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Teotihuacan Notes:Internet Journal for Teotihuacan Archaeology and Iconography |
Saburo Sugiyama
Debra Nagao
An advanced seminar called "Teotihuacan Archaeology and Iconography"was
organized by the authors as a long workshop of the Maya Meetings at the University of
Texas, Austin, from March 10 to 15, 1997. The papers included in the first electronic
publication "Images and Symbols in Social Contexts at Teotihuacan" were
originally presented at this workshop and were developed through discussions held among
the participants. In this proceedings of the workshop, attempts have been made to describe
motivations and the process of interaction that took place during the seminar, while
providing a brief summary of the topics of the papers.
Motivations and ends
We believe that the workshop has been stimulated fundamentally by recent archaeological
research and iconographic studies indicating that intensive discussion among
closely-related scholars from different disciplines can be productive for a
better-understanding of Teotihuacan society. The following are the points that were
distributed among the participants to keep in mind during the session.
The unprecedented intensive fieldwork of the last 15 years: Teotihuacan archaeology has
recently amassed a vast amount of excavation materials,which at least quantitatively
represents much more than the entire corpus that was available from the entire preceding
century of research predating 1980. This recent work includes INAH excavations in 1980-82
directed by Ruben Cabrera (Cabrera et al. 1982a, 1982b, 1991), the Tlajinga 33 excavation
by William Sanders' group (Storey 1992), the Feathered Serpent Pyramid project
sponsored by INAH and ASU (Cabrera, Sugiyama, Cowgill 1991), the Mexican government's
extensive projects of the 1990s at the Sun Pyramid and other compounds under the direction
of Eduardo Matos (1994, 1995), UNAM's expeditions at Oztoyahualco and in the caves near
the Sun Pyramid directed by Linda Manzanilla (1993), a series of large scale salvage
projects including those at La Ventilla excavated by R. Cabrera and others, the Oaxaca
Barrio excavation by Michael Spence (1992), and the Merchant Barrio by Evelyn Rattray
(1990), among the major operations. As the excavated area has grown rapidly,iconographers
have also taken advantage of the new discoveries of murals,art objects, and other kinds of
data for esthetic, anthropological, and historical studies (de la Frente 1996). These
developments have produced a tremendous amount of materials requiring analysis and have
highlighted the need for the publication of reports. Although the number of
Teotihuacan-related articles and books published during the last decade has increased
noticeably, even more should be available in the future. Most importantly, intensive
interdisciplinary discussion from diverse perspectives seem relatively scarce (See for
exceptions, Berrin 1988; Berrin and Pasztory 1993; Berlo 1992). An evaluation of
theoretical frameworks integrating these new data and studies are urgently needed to
orient and guide further discussion.
Individuality and the social orientation of Teotihuacan arts: One of the outcomes of
recent research is that individuals and social organizations are now more visible than we
could ever before imagine. For example, recently published osteological analyses as well
as mortuary studies based on extensive collections and data, physically display the
ancient Teotihuacanos and their socio-cultural traits (Sempowski and Spence 1994).
Extensive excavation of residential areas and public spaces provide abundant references to
the daily life of resident sand state administrative activities, including those of ruling
groups. One of the implications of this research is that murals and objects with
iconographic elements found in specific places of the city may reflect, more explicitly
than we thought before, individuals, social sectors, and social histories in ways not
well-understood to date. The discoveries thus allow us to reconsider what has been labeled
mythological, enigmatic, abstract, anonymous, or a historical Teotihuacan imagery from
different perspectives.
Militarism reflected in arts: The issue has already been raised by Rene Millon (1981) who
has stressed that since its inception, Teotihuacan had a strong military sector. Clara
Millon (1973) and others offer iconographic support for this notion. Furthermore, the
Feathered Serpent Pyramid project provided ample evidence of early militarism at
Teotihuacan (Cabrera, Sugiyama, Cowgill 1991). More than 200 people with soldiers' gear
were very probably sacrificed and buried in a dedicatory act in honor of the Feathered
Serpent. This mortuary program took place around 200 AD, when the construction of colossal
monuments at Teotihuacan was reaching an end. A major implication of this discovery is
that sacrifice and martial themes were clearly major concerns in Teotihuacan ideology
since early times. Many images not traditionally identified as martial in content should
be reconsidered in light of this perspective. Iconographically, new data supporting this
idea are found in murals from the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum of the Fine Art Museums of
San Francisco (C. Millon 1988a, 1988b). This development allows us to explore the meaning
of previously enigmatic representations and symbols within militaristic social contexts.
Official State Symbols of Authority: Among the issues raised by recent research, the
polity of the Teotihuacan state (Millon 1992; Sugiyama 1992) has become one of the focuses
of concern for Mesoamerican scholars. Millon's proposal (1988) that the state was led by
charismatic despotic rulers in its early periods has been a particular subject of debate.
Another theory regarding the polity put forth by Millon and others that in later periods
the state administration shifted to collective or corporate political forms (Pasztory
1992) is also still debatable in the light of recent data analyses. This argument rests
on, among others,the so-called mythological, anonymous or historical nature of its
art,without any clear images of rulers, especially from the later periods of Teotihuacan.
The absence of a well-developed writing system, which was used in other contemporaneous
Mesoamerican societies to record histories of royal dynasties, also has made Teotihuacan
seem different from other coeval ruler-centered polities. We do not expect to find the
answers in art objects of course,however, we may be able to read enigmatic iconography by
more systematically seeking relations between the polity and individuals or social
entities as part of political programs designed to communicate messages related to social
control and political authority. Symbols of ruler ship in particular were probably encoded
in still unrecognized ways. Implicit in this discussion of state symbols is the issue of
state control of artifact production and imagery. Furthermore, the question, to what
extent were different artifact classes programmed to communicate the same or different
message(s), is also to be discussed.
Presentations and discussions
With these underlying motivations, the participants presented relevant themes with
materials that they study as part of long-term research projects. At the workshop,
presentations were followed by discussions. Full-time participants included Warren T. D.
Barbour, Katherine Biddle Austin, John Carlson, Alec Christiansen, Cynthia Conides,
Destiny Crider, Charlene Garing, Luz Helena Indrikis, Geoffrey Johnson, Alfredo López
Austin, Leonardo López Lujan, Debra Nagao, Edith Ortiz, Jo Ann Roman Brisko, and Saburo
Sugiyama. Rubén Cabrera C. sent his paper to be read in the seminar. A brief summary of
the papers follows in the order of presentations. Discussion following each summary is not
exhaustive by no means, and each title is linked to the corresponding page published in
this volume.
John Carlson
Title: Astroarchaeology of Xochitecatl- Cacaxtla
As we were sitting in Epiclassic session at the Texas Meetings before we start our
Teotihuacan session, Carlson, who is interested in the transition between Teotihuacan and
epiclassic sites, gave a talk about an epiclassic site informative to Teotihuacan studies.
Mountains have a long history of veneration in Mesoamerica in both male and female form.
Carlson presented evidence that the ancient inhabitants of Xochitecatl and Cacaxtla
worshipped the Malinche, based on the alignment of the Pyramid of the Flowers at
Xochitecatl, Building A at Cacaxtla, and the Malinche, where a crater popularly referred
to by local inhabitants as Tlalocan contains remains of ceramic vessels and offerings. He
identified March 12 (in honor of San Gregorio, a popular name for volcanoes) and September
28-29 (the date of the festival in honor of San Miguel del Milagro, the town closest to
these two sites) as the critical dates when the sun may be seen rising directly over the
Malinche, commonly perceived as a female mountain.
Debra Nagao
Title: Teotihuacan Impact on Mesoamerica Through Time
As a general introduction and another transition between the Epiclassic and Teotihuacan
sessions, Debra Nagao surveyed some elements that seem to originate at Teotihuacan and
that have continue to resonate after the fall of the metropolis. The Old Fire God
(Huehueteotl) brazier, the Storm God (Tlaloc) vessel, and the Reptile's Eye glyph were
selected as examples of themes or actual artifacts that seem to be codified at
Teotihuacan, however, their trajectories after the fall of the site differ. The
Huehueteotl brazier and the Tlaloc vessel continue into the Epiclassic, the Early
Postclassic,and even into the Late Postclassic, reflecting perhaps a process of continuity
of beliefs and even elaboration or increasing complexity of significance through time. The
Reptile's Eye glyph did not share the same longevity,but rather proliferates in the
Epiclassic, only to die out in the Early Postclassic. More questions than answers were
posited to stimulate discussion. Why did certain elements continue and other die out? Can
we learn more about Teotihuacan meanings by looking at post-Teotihuacan examples?
Discussion: Carlson mentioned that David Stuart has identified what he believes is the
Reptile's Eye glyph in Maya inscriptions and has interpreted it as a sign for place of
reeds and rushes, in other words, Tollan. However, the form of this Maya Reptile's Eye
glyph looks sufficiently different from Teotihuacan and Epiclassic examples that it is
possible that it might be a different glyph. T. King identified the material held in a
Tlaloc vessel from Xochicalco as cacao.
Leonardo López Luján
Title: The 9-Xi Vase: a Classic Thin Orange Vessel found at Tenochtitlan
López recently excavated the House of the Eagles, the complex directly north of the Templo Mayor. There he found an
offering containing burned materials and three unusual vessels: a Late Postclassic
polychrome vessel possibly from Chalco; an Early Postclassic imitation plumbate jar
depicting an old bearded face; and a large Thin-Orange tripod vessel from Teotihuacan.
Based on high concentrations of rubidium and thorium with quartzite particles, the vessel
is true Thin-Orange, he argues. It has been dubbed the "9-Xi Vase" based on the
unusual and complex iconography of its stamped design.A frontal deity commonly known from
theater-type censer imagery wears an elaborate headdress with manta compounds, Reptile's
Eye glyphs, a butterfly nose plug, double round earplugs, and holds shields. At the bottom
is a feathered eye glyph in a three-sided cartouche crowned by a trapeze-and-ray sign with
a trilobe blood droplet sign, flanked by five-mountain (rather than three-mountain) signs.
Unusual features include the frame containing beads and perhaps bean or maize seeds
surrounding the entire composition, as well as the glyph at top center identified as 9-Xi
and the one at bottom center designated 11-Glyph A (based on Alfonso Caso's classification
of post-Teotihuacan glyphs). The significance of these glyphs with numerical coefficients
is not clear, although what is interesting is that they do not appear in Teotihuacan
iconography, but rather during the Epiclassic at sites such as Xochicalco. López suggests
the vessel dates to the Late Metepec phase.
Discussion: Conides commented on the unusual complexity of the image within the corpus of
Teotihuacan tripod vessels, as well as the large size of the vessel. She added she has
never seen this type of vessel with date glyphs. Barbour asked whether it could have come
from a site other than Teotihuacan, by pointing out that Vaillant identified
post-Teotihuacan material at Ahuexotla. He also added that Thin-Orange production
continued after the fall of Teotihuacan into the Oxtoticpac phase. He suggested perhaps
molds were found and this piece could be the result of later re-use of molds, because it
compares with one or two possible Epiclassic pieces that he has seen. Ortiz asked about
the use of two different numbering systems side by side (bar and dot and purely dots),
because Javier Urcid suggests that the use of both systems together is highly unusual and
may correspond to a specific time period, perhaps the Epiclassic, based on dates from
Temazcalapa in the Sierra de Juarez, Oaxaca. Sugiyama commented on the aptness of the
military iconography of the vessel, which was then used by the Mexica in an offering in a
military context, suggesting clear understanding of the content. He commented that the
part of the image inside the window or frame conforms completely with known Teotihuacan
images, but that the structure and border are unlike Teotihuacan and may thus be very
late, perhaps Epiclassic. Carlson commented on the possible identification of bar and dot
numbers by Caso in the Teopancaxco murals, and went on to question the identification of
the butterfly nose plug. Conides pointed out a nose plug from Tetitla that truly looks
like a butterfly. Sugiyama responded that it was not really a butterfly, but rather looks
more like a talud-tablero because of a horizontal line between sections in some cases.
Edith Ortiz
Title:
Cult and Activity Areas in a Domestic Context at Oztoyohualco
Identifying cult activity at Teotihuacan is a difficult task. Ortiz discussed her
excavations at Oztoyohualco, a domestic compound to the northwest of Teotihuacan, to
characterize evidence for Teotihuacan domestic ritual activity. Three patios were
identified as related to cult based on materials found there. Among the finds were a small
stone talud-tablero architectural base with a small rabbit sculpture, monkey or bat
brazier fragments, a Huehueteotl headdress fragment, and a large number of child burials
covered with lids bearing three lugs and sometimes a stamped design. She also showed
incense burners and stamps (sellos) found during excavations, as well as figurine heads
with highly individualistic profiles and features ("portrait figurines"),
perhaps representing important people such as elders in the compound. There seems to have
been a hierarchy of deities: those associated with the state cult included Tlaloc and
other gods, while in domestic contexts, there may have been greater emphasis on deities
related to lineages.
Discussion: W. Barbour recalled that Florencia Muller had suggested "portrait
figurines" may originally have held a spear and shield, due to the standardization in
stance and hand position characteristic of these figurines. A. López Austin contrasted
this hand position with that used in Huehueteotl sculptures, signifying universal
oppositions of left and right, male/female, etc. He also questioned the evidence of use of
hemispherical stones bearing three volutes found at Oztoyohualco, and Ortiz cited deep
cutting marks on the stone's surface, but the function or purpose of these stones remains
unclear. Sugiyama stressed that in spite of significant cult difference in residences from
the state religion, martial aspects and warship to warriors were indicated in domestic
contexts.
Saburo Sugiyama
Title: Archaeology
and Iconography of Theater-type Censers: Official Military Emblems from the Ciudadela?
Attached to the northwestern corner of the outer wall of the Ciudadela, a censer workshop
with more than 20,000 pieces of moldes and applications was excavated in 1980-82. Sugiyama
examined its relationship to the Ciudadela as well as to the military iconography
expressed in the Feathered Serpent Pyramid. The abundant and complex foundation offerings
placed in and around the Feathered Serpent Pyramid amply attest to the importance of human
sacrifice in early Teotihuacan society in which a large number of the victims were
accompanied by artifacts clearly identifying them as soldiers or warriors. Of particular
importance among the offerings were lapidary nose plugs in butterfly or rattle form
(Oralia Cabrera's interpretation), which also appear as the central focus of murals. The
central burial at the Pyramid of the Feathered serpent is believed to be paralleled by
representations of scattering rituals in mural painting, as well as with Maya scattering
dedicatory rituals. Although there is evidence of destruction and looting at the Pyramid
of the Feathered Serpent as early as the fourth century A.D., the Ciudadela continued to
be used until theMetepec phase. The Pyramid was partially covered by the Plataforma
Adosada, but looting in the tunnel apparently continued to the last phases of the site.
The censer workshop apparently began production after the pyramid construction and
continued in use through this changing phases until the time of abandonment of the
Ciudadela. The censer workshop was closed off with a thick wall about 4-5 meters in
height, but there was direct access to the Ciudadela by way of two staircases. As censer
fragments, plaques and molds were also found in the Palace area inside the Ciudadela,
censer production centering at this workshop is believed to have been an activity strongly
controlled by the state. Wide range of iconographic elements used for censer complex
indicates a continuity of military symbolism originated at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid.
Discoveries of Teotihuacan-type censers also support the idea that the production and
distribution of the objects, perhaps functioned as military emblems, were most likely
controlled by the state.
Discussion: Conides asked about the function of censers and whether they are associated
with burial contexts. Although the function is not really known, Sugiyama believes they
had a ritual function with strong warrior connotations and have often been associated with
graves, as the case in Oztoyahualco. Conides pointed to the customized aspect of the
censer form and posited that other statuses or categories other than military ones may
have been involved. Barbour asked whether there was evidence that the molds were made in
this workshop as well, and questioned whether the state controlled both manufacture and
distribution, or just distribution. Sugiyama said that excavation contexts did not provide
information relevant to the questions, although the manufacturing process was clearly
evidenced, as the thesis of Carlos Múnera (1985) for ENAH describes. A. Chapman asked
about the nature of water associations, and whether censers had been found in watery
contexts such as the Teotihuacan style censers from Lake Amatitlan or whether the symbols
serve more to mark a context. Sugiyama spoke of associated water sign suggesting under
world symbolism, although any censer, he believes, has not been found in watery contexts
at Teotihuacan. Conides pointed out that water associated with warriors does not appear
overtly represented on pots, so the symbolism may have something to do with the specific
function of the objects involved and may be context specific depending on the actual
performance of individuals. A. López Austin cautioned against the rigid conceptual
separation of activities, especially when we have ample Aztec evidence of overlapping
relationships between warriors, pregnant women, and the sun, for example. Barbour
commented that the use of the term "military" is more appropriate than the term
warfare in discussion of Teotihuacan imagery, and suggested that the incense burner was
perhaps related to military solidarity.
Cynthia Conides
Title: New Interpretations of Pictorial Themes on Teotihuacan Stuccoed and Painted
Ceramics
Among the most fragile of Teotihuacan remains, stuccoed and painted ceramics present
particular problems to researchers, who must often rely on reconstructions due to poor
states of preservation. Conides studied a corpus of 145 stuccoed and painted wares in
which no two vessels are identical. Although it is often assumed that mural painters were
the same artists who painted pots, stuccoed and painted wares are closer to carved
plano-relief vessels than to mural painting. Conides emphasized that imagery in these
vessels becomes more standardized through time, a process paralleled by figurine
development. She also stressed the role of these objects as portable, personalized and
customized works of art for ritual use, as opposed to artifacts made primarily for burial.
Major themes discussed were butterfly imagery and scenes of emergence or passage. The
butterfly complex at Teotihuacan is not common in murals, but is an important subject in
painted vessels in the form of individual creatures as well as insignia probably
indicating rank or status groups. A number of scenes on painted pots may record specific
ritual performances or may refer to particular social institutions. Emergence or passage
iconography is often associated with butterfly imagery. This complex refers to images
showing animals, objects, or people emerging from a rectangular frame suggesting doorways
or portals, while semicircular enclosures are often identified as mirrors, in which
movement is implied by the subtle overlapping of figure and frame. Round enclosures are
often situated in watery bands, as if representing pools of water disturbed by deities
emerging from or passing through concentric rings suggesting ripples in the water.
Emergence or passage iconography is interpreted as depicting narrative events.
Discussion: L. López asked what could be narrated in these vessels. Conides
proposed some perhaps depict myths, legends, histories, ritual re-enactments,
divination and ritual specialists. Barbour cited a Sahagún myth describing men
riding birds to the sun as one possible theme depicted in painted pottery. A.
Chapman suggested that the idea of ritual performances brings up the issue of
shamanic transformation in which shamanic flight may be represented by bird
imagery or by fish when water is the medium. He mentioned David Lewis Williams'
work identifying two main patterns perceived in altered states of consciousness
as wavy and spiky lines, supporting the notion of ritual performance. Carlson
commented on the bird and butterfly overlap in divination, mentioning that volatiles
included not only birds, but also a butterfly. Carlson stated that the founder
of the Copan dynasty (Yax Kuk Mo) shown on the "Dazzler vessel" seems
to share the same iconography as one of the painted vessels showing a torch
bundle with flames and shield. Sugiyama pointed to the difficulty of identifying
historical figures, based on the Mesoamerican tradition of deities appearing
as humans, sometimes identified as a king although actually a deity, such as
in legends on the arrival of Huitzilopochtli. Carlson acknowledged the pervasiveness
of the belief that costume elements imbue the wearer with the sacred quality
of the supernatural.
Warren T. D. Barbour
Title: More Human and Divine: Understanding the Changing Roles of Figurines in Teotihuacan
Society
The ancient inhabitants of Teotihuacan had specific ideas about gender and representation
which are reflected in figurines. Although figurine traditions, particularly from the
Formative Period, focus on female figures, the Teotihuacan corpus breaks down to about
half male and half female. Although their functionis not well understood, Barbour believes
that Teotihuacanos used figurines for quotidian purposes, because less than .01% have been
found in burials. Many figurines probably represent certain statuses or social groups
withinTeotihuacan society, such as eagle and jaguar knights. Female figurines are
identified as those with a cleft in the head, broad (vs. elongated) heads, and
three-strand necklaces, while males tend to have narrower, more rectangular-shaped heads
and wear four-strand collars. When Teotihuacan figurines are found abroad, almost all are
male and warriors. Barbour offered a chronological overview of the development of
Teotihuacan figurine tradition. With the collapse of the city, portrait and puppet types
of figurines disappear,while half-conicals continue. He noted that with the fall of the
city, figurines related to people's relationship with the state disappear, while those
reflecting society's relation to a pantheon continue. Most figurines were represented
without clothing, because they were probably dressed with perishable costumes. Whenever
dress items were depicted, they were always raised above the body and not incised. He
pointed out a curious feature that late figurine headdresses have closer analogies to the
southern Maya region, where headdress types such as the bulbous headdress and the cotton
headdress occur earlier than at Teotihuacan, which implies that there is a problem with
the chronology or else a number of Teotihuacan elements may have developed in the Maya
area. The last section surveyed different types of so-called "host" figurines.
He suggested that the distribution of small figures within host figurines may have been a
metaphor for segments of Teotihuacan society, in which the human body served as a metaphor
for the organization of human society moving from the center outward in a way that could
be applied to the physical landscape at Teotihuacan and conceived of in terms of the
spatial organization of the city as a whole.
Discussion: Carlson asked whether the a pochteca group may have been represented
inside the host figurines. Barbour suggested that military-trader groups do
seem to be represented inside host figurines. Many wear the same helmets shown
on stelae in the Maya area and worn by identifiable individuals, supporting
the idea that most Teotihuacan figurines probably represent the city's inhabitants,
although some do depict deities or else are intentionally ambiguous. L.López
Lujan brought up the Mexica notion of the tlatoani as representing the head
of the eagle, while the commoners were envisioned as the wings and tail.
Destiny Crider
Title: Teotihuacan Ceramic Stamps from a Private Collection: What Were They for?
Pre-Hispanic stamps have received little attention to date. Crider catalogued and studied
a group of stamps (sellos) from a private collection in Kansas. The collection was formed
largely in the 1940s and 1950s by a veterinarian who lived and traveled in Mexico. The
literature suggests that stamps flourished in the Formative and Classic periods,
disappeared in the Epiclassic, and grew again in importance in the Postclassic. Materials
came from different sites or regions--Teotihuacan, Xico, Veracruz, Morelos, the state of
Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica--as well as different periods--particularly
Classic and Postclassic. There were many different forms of stamps: rectangular, round,
with curved contours, flat, some with very deep relief, and eventhree-dimensional, but
they all have handles on the back. Regarding possible functions, some stamps seem to bear
traces of pigment, so some stamps mayhave been used for textile or body painting, in
fertility rites, in record keeping perhaps connected with trade, for personal
identification, to decorate ceramics, to emboss other materials, to decorate figurines, to
stamp paper to be used in fertility rituals, or to be used to make offerings of cakes or
breads for the gods. Of the small number reported from excavated contexts, they seem to
appear in middens or trash fill. Classic Period Teotihuacan stamps have tiny,
regular-shaped nubbin handles. Teotihuacan stamps included stepped frets, intertwined
flowers, monkeys, lizards, rabbits, star medallions, Reptile's Eyes, butterflies, birds,
rain god emblems (three dots, curled upper lip), feathered serpents, and round face
medallions.
Discussion: Barbour pointed out that Oxtoticpac (post-Teotihuacan) figurines often had
heads on a post to tenon the head into a hand made body and wondered whether some objects
identified as stamps could have been molds for something other than stamps. One fragment
also showed teeth, which Barbour pointed out along with t-shaped dental mutilation in the
Late Metepec-Oxtoticpac period. Sugiyama asked whether some of them could have served as
shields for portrait type figurines. Barbour and Crider agreed they could have. Carlson
suggested the stepped fret motif may be related to Pueblo cloud and lightning symbolism,
supported by a phonetic reading made by several Mayanists. Barbour suggested a number of
these may represent cave-temple motifs. Carlson asked Sugiyama whether any stamps were
found in the censer workshop, but it appears that none were identified as stamps. Nagao
asked whether the Xico stamps were Classic or Epiclassic. Crider stated that there is no
clear sense of dating, but that Geoffrey McCafferty has not found stamps in the Cholula
material so far. Barbour questioned the manufacturing techniques for stamps. Crider
responded that it often seems to be a mixture of handmade and possibly mold made parts,
but that it is difficult to tell. Carlson asked about evidence of use wear. Crider says
that most were broken at the base of the handle or in half. Because most stamps seem to
come from surface finds, they tend to be in generally deteriorated condition with little
sense of use wear. Sugiyama pointed to similarities with material from the censer workshop
that are clearly not stamps, but Crider maintained that all pieces shown here are clearly
stamps because they all have standardized handles within a certain range of size and
shape. Barbour and Conides asked whether some of the pieces may have been made to be
attached to something else, such as the round face medallions appliqued to vessels. Ortíz
noted that at Oztoyohualco stamps were found in an archaeological context with seeds,
supporting the idea that they may have been used to prepare seedcakes, reminiscent of the
Aztec practice of making amaranth dough figures.
Ruben Cabrera C.
Title: Cerámicas Teotihuacanas con Motivos
Iconográficos
A discussion was conducted based on slides, drawings, and brief descriptions of
iconographically rich ceramics from recent excavations at Teotihuacan and sent by Ruben
Cabrera. Among five ceramic vessels we discussed, particular attentions were paid to Maya
type ceramics clearly with Maya iconography. Timothy King identified a proto-ahau glyph
over the eye of a creature repeated on a vessel with two carved rectangular panels. T.
King pointed to parallels with the representation of the Jester God in a tomb at Rio Azul
where phonetic elements are slipped into the head of the god, so it could be read
"a-ahau"and it could be a personified day sign. The phonetic elements could have
been added to reconfirm the image as a complement or as a play or visual pun. Carlson
agrees that it seems to represent four ahau. Barbour asked about the date for the use of
the proto-ahau glyph. Alfonso Lacadena concurred that the vessel fits in with the first
half of the Early Classic Maya style and that it does seem to be an early version of the
ahau glyph with Early Classic folliage. He added that the style of the vessel has closest
parallels with the sculptural style of Abaj Takalik and the Guatemala highlands probably
dating before 300 A.D. When asked whether it is likely that a calendrical date is
represented, Lacadena expressed doubt given that he is unaware of any examples prior to
9.10.0.0.0 (ca. 633) using an ahau ending as a calendrical date not even at Copan. Another
vessel with a complex incised image of deity heads and serpents was also described by T.
King as a world tree motif with two branches coming off the tree ending in serpent heads.
Many of the particular features of the style, such as the nose ornaments, are particularly
reminiscent of the Leyden Plaque. The concept of a tree coming up from a crack in askull
is a fairly common theme in Classic period Maya ceramics. Carlson suggests that this
vessel is an early version of the same scene represented on Pacal's sarcophagus lid. A.
Lacadena also compared it to Early Classic,4th century Abaj Takalik and the Guatemala
Highlands. Unfortunately we don't have many examples of the Early Classic Maya style for
comparison. T. King noted that red boas have identical serpent markings, which in later
Maya ceramics are identified as the akbal glyph.
Concluding remarks
The summaries were described to provide an idea about contents that each author publish
comprehensively in this Teotihuacan Note I. We hope the discussions following the
presentations, a part of which were briefly noted above, stimulated thought of authors and
participants and will be reflected in their publications and future studies. Although the
topics arisen were of wide range, we believe that the discussions on certain topics were
fruitful as we were able to pursue them through several papers with different data sets,
and more or less anonymously agreed upon certain propositions among participants.
Particularly, more visibility of individuals, social groups, often with militaristic
characters in Teotihuacan arts were among aspects we coherently conceived as a major
concern of Teotihuacanos.
We link corresponding pages in this Note publication by subjects, so that the volume can
provide cohesive conclusions together. We also hope to promote the exchange of opinions
and comments among scholars and students through this electronic publication.
Particularly, papers with new iconographic data may trigger further discussions among
various types of experts; please feed back some comments directly to authors, or to us to
publish as comments or a paper in the following volume. This paper was written in search
for a new approach of understanding Mesoamerican culture and histories through intensive,
colaborative work that we need .
Acknowledgments
We are deeply thankful to all participants of the long workshop, "Teotihuacan Archaeology and Iconography" during the XXIst Maya Meetings at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997. We are also very grateful to the organizers of this event, particularly to Linda Schele and Peter Keeler, for their continuous encouragement and support.
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