LA CREACIÓN DE UN LUGAR EN EL ENTORNO CONSTRUIDO DE KOHUNLICH: ANÁLISIS E INTERPRETACIÓN INTEGRAL DEL TEMPLO DE LOS MASCARONES

Abstract

The present work focuses on the Temple of the Masks of Kohunlich, with the aim of studying it in an integral way and interpreting it from its sculptural program and its condition of funerary precint. The analysis demonstrate that the images focus on representing the process of solar apotheosis of a ruler and that the entire scene interacts with the connotations of context and environment to create a broader sense. This interaction is taken as a mechanism for the creation of a place with a specific meaning within the built environment. A deeper exploration of the social meaning of this place reveals the possible functions it had in the local political discourse and the sacred character of the buried ruler, thus converted into a relevant ancestor for the royal lineage of the site.