Encrypted astronomy, astral mythologies, and ancient Mexican studies in Austria, 1910-1945

Author(s)

Peter Rohrbacher

Abstract

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 postwar ancient Mexican studies in Austria.

Organisation(s)

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

External organisation(s)

Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW)

Journal

Revista de Antropologia

Volume

62

Pages

140-161

No. of pages

22

ISSN

1678-9857

DOI

https://doi.org/10.11606/2179-0892.ra.2019.157036

Publication date

04-2019

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

509017 Social studies of science

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Anthropology

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/65d5ba65-a618-4c39-8d42-f09a67ac93d2