at a scale unimaginable even a decade ago2.

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Fig. 1: Mesoamerican monumental sculpture.

Adalberto Rios Szalay/Sexto Sol/Photodisc/Getty

References

  1. Burger, R. & Rosenswig, R. M. Early New World Monumentality (Univ. Press Florida, 2012).

  2. Inomata, T. et al. Nat. Hum. Behav., https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01218-1 (2021).

  3. Pool, C. Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).

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Correspondence to Robert M. Rosenswig.

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Rosenswig, R.M. Early Mesoamerican monumentality. Nat Hum Behav 5, 1469–1470 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01219-0

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