Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca: Figure-making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors 9780915703487, 9781951519933, 0915703483
422 23 43MB
English Pages [360] Year 1998
Table of contents :
Contents
List of Tables
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction
The Early and Middle Formative Periods: 1800-500 b.c.
Village Ritual
Figurines
The Context of Oaxaca's Figurines
Other Rituals
Possible Contributions to Gender Studies
The Message of This Volume
Chapter 2. The Context of Women's Ritual Items during the Formative
Research Design
The Household: Archaeological Manifestations
Chapter 3. Women's Ritual: Insights from the Ethnohistoric Record
The Three Components of Ritual
The Role of Zapotec Women in Divination
Evidence for Water Divination in the Early Formative
The Involvement of Zapotec Women with Recent Ancestors
Chapter 4. Women's Ritual: Insights from the Ethnographic Record
Ancestor Ritual
The Concept of Facelessness
Geneonymy
Was There Such a Thing as "Ancestor Worship"?
"Recent" vs "Remote" Ancestors
Social Evolution and the Ancestors
Why Were Ancestors Not Shown as "Old"?
What Are We to Make of Animal Figurines?
Summary
Chapter 5. Formative Ancestor Ritual: A Framework Based on Both Zapotec Ethnohistory and World Ethnography
Whole Figurines in Burials
Figurines in Formative Burials from Outside the Valley of Oaxaca
Large Hollow White-slipped "Dolls"
Summary
Chapter 6. The Social Information in Figurine Hairstyles
Nahua (Aztec) Hairdos
Mixtec Hairdos
Zapotec Hairdos
Ethnohistoric and Ethnographic Hairstyles: A Summary
Some Common Terms Used for Formative Hairstyles
Chapter 7. The Origins of Figurine-making in the Mexican Highlands
The Earliest Figurine from the Valley of Oaxaca
Summary
Chapter 8. Chronological Change in Oaxaca's Formative Figurines
Previous Figurine Typologies
Prior Work on Valley of Oaxaca Figurines
Attributes of Tierras Largas Phase Figurines (1400-1150 b.c.)
Attributes of San José Phase Figurines (1150-850 b.c.)
Attributes of Guadalupe Phase Figurines (850-700 b.c.)
Attributes of Rosario Phase Figurines (700-500 b.c.)
Attributes of Monte Albán I Figurines (500-200 b.c.)
Chapter 9. The Tierras Largas Phase and the Spatial Separation of Men's and Women's Ritual
Figurines from Tierras Largas Phase Houses, Features, and Middens
San Jose Mogote, Area C
A Household in Area B San Jose Mogote
Households at the Tierras Largas Site
Tierras Largas Site, Feature 100
Chapter 10. An Introduction to San José Phase Figurines: Plácido's Midden
Plácido's Midden
Heads with Slit Eyes
Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Hair Parted in the Middle
Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Possible Hair Bun/Zulu Knot Poking Out above Cloth Wrap
Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Two Hair BunslZulu Knots Poking Out above Cloth Wrap
Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Wearing Turbans
Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Headbands or Cords Used to Hold Hair
Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Bangs, and Hair Tied in 1-2 Buns
Heads with Pinhole-Pupil Eyes, Three Holes Punched in Hair
Heads with Large Punched Pupils, Wearing Turbans
"Tonsured Caciques"
Costumed Figures with "Third Leg" Supports
"Hatchet-face" Figurines
Heads with Puffy Cheeks
"Singers" or "Chanters"
Unusual Figurines
Torsos from Slender, Non-Pregnant Women
Pregnant Torsos
Microtorsos
Seated Torsos
Stray Arms
Stray Legs
"House Dedication" Figurines
Animal Figurines
Large Hollow White-Slipped Dolls
Crude, Inexpertly Made Figurines
Pottery Masks
Chapter 11. Area C of San José Mogote: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Contexts
Eight Houses from Area C, San José Mogote
Two Middens from Area C
A Tertiary Context: The Area C Master Profile
Chapter 12. Area A of San José Mogote: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Contexts
Four Households from Area A
A Secondary Context: The Zone D Midden
A Low-Status Residence: House 13
Tertiary Contexts In Area A
The Earthen Fill of Structure 1
Comment on Structure 1 Fill
Cutting the Area A Profile
Chapter 13. Area B of San José Mogote: A Household with a Figurine Scene
House 17
House 16
Pottery Masks from House 16 Area
Feature 63
The Dooryard of Houses 16-17
Pits in Bedrock Below House 17
Comments on Houses 16-17 and the Lower Terrace
The Upper Terrace
Chapter 14. San José Phase Households at the Site of Tierras Largas
Household ESJ-1, Area B
Household LSI-I, Area A
Household Unit LSJ-2
Tertiary Contexts at the site of Tierras Largas
Chapter 15. San José Phase Proveniences at Huitzo, Abasolo, and Tomaltepec
Figurines from the Fill of Structure 4, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo
Figurines from the Fill of Structure 2, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo
Operation A of San Sebastián Abasolo
Area B of San Sebastián Abasolo
Santo Domingo Tomaltepec
The Tomaltepec Cemetery
Chapter 16. Guadalupe Phase Proveniences
Primary Contexts at San José Mogote
Tertiary Contexts at San José Mogote
Primary Contexts at Huitzo
Secondary Contexts at Huitzo
Tertiary Contexts at Huitzo
Household Unit G-3 at the Site of Tierras Largas
Guadalupe Phase Figurines from Miscellaneous Proveniences at Tierras Largas
Households and Middens at Fábrica San José
Figurines from San Sebastián Abasolo
Chapter 17. The Rosario Phase: Emerging Differences in Ritual between Elite and Low-Status Families
Changes in Ritual
Elite Households from San José Mogote
Rosario Phase Household Units from Fábrica San José
Secondary Contexts: Rosario Phase Middens at Fábrica San José
Tertiary Contexts at Fábrica San José
Disturbed Rosario Phase Household Units at San José Mogote
Tertiary Contexts at San José Mogote
A Tertiary Context at San Sebastián Abasolo
Chapter 18. Epilogue: Monte Albán I and Beyond
Changes in Ritual
Monte Albán I Figurines from San José Mogote
Late Monte Albán I Figurines and Ceramic Effigies from Santo Domingo Tomaltepec
Epilogue
Chapter 19. Women's Ritual: Summary and Conclusions
What was the role of women in Formative ritual?
Where did women conduct rites of divination?
What do the small solid figurines so common in the Formative period represent?
Who made the small solid figurines?
Why are so many of the small solid figurines female?
If the figurines are ancestors, why don't they look old?
Why were there also figurines of dogs and birds?
What about large hollow white-slipped dolls?
Why were there so many thousands of small solid figurines?
When figurines are discovered whole and intact, where are they?
Why are so many figurines broken - is it by accident or design?
Why are figurines made of fired clay, rather than other materials?
Why did figurine makers focus so much attention on hairstyles?
What can we tell from the ornaments on figurines?
What do different eye types mean?
When do we see the greatest diversity in figurines, and why?
Why do small solid figurines appear when they do, and disappear when they do, in the archaeological record?
What form should future studies of Formative women's ritual take?
Chapter 20. Resumen en Español, by María de los Angeles Romero Frizzi
References Cited
Index
