Encrypted Astronomy, Astral Mythologies, and Ancient Mexican Studies in Austria, 1910-1945

Bibliographic Data

ID2298671
AuthorsPeter Rohrbacher (0000-0002-6945-222X, Austrian Academy of Sciences, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume62
Issue1
Publication date2019-04-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista de Antropologia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-7701 • E-ISSN: 1678-9857
PublisherUniversidade de Sao Paulo, Agencia USP de Gestao da Informacao Academica (AGUIA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.11606/2179-0892.ra.2019.157035
OpenAlexW2938946187
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited5

This paper examines the beginnings of Austrian studies on ancient Mexico by analyzing the work of Damian Kreichgauer and Friedrich Röck in the early twentieth century. Both argued that a priest elite intentionally 'coded' astronomical data in ancient Mexican manuscripts. The first section of the article sheds light on the theoretical background of this interpretation. The main section, based on numerous archival sources, is dedicated to the deciphering procedure elaborated by Röck, the first director of the Ethnological Museum in Vienna (today Weltmuseum Wien). Since Röck's method seemed to revolutionize the discipline, it gained a great deal of attention from German Nazi authorities. The final section deals with Röck's student Karl Anton Nowotny, who elaborated an ethnographic approach of ancient Mexican studies in Austria after World War II. This study provides new insights into the historical background of post-war ancient Mexican studies in Austria

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art history · Elite · Ethnography · German · Interpretation (philosophy · Mythology · Nazism · Political science · Politics · Section (typography · Classics · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Historical Studies in Science · History · Law · Philosophical and Historical Studies · Philosophy

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