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203:, four of the heads and three of the bodies were found to have magnetic properties. All four of the heads have a north magnetic pole located in their right temples, while three of them have south magnetic poles below the right ear and the fourth (that in front of the museum) has a south magnetic pole in its left temple. Such a pattern of occurrence is unlikely to be a matter of chance, even in a sample size as small as four.
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Two general styles of sculpture are found at the Monte Alto site, one representing a human head, and the other, a human body. Since both the heads and the bodies are rather crudely shaped from large, rounded basaltic boulders, the subjects have a decidedly corpulent appearance. Because they seem to
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are magnetic as well. Since certain distinctive patterns of magnetism recur with some frequency, it would appear that the sculptures were executed by artisans who were aware of these properties. If this is true, the Monte Alto sculptures no doubt deserve recognition as the oldest known magnetic
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Popenoe De Hatch, Marion 1989 A seriation of Monte Alto sculptures In New
Frontiers in the Archaeology of the Pacific Coast of Southern Mesoamerica. Frederick Bove and Lynette Heller, eds. pp. 25–42 Anthropological Research Papers, 39 Arizona State University, Tempe
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According to Marion
Popenoe de Hatch, Eta Draconis shows unusual stability, and, that from 1800 B.C. to A.D. 500, the annual date of its meridian midnight transit varied less than one day. She has shown that alignments of certain monuments at
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Parsons, Lee A. 1976 Excavation of Monte Alto, Escuintla, Guatemala In
Research Reports: Abstracts and Reviews of Research during the Year 1968. pp. 325–332 National Geographic Society, Washington, DC
77:, Monte Alto was occupied as early as 1800 BC, but has a fairly light presence – less than either El Bálsamo or Los Cerritos Sur located about 10 km west and east of Monte Alto respectively. During the
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on
December 21. The sun rose over the central stela on February 19: February 19 at midnight marked the eastern elongation of the
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were recorded at Monte Alto and one alignment of three large plain stelae erected in a north–south line could have served
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The site has 45 major structures, the tallest being a 20 m high pyramid. The Monte Alto
Culture is one of the oldest in
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Although Monte Alto is noted for its sculptures (heads and potbellies), more than a dozen tabular shaped stone
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occupation but it is largely localized at
Structure 6, a large platform located well to the northeast.
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Of the collection of "potbellies" sculptures from Monte Alto on display in the town park of
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purposes as a means for recording days and the position of the sun for
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Museo
Regional de ArqueologĂa de la Democracia, Escuintla
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Pre-Columbian
Magnetic Sculptures in Western Guatemala
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1999 Dumbarton Oaks
Research Library and Collection
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39:Monte Alto
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179:Magnetism
123:" in the
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329:1997 p42
271:Archived
243:See also
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153:pyramid
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57:History
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