Editing Chacmool (section)

==Dating and origin==
The oldest chacmool ever discovered was the Terminal Classic. The form was unknown in such important Mesoamerican cities as [[Teotihuacan]] and [[Tikal]]. After the first appearance of the form, it was rapidly disseminated throughout Mesoamerica, spreading as far south as [[Costa Rica]].<ref name="Miller85p7"/> Although a central Mexican origin is generally assumed, there are no antecedents pre-dating the [[Toltec]]s and the form is not present in central Mexican [[Mesoamerican literature|codices]].<ref>Miller 1985, pp. 7–8.</ref>

The positioning and context of the chacmool form do have antecedents in Classic [[Ancient Maya art|Maya art]] and art historian [[Mary Miller (art historian)|Mary Ellen Miller]] has argued that the chacmool developed out of Classic period Maya imagery.<ref name="Miller85p8">Miller 1985, p. 8.</ref> No central Mexican chacmool has been found that clearly predates the Chichen Itza examples. However, Tula and Chichen Itza may have developed simultaneously with rapid communication of the chacmool form from one city to the other.<ref name="Miller85p14">Miller 1985, p. 14.</ref>

The wider variety of chacmool forms at Chichen Itza has also been used to support the development of the form there; no two possess identical form, dress and proportions. At Tula the chacmools have a standardised form with little variation in position or proportions.<ref name="Miller85p14"/> Miller has proposed that the chacmool developed out of Classic Maya iconography and underwent a transition into three dimensional sculpture at Chichen Itza, perhaps spurred by the influence of central Mexican sculptural forms.<ref name="Miller85p17"/> A chacmool from Costa Rica was dated by the excavators to approximately AD 1000.<ref name="Solano260212"/>