The orientation of Jesuit churches in the Chiquitos missions of eastern Bolivia

TL;DR

This study investigates the orientations of Jesuit churches in Bolivia's Chiquitos missions, revealing many align with solar phenomena, suggesting a possible link to illumination effects and religious symbolism in Baroque architecture.

Contribution

First archaeoastronomical analysis of Chiquitos Jesuit churches, combining on-site measurements, satellite data, and cultural context to explore their orientations and possible astronomical significance.

Findings

Half of the churches show potential canonical solar alignments.

Three churches exhibit precise equinoctial orientations.

Many churches are aligned with solar phenomena, indicating possible symbolic or functional purposes.

Abstract

The Jesuit missions in South America were an important and unique advance in Christian evangelisation on the continent until the expulsion of the Order in 1767. Although the history and cultural aspects of these missions and their most iconic buildings have been extensively studied, the archaeoastronomy of the Guaran\'i peoples of the Province of Paraquaria (Province of Paraguay) has only been recently considered, with the existing studies focusing primarily on the orientation of their churches. The paper presented here, which is the first archaeoastronomical study of the Jesuit missions of Chiquitos in eastern Bolivia, is an attempt to continue and complement the previous archaeoastronomical studies of the region. The methodologies employed involved the analysis of the Jesuit churches that currently exist in this region, namely, the on-site measurements of the orientations of eight churches currently standing and the ruins of a ninth church of which only a free-standing bell tower and parts of the side walls remain preserved. The orientation measurements of a tenth church, which we were unable to visit, were determined via the use of satellite maps. The landscape surrounding these churches was then examined in detail and furthermore, a detailed cultural and historical study of the characteristics of the villages where the churches are located was carried out. Our results show that, unlike the churches of the Province of Paraquaria where meridian orientations in the north-south direction stand out, half of the studied churches have shown potential canonical orientations that seem to be aligned to solar phenomena, with three exhibiting precise equinoctial orientation. We propose reasons for these orientations, including the possible relevance of illumination effects on significant internal elements within the churches - effects that were generally sought in Baroque church architecture.