Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca: Figure-making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors 9780915703487, 9781951519933

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

Citation preview

latilopeyo (cloth head wrap)

laoni (eye)

toopexono (braid) pigaa (string of beads)

naa peega (left hand)

lace nijani (lower leg)

quela qulti (hide sandal) J. KlAU~MEYE.R

Frontispiece . A generic figurine of a standing woman. combining attributes of the San Jose and Guadalupe phases. The components are labeled in sixteenth-century Valley Zapotec. (Painting by John Klausmeyer)

PREHISTORY AND HUMAN ECOLOGY OF THE VALLEY OF OAXACA Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus General Editors Volume 1

Volume 2 Volume 3

Volume 4 Volume 5

Volume 6

Volume 7

Volume 8

Volume 9 Volume 10

Volume 11

The Use of Land and Water Resources in the Past and Present Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Anne V. T. Kirkby. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 5. 1973. Sociopolitical Aspects of Canal Irrigation in the Valley of Oaxaca, by Susan H. Lees. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No.6. 1973. Formative Mesoamerican Exchange Networks with Special Reference to the Valley of Oaxaca, by Jane W. Pires-Ferreira. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No.7. 1975. Fdbrica San Jose and Middle Formative Society in the Valley of Oaxaca, by Robert D. Drennan. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 8. 1976. Part 1. The Vegetational History of the Oaxaca Valley, by C. Earle Smith, Jr. Part 2. Zapotec Plant Knowledge: Classification, Uses and Communication about Plants in Mitla, Oaxaca, Mexico, by Ellen Messer. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 10. 1978. Excavations at Santo Domingo Tomaltepec: Evolution of a Formative Community in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Michael E. Whalen. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 12. 1981. Monte Alban's Hinterland, Part I: The Prehispanic Settlement Patterns of the Central and Southern Parts of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Richard E. Blanton, Stephen Kowalewski, Gary Feinman, and Jill Appel. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 15. 1982. Chipped Stone Tools in Formative Oaxaca, Mexico: Their Procurement, Production and Use, by William J. Parry. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 20. 1987. Agricultural Intensification and Prehistoric Health in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Denise C. Hodges. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 22. 1989. Early Formative Pottery of the Valley of Oaxaca, by Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus, with technical ceramic analysis by William 0. Payne. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 27. 1994. Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca: Figurine-making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors, by Joyce Marcus. Memoirs of the Musuem of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 33. 1998.

Related Volumes Flannery, Kent V. 1986 Guild Naquitz: Archaic Foraging and Early Agriculture in Oaxaca, Mexico. New York: Academic Press. Marcus, Joyce and Kent V. Flannery 1996 Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico's Oaxaca Valley. London: Thames and Hudson.

Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology University of Michigan Number33

Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus General Editors Volume 11

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca Figurine-making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors

Joyce Marcus

Ann Arbor 1998

©1998 by the Regents of the University of Michigan The Museum of Anthropology All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-0-915703-48-7 (paper) ISBN 978-1-951519-93-3 (ebook) Cover design by Katherine Clahassey and John Klausmeyer The University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology currently publishes three monograph series: Anthropological Papers, Memoirs, and Technical Reports, as well as an electronic series in CD-ROM form. For a complete catalog, write to Museum of Anthropology Publications, 4009 Museums Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Marcus, Joyce. Women's ritual in formative Oaxaca: figurine making, divination, death, and the ancestors I Joyce Marcus. p. c.m. -- (Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan; no. 33) (Prehistory and human ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca; v. 11) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-915703-48-3 (acidfree paperback) 1. Zapotec women--Rites and ceremonies. 2. Zapotec women--Religion. 3. Zapotec pottery--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley--Themes, motives. 4. Pottery figures-­ Mexico--Oaxaca Valley--Themes, motives. 5. Ancestor worship--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley. 6. Fertility, Human, in art. 7. Oaxaca Valley (Mexico)--Antiquities. 8. San Jose Mogote (Mexico)--Antiquities. I. Title. II. Series. ill. Series: Prehistory and human ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca; v. 11. GN2. M52 no. 5 [F1221.Z3] 305.48'897607274--dc21 98-54945

The paper used in tI:tis publication meets the requirements of the ANSI Standard 239.481984 (Permanence of Paper)

for

EvonZ. Vogt an inspirational teacher, a magnanimous colleague, and a gifted scholar committed to the study of ritual and religion

Contents List of Tables, xiv List of Illustrations, xiv Acknowledgments, xxiii Chapter 1. Introduction, 1 The Early and Middle Formative Periods: 1800-500 b.c., 1 Village Ritual, 2 Figurines, 2 The Context of Oaxaca's Figurines, 3 Other Rituals, 4 Possible Contributions to Gender Studies, 4 The Message of This Volume, 4 Chapter 2. The Context of Women's Ritual Items during the Formative, 7 Research Design, 7 The Household: Archaeological Mdnifestations, 9 Chapter 3. Women's Ritual: Insights from the Ethnohistoric Record, 11 The Three Components of Ritual, 11 The Role of Zapotec Women in Divination, 11 Evidence for Water Divination in the Early Formative, 13 The Involvement of Zapotec Women with Recent Ancestors, 15 Chapter 4. Women's Ritual: Insights from the Ethnographic Record, 17 Ancestor Ritual, 17 The Concept of Facelessness, 17 Geneonymy, 19 Was There Such a Thing as "Ancestor Worship"?, 19 "Recent" vs "Remote" Ancestors, 20 Social Evolution and the Ancestors, 21 Why Were Ancestors Not Shown as "Old"?, 21 W hat Are We to Make of Animal Figurines?, 22 Summary, 22 Chapter 5. Formative Ancestor Ritual: A Framework Based on Both Zapotec Ethnohistory and World Ethnography, 25 W hole Figurines in Burials, 25 Figurines in Formative Burials from Outside the Valley of Oaxaca, 26 Large Hollow White-slipped "Dolls," 28 Summary, 29 Chapter 6. The Social Information in Figurine Hairstyles, 31 Nahua (Aztec) Hairdos, 32 Mixtec Hairdos, 32 Zapotec Hairdos, 34 Ethnohistoric and Ethnographic Hairstyles: A Summary, 35 Some Common Terms Used for Formative Hairstyles, 35

vii

Chapter 7. The Origins of Figurine-making in the Mexican Highlands, 39 The Earliest Figurine from the Valley of Oaxaca, 39 Summary,40

Chapter 8. Chronological Change in Oaxaca's Formative Figurines, 43 Previous Figurine TYpologies, 43 Prior Work on Valley of Oaxaca Figurines, 44 Attributes ofTierras Largas Phase Figurines (1400-1150 b.c.), 45 Attributes of San Jose Phase Figurines (1150-850 b.c.), 47 Attributes of Guadalupe Phase Figurines (850-700 b.c.), 50 Attributes of Rosario Phase Figurines (700-500 b.c.), 53 Attributes of Monte Alban I Figurines (500-200 b.c.), 54 Chapter 9. The Tierras Largas Phase and the Spatial Separation of Men's and Women's Ritual, 79 Figurines from Tierras Largas Phase Houses, Features, and Middens, 80 San Jose Mogote, Area C, 82 The Zone G Midden, 83 Other Figurine Fragments from Zone G (Not Illustrated), 83 The Midden Facies of Zone F, 84 The Public Building Facies of Zone F, 85 Possible Dance Masks Found In and Around Structure 6, 85 A Small Metate for Powdered Lime, 85 A Quartz Pestle for Grinding Hematite, 86 Comment on Zone F, Area C, 86 A Household in Area B, San Jose Mogote, 86 Feature 65, 86 Households at the Tierras Largas Site, 86 Household Unit LTL-1 (Area B), 87 Feature 117 (Unit LTL-1 ), 87 Feature 75 (Unit LTL-1), 88 Feature 142 (Unit LTL-1), 88 Feature 116 (Unit LTL-1), 88 Feature 134 (Unit LTL-1), 88 Household Unit LTL-3 (Area C), 88 Feature 148 (Unit LTL-3), 88 Feature 57 (Unit LTL-3), 88 Tierras Largas Site, Feature 100, 89 Chapter 10. An Introduction to San Jose Phase Figurines: Placido's Midden, 93 Placido's Midden, 93 Heads with Slit Eyes, 94 Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Hair Parted in the Middle, 95 Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Possible Hair Bun/Zulu Knot Poking Out above Cloth Wrap, 95 Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Two Hair Buns/Zulu Knots Poking Out above Cloth Wrap, 96 Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Wearing Turbans, 96 Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Headbands or Cords Used to Hold Hair, 96 Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Bangs, and Hair Tied in 1-2 Buns, 96 Heads with Pinhole-Pupil Eyes, Three Holes Punched in Hair, 96 Heads with Large Punched Pupils, Wearing Turbans, 96 "Tonsured Caciques," 96 Costumed Figures with "Third Leg" Supports, 97 "Hatchet-face" Figurines, 97 Heads with Puffy Cheeks, 98

viii

"Singers" or "Chanters," 98 Unusual Figurines, 98 Torsos from Slender, Non-Pregnant Women, 99 Pregnant Torsos, 101 Microtorsos, 101 Seated Torsos, 101 Stray Arms, 101 Stray Legs, 101 "House Dedication" Figurines, 101 Animal Figurines, 102 Large Hollow White-Slipped Dolls, 102 Crude, Inexpertly Made Figurines, 102 Pottery Masks, 102 Chapter 11. Area C of San Jose Mogote: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Contexts, 109 Eight Houses from Area C, San Jose Mogote, 109 House 6,109 Feature 32, 109 House 5, 110 House2, 110 House 2 Midden, 112 House 11, 112 House 9, 112 Feature 37, 113 Feature 40-east, 113 House 1, 113 House 10, 115 House 4, 115 Feature 35, 117 Dooryard of House 4, 117 House 7,117 House 14, 119 Two Middens from Area C, 119 ZoneE, 119 Feature 43, 120 ZoneD2, 121 A Tertiary Context: The Area C Master Profile, 122 Chapter 12. Area A of San Jose Mogote: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Contexts, 145 Four Households from Area A, 145 Household Unit C4, 145 Household Unit C3, 145 Comment on Household Unit C3, 149 Household Unit C2, 151 Household Unit C1, 152 A Secondary Context: The Zone D Midden, 152 ZoneD3, 152 ZoneD2, 153 Zone D1, 154 Comment on the Zone D Midden, 158 A Low-Status Residence: House 13, 158 Fragments Plotted on House Floor, 160 Fragments Plotted Just Outside Floor Area, 160 Unplotted Small Fragments from House Floor, 161 Figurine Fragments Found in Dooryard Just South of House, 161 Tertiary Contexts In Area A, 162

ix

The Earthen Fill of Structure 1, 162 Comment on Structure 1 Fill, 162 Cutting the Area A Profile, 162 Chapter 13. Area B of San Jose Mogote: A Household with a Figurine Scene, 171 House 17, 171 Figurine Fragments Plotted on (or at the Level of) the House 17 Floor: A Primary Context, 171 Fragments Plotted Just below Floor Level, 173 Fragments Found along the Line of Wall Stones Separating Houses 17 and 16, 173 Figurines Found in Outdoor Trash Pit, 173 House 16, 173 Four Figurine Heads Similar Enough to Have Been Made by the Same Woman, 174 Other Piece-Plotted Figurine Fragments, 174 Fragments Not lllustrated, 176 Pottery Masks from House 16 Area, 176 Feature 63, 177 The Dooryard of Houses 16-17, 181 Pits in Bedrock Below House 17, 183 Comments on Houses 16-17 and the Lower Terrace, 183 The Upper Terrace, 184 Chapter 14. San Jose Phase Households at the Site of Tierras Largas, 191 Household ESJ-1, Area B, 191 Feature 132, 191 Feature 140, 191 Household LSJ-1, Area A, 191 Square B14, 192 Square Cl3, 192 Square C14, 192 Square C15, 192 Square D13, 192 Square D14, 193 Square D15, 196 Square E14, 198 Square E15, 199 Feature 4, 199 Middens 1 and 2, 199 Masks from Household Unit LSJ-1, 201 Eight Figurines Possibly from the Dooryard of Unit LSJ-1, 201 Household Unit LSJ-2, 201 Eight Figurines Possibly from the House Floor, 201 Figurines from Features 149, 150, and 161, 204 Feature 149, 204 Feature 150, 204 Feature 161, 204 Ten Clay Figurines from Feature 160, 204 A Stone Figurine from Feature 160, 204 Figurines Possibly Associated with the Dooryard of Unit LSJ-2, 204 Tertiary Contexts at the site ofTierras Largas, 207 AreaE, 207 Figurines from Isolated Random Sample Squares, 208 Chapter 15. San Jose Phase Proveniences at Huitzo, Abasolo, and Tomaltepec, 237 Figurines from the Fill of Structure 4, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo, 237 lllustrated Fragments, 237 Fragments Not lllustrated, 237

X

Figurines from the Fill of Structure 2, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo, 237 Operation A of San Sebastian Abasolo, 238 ZoneE2, 238 ZoneD2, 238 Feature 3, 238 Area B of San Sebastian Abasolo, 240 Feature 8, 240 The Bottom of Zone Ic, 240 Santo Domingo Tomaltepec, 241 House 4 (Household Unit ESJ-2), 242 Feature 72 (Household Unit ESJ-3), 242 The Tomaltepec Cemetery, 242 Burial21, 242 Burial 35, 242 Disturbed Burial, 242 Chapter 16. Guadalupe Phase Proveniences, 245 Primary Contexts at San Jose Mogote, 245 House 21, Area B, 245 Buria165, Mound 1, 246 Tertiary Contexts at San Jose Mogote, 246 Fragments from the Fill of Structure 8, Area C, 246 Illustrated Specimens, 247 Fragments Not Illustrated, 249 Fragments from the Fill of Structure 28, 250 Fragment from the Fill of Structure 19, 251 Fragments from the Plow Zone, Area A, 251 Primary Contexts at Huitzo, 251 House 7 (Area A), 253 House 4 (Area A), 253 House 10 (Area A), 254 House 1 (Area A), 254 Secondary Contexts at Huitzo, 254 Juncture of Structure 4 and Zone E2 (Area A), 254 Zone E Middens (Area A), 254 Zone D (Area A), 255 Zone D2 Midden (Area C), 256 Tertiary Contexts at Huitzo, 256 The Fill of Structure 3, 256 Figurines Found While Cutting the Profile: Areas A, B, and C, 256 Household Unit G-3 at the Site of Tierras Largas, 258 Feature 112, 258 Feature 104, 261 Guadalupe Phase Figurines from Miscellaneous Proveniences at the Site of Tierras Largas, 261 AreaE, 261 Sample Square 1212, 261 Households and Middens at Fabrica San Jose, 262 Early Guadalupe Phase Household Units, 263 Late Guadalupe Phase Household Units, 263 Guadalupe Phase Middens, 266 Guadalupe Phase Figurines from Tertiary Contexts, 267 A Comment on Fabrica San Jose, 267 Figurines from San Sebastian Abasolo, 268

xi

Area B, Zone lA, 268 Area A, Zone B, 269 Chapter 17. The Rosario Phase: Emerging Differences in Ritual between Elite and Low-Status Families, 279 Changes in Ritual, 279 Elite Households from San Jose Mogote, 281 Structures 25/26/30, 281 Structure 27, 282 Rosario Phase Household Units from Fabrica San Jose, 282 Household Unit R-1, 282 Household Unit R-2, 283 Layers of Wall Collapse from Unit R-2, 283 Household Unit R-3, 284 Household Unit R-4, 284 Household Unit R-5, 285 Household Unit R-6, 285 Household Unit R-7, 285 Household Unit R-8, 285 Household Unit R-9, 285 Household Unit R-10, 285 Secondary Contexts: Rosario Phase Middens at Fabrica San Jose, 286 Area D/Zone L, 286 Area C/Zone JB, 286 Test 2/Layer 20, 286 Test 2/Layer 22, 286 Area HE/Zones D, E, and F, 286 Test 36, Layer 30, 287 Tertiary Contexts at Fabrica San Jose, 287 Test 13, Layer 100A, 287 Test 72, Layer 2, 287 Disturbed Rosario Phase Household Units at San Jose Mogote, 287 The South Stratigraphic Trench: Zone A2, 288 Square S 1E30, Area A/Mound 1 Step Trench, 288 Tertiary Contexts at San Jose Mogote, 288 The Fill of Structure 28, 288 The Fill of Structure 19, 290 A Tertiary Context at San Sebastian Abasolo, 291 Chapter 18. Epilogue: Monte Alban I and Beyond, 301 Changes in Ritual, 301 Monte Alban I Figurines from San Jose Mogote, 302 Structure 23, Mound 1, 302 Temple Fill, Mound 3, 302 Late Monte Alban I Figurines and Ceramic Effigies from Santo Domingo Tomaltepec, 302 Household Unit Ic-1, 303 Household Unit Ic-2, 305 Household Unit Ic-3, 305 Epilogue, 305 Chapter 19. Women's Ritual: Summary and Conclusions, 311 What was the role of women in Formative ritual?, 311 Where did women conduct rites of divination?, 311 What do the small solid figurines so common in the Formative period represent?, 311. Who made the small solid figurines?, 311 Why are so many of the small solid figurines female?, 312 If the figurines are ancestors, why don't they look old?, 312

xii

Why were there also figurines of dogs and birds?, 312 What about large hollow white-slipped dolls?, 312 Why were there so many thousands of small solid figurines?, 312 When figurines are discovered whole and intact, where are they?, 312 Why are so many figurines broken-is it by accident or design?, 312 Why are figurines made of fired clay, rather than other materials?, 312 Why did figurine makers focus so much attention on hairstyles?, 312 What can we tell from the ornaments on figurines?, 313 What do different eye types mean?, 313 When do we see the greatest diversity in figurines, and why?, 313 Why do small solid figurines appear when they do, and disappear when they do, in the archaeological record?, 313 What form should future studies of Formative women's ritual take?, 313 Chapter 20. Resumen en Espaiiol, by Marla de los Angeles Romero Frizzi, 315

References Cited, 319 Index,329

xiii

List of Tables 10.1 Figurine fragments from Placido's Midden, 94

List of illustrations Frontispiece. A generic figurine of a standing woman, combining attributes of the San Jose and Guadalupe phases 2.1. Map ofthe Valley of Oaxaca, showing Formative archaeological sites, 8 3.1. Zapotec woman practicing divination, 12 3.2. Plan of Household C3, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 14 4.1. Chinese Neolithic figurines, 18 4.2. Guadalupe phase dog burial, Fabrica San Jose, 22 5.1. Complete Tierras Largas phase figurine and foetus, 26 5.2. Figurine of standing woman from Burial 8, Nexpa, Morelos, 26 5.3. Figurine of dancing woman from Burial 7, Nexpa, Morelos, 27 5.4. Woman buried at Tlatilco, Basin of Mexico, with 20 Type Dl figurines, 27 5.5. Large hollow white-slipped "baby doll" from Tlapacoya, Basin of Mexico, 28 5.6. Large "hollow dwarf' figurine from burial atAjalpan, Tehuacan Valley, 29 6.1. Zapotec woman creating elaborate hairdo for her daughter, 32 6.2. San Jose phase figurine head of a woman with typical cloth head wrap, 32 6.3. Three common hairstyles ofYucatec Maya women-thuch, sorongo, and cebolla, 33 6.4. Aztec woman, with hair arranged in two upright "horns," 33 6.5. Examples of the "two horn" hairstyle worn by women, 34 6.6. A modern married Zapotec woman, compared to a San Jose phase figurine with the same hairstyle, 35 6. 7. Examples of a c~fignon, a chignon quadrille, and Zulu knots, 36 6.8. Modern Chinantec woman from eastern Oaxaca, compared to a Tierras Largas phase figurine with a similar hairstyle, 36 6.9. Twentieth-century Valley Zapotec woman, compared to a Tierras Largas or early San Jose phase figurine with elaborate braids, 37 6.10. Twentieth-century woman from Chiapas, compared to San Jose phase figurine with similar cloth wrap and decorative fold, 37 6.11. A twentieth-century Mixe woman's hairstyle, compared to Guadalupe phase figurine, 37 7.1. Archaic figurine from Level 17 at Zohapilco, Basin of Mexico, 40 7.2. Figurine from Level13 at Zohapilco, Basin of Mexico, 41 7.3. A feline head or miniature mask from San Jose Mogote, 41 8.1. Complete Tierras Largas phase figurine of woman, 44 8.2. Woman's head typical of Tierras Largas phase, found in San Jose phase provenience, 44

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8.3. Tierras Largas phase women's heads, redeposited at Tierras Largas, 45 8.4. Tierras Largas phase woman's head with pinhole-pupil eyes and elaborate hairdo, 45 8.5. Tierras Largas phase figurine heads of women with pinhole-pupil eyes, 46 8.6. Typical torso style of many Tierras Largas phase figurines, 47 8. 7. Complete Tierras Largas phase figurine of a man wearing headgear, 47 8.8. Pottery sculpture (Monte Alban II, 150 b.c. to A.D. 150) of young Zapotec lord from Cuilapan, 48 8.9. Crude figurines from various sites and phases, 49 8.10. Burial 11 at Tomaltepec, a tightly flexed, high-status San Jose phase male, 51 8.11. San Jose phase man and woman, buried fully extended, 52 8.12. San Jose phase figurine in "obeisance posture," 53 8.13. Figurines of tightly flexed seated men, possibly bundled for burial, 54 8.14. San Jose phase figurine, possibly depicting the flexed burial of old man, 55 8.15. Figurine of seated male in position of authority, 56 8.16. Miniature four-legged stool found in House 4, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 56 8.17. Five examples offigurine heads with slit eyes and slit eyebrows, 57 8.18. Figurines typical of the San Jose phase, 58 8.19. White-slipped head of elite male with possible tabular erect deformation, 59 8.20. Two figurine torsos with necklaces, 59 8.21. Torso of pregnant woman with striated skirt, 59 8.22. Figurine torsos of San Jose phase pregnant women, 60 8.23. Unusually small San Jose phase torsos or microtorsos, 61 8.24. "Tonsured cacique" figurine with shaved head, 61 8.25. Figurines with aquiline noses from San Jose Mogote, 62 8.26. Skull of Guadalupe phase adult male with aquiline nose showing possible cranial deformation, 62 8.27. Miniature pottery mask, presumably worn by a figurine, 62 8.28. Figurine from Tlapacoya, Basin of Mexico, wearing mask, 63 8.29. Head of costumed figure, showing human face behind animal "helmet," 64 8.30. Head of fanged, goggle-eyed monster, 64 8.31. Costumed figure of possible ritual dancer, 64 8.32. Costumed figure of human with animal helmet, 65 8.33. Figurine of man chanting or singing, 65 8.34. Puppy figurine, found in fill, San Jose Mogote, 65 8.35. Head of dog with protruding tongue, 65 8.36. Two heads from spider monkey figurines, 66 8.37. Skull of an immature spider monkey left as an offering, 66 8.38. Three fragments of large hollow "baby doll" figurines, 67 8.39. Guadalupe phase figurine head with large punched pupils, wearing turban, 68 8.40. Artist's reconstruction of prototypic female figurine of the Guadalupe phase, 68 8.41. Fragments of large Guadalupe phase figurine, San Jose Mogote, 69 8.42. Guadalupe phase torso with small pubic apron, 70 8.43. Figurine heads with pupils made by vertical slits, 70 8.44. Figurine with a loop for suspension, 70 8.45. Figurine with doughnut-shaped eyes done on a fillet, 71 8.46. Rosario phase figurines, from tertiary contexts at San Jose Mogote, 72 8.47. Sample of 9 Rosario phase figurines showing diversity of hairstyles, 72 8.48. Small solid grayware figurines of standing women, 73 8.49. Small solid grayware figurine of woman, 74 8.50. Small solid grayware figurines of men seated cross-legged, 75 8.51. Grayware effigy bottle, Monte Alban, depicting male ancestor, 75 8.52. Grayware effigy bottle from Monte Alban, depicting anthropomorphized Cociyo, 76 8.53. Classic Zapotec funerary urn depicting royal woman with elaborately braided hair, 77 9.1. Artist's reconstruction of typical Tierras Largas phase Men's House, 80

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9.2. Simplified map of San Jose Mogote, showing major landmarks, 81 9.3. Figurine heads from Zone G midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 82 9.4. Figurine fragments from Zone G midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 83 9.5. Miniature pottery mask from Zone G midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 84 9.6. Figurine heads from Zone F midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 84 9. 7. Figurine fragments from Zone F midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 85 9.8. Bird figurine from Zone F midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 86 9.9. Figurine fragment from Zone F, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 86 9.10. Plan of Structure 6, possible Tierras Largas phase "Men's House," 87 9.11. Fragments from three pottery masks, San Jose Mogote, 88 9.12. Small metate of pink volcanic tuff, San Jose Mogote, 89 9.13. Pestle made on large white quartz cobble, San Jose Mogote, 89 9.14. Figurines from Feature 65, San Jose Mogote, 89 9.15. Plan of Household Unit LTL-1 at the site of Tierras Largas, 90 9.16. Typical Tierras Largas style figurine head, 91 9.17. Figurines from Feature 117, Tierras Largas site, 91 9.18. Crude pinhole-pupil figurine from Feature 75, Tierras Largas site, 92 9.19. Tierras Largas phase style figurines from Feature 142, Tierras Largas site, 92 9.20. Figurine fragments from Features 116 and 134, Tierras Largas site, 92 10.1. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden whose eyes and eyebrows are made by simple slits, 94 10.2. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, hair parted in middle with two descending braids, 95 10.3. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, and possible hair bun or Zulu knot poking out above a cloth wrap, 96 10.4. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden of heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, and two possible hair buns or Zulu knots poking out above a cloth wrap, 97 10.5. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, cloth wrap wound as a turban, 97 10.6. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, hair held in place by headbands or cords, 98 10.7. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, hair tied in 1-2 buns, with bangs on forehead, 98 10.8. Figurine head from Placido's Midden of woman with pinhole-pupil eyes, and three holes perforating hair, 99 10.9. Figurine head from Placido's Midden of woman with large punched-pupil eyes, wearing turban, 99 10.1 0. Figurine heads of "tonsured caciques" from Placido's Midden, 99 10.11. Costumed figures from Placido's Midden with a "third leg" support in the back, 100 10.12. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden, 101 10.13 Figurine heads (probably male) from Placido's Midden who seem to be singing or chanting, 102 10.14. Head and chest of woman, possibly a dancer, 103 10.15. Figurine heads from Placido's Midden, 103 10.16. Torsos and legs from slender women from Placido's Midden,104 10.17. Women's torsos from Placido's Midden, 105 10.18. Side views of pregnant women's torsos from Placido's Midden, 106 10.19. Microtorsos from Placido's Midden, 106 10.20. Torsos of seated individuals from Placido's Midden, 107 10.21. Arms with cupped hands from Placido's Midden, 107 10.22. Legs with bands or cuffs between the knee and ankle from Placido's Midden, 107 10.23. A complete "house dedication" figurine from Placido's Midden, 107 .10.24. Figurine head oflarge bird from Placido's Midden, 108 10.25. Fragments of large hollow white-slipped dolls from Placido's Midden, 108

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10.26. Fragments of two pottery masks from Placido's Midden, 108 11.1. Figurines and mask fragment, San Jose Mogote, 110 11.2. Surviving patch of floor from House 6, 111 11.3. Small solid figurine leg from surviving patch of floor, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 112 11.4. Pregnant woman's torso, found just above House 5, 112 11.5. Figurines piece-plotted in association with House 2, San Jose Mogote, 113 11.6. Partial plan of House 2, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 114 11.7. Figurines piece-plotted in association with House 9, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 115 11.8. Partial plan of House 9, San Jose Mogote, showing piece-plotted figurines, 116 11. 9. Head of "tonsured cacique" found in Feature 40-east, 117 11.10. Partial plan of House 1, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 118 11.11. Figurine torso that evidently wore heavy equipment held in place by suspenders and a belt, 119 11.12. Piece-plotted figurines from House 4, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 120 11.13. Piece-plotted figurine heads from House 4, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 121 11.14. Piece-plotted figurine heads and a miniature four-legged stool, San Jose Mogote, 122 11.15. Partial plan of House 4, Area C, San Jose Mogote, showing piece-plotted figurine heads and a miniature stool, 123 11.16. Partial plan of House 4, Area C, San Jose Mogote, showing piece-plotted figurine torsos and limbs, 124 11.17. Figurine heads from House 7, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 125 11.18. Figurines piece-plotted in the dooryard midden, San Jose Mogote, 126 11.19. Partial plan of House 14 and its dooryard midden, showing piece-plotted figurines, 127 11.20. "Harlequin" figurine, possibly a depiction of a dancer, 128 11.21. Women's heads from the Zone E midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 128 11.22. Two large heads from the Zone E midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 129 11.23. Figurines from the Zone E midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 130 11.24. Animal head from the Zone E midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 131 11.25. Head of a woman found in Feature 43, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 131 11.26. Four figurine heads with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, San Jose Mogote, 131 11. 27. Figurines with slit eyes and slit eyebrows, San Jose Mogote, 132 11.28. Figurines from the Zone D2 midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote, 133 11.29. "Tonsured cacique" with possible cranial deformation, 134 11.30. Miniature pottery mask from the Zone D2 midden, San Jose Mogote, 134 11.31. Head typical of the Tierras Largas phase, San Jose Mogote, 134 11.32. Head of man from Area C profile, San Jose Mogote, 134 11.33. Figurine heads with slit eyes and slit eyebrows, San Jose Mogote, 135 11.34. Figurine heads of women with eyes made by two ploughing strokes, San Jose Mogote, 136 11.35. Figurine heads of women from the Area C profile, San Jose Mogote, 137 11.36. "Tonsured cacique" head, probably showing cranial deformation, 138 11.37. Group of men's heads from Area C profile, San Jose Mogote, 139 11.38. Torso of a man seated cross-legged with hands on knees, 140 11.39. Elite paraphernalia, scaled down to "figurine size," found while cutting Area C profile, San Jose Mogote, 140 11.40. Torso of a man from Area C profile, San Jose Mogote, 141 11.41. Figurine from Area C profile, San Jose Mogote, 141 11.42. Head of animal (or human in animal costume), San Jose Mogote, 142 11.43. Probable dog figurine from Area C profile, San Jose Mogote, 142 11.44. Arm from large hollow white-slipped "baby doll," San Jose Mogote, 142 11.45. Fragments of large pottery masks or effigies, San Jose Mogote, 143 12.1. Figurines piece-plotted in association with Household Unit C4, Area A, San Jose Mogote,146

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12.2. Plan of Household Unit C4, Area A, San Jose Mogote, showing figurines clustered in the north and west areas of the excavation, 147 12.3. Figurines piece-plotted in association with Household Unit C3, San Jose Mogote, 148 12.4. Figurines piece-plotted in association with Household Unit C3, San Jose Mogote, 149 12.5. Partial plan of Household Unit C3, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 150 12.6. Figurine from Household Unit C3, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 151 12.7. Piece-plotted limbs from hollow white-slipped dolls, San Jose Mogote, 152 12.8. Piece-plotted figurines from Household Unit C3, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 153 12.9. Pottery mask or effigy piece-plotted in Household Unit C3, 154 12.1 0. Partial plan of Household Unit C3 showing piece-plotted torsos and limbs, 155 12.11. Figurines piece-plotted in association with Household Unit C2, San Jose Mogote, 156 12.12. Partial plan of Household Unit C2, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 157 12.13. Figurines piece-plotted in association with Household Unit C1, 158 12.14. Partial plan of Household Unit C1, 159 12.15. Figurines from Zone D3 midden, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 160 12.16. Figurines from Zone D2 midden, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 161 12.17. Figurines from Zone D2 midden, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 162 12.18. Figurine torsos or legs of seated individuals, San Jose Mogote, 163 12.19. Figurines from Zone D2 midden, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 164 12.20. Figurines from Zone D1 midden, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 165 12.21. Figurines from Zone D1 midden, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 166 12.22. Fragments from large hollow white-slipped "baby dolls" from Zone D1 midden, 166 12.23. Plan of the southern half of House 13, Mound 1, San Jose Mogote, 167 12.24. Figurines from fill of Structure 1, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 168 12.25. Figurines from fill of Structure 1, Area A, San Jose Mogote, 168 12.26. San Jose phase figurine heads found while cutting the Area A profile, 169 13.1. Simplified plan of Area B at San Jose Mogote, showing Houses 16-17, 172 13.2. Artist's reconstruction of House 17 and its adjacent roofed work area, 173 13.3. Burial 18, a middle-aged woman with 5 jade ornaments, 174 13.4. Figurines piece-plotted in and around House 17, Area B, San Jose Mogote, 175 13.5. Partial plan of House 17, 176 13.6. Four figurine heads, San Jose Mogote, 177 13. 7. Partial plan of House 16, 178 13.8. Figurines piece-plotted on floor of House 16, Area B, San Jose Mogote, 179 13.9. Partial plan of San Jose Mogote's House 16, 180 13.10. Broken pottery masks from the House 16 area, San Jose Mogote, 181 13.11. Feature 63, a ritual scene composed offour figurines, 182 13.12. Figurine no. 4 from Feature 63, a seated male in a position of authority, 183 13.13. Figurines nos. 2 and 3 from Feature 63, standing males in "obeisance postures," 184 13.14. Figurine no. 1 from Feature 63, a male in "obeisance posture," 185 13.15. Grave 26 from Cocle, Panama, the burial of a seated chief with 21 retainers, 185 13.16. Offering no. 4 from La Venta, Tabasco, a ritual scene, 186 13.17. Figurines piece-plotted on the dooryard associated with Houses 16-17, 187 13.18. Figurines from the dooryard associated with Houses 16-17, San Jose Mogote, 187 13.19. Partial plan of the dooryard, Area B, San Jose Mogote, 188 13.20. Partial plan of bedrock features, postholes, and burial below House 17, 189 13.21. Figurines from Feature 50, 190 13.22. Figurine head from Feature 58, 190 13.23. Female figurine from fill ofBurial18 below House 17, 190 14.1. Figurines from Feature 132, 192 14.2. Figurines from Feature 140, 193 14.3. Plan of Household Unit LSJ-1, Tierras Largas site, 194 14.4. Small solid white-slipped woman's torso, 195 14.5. Figurines from Square C13 from Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 196

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14.6. Figurines from Square C14 from Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 197 14.7. Figurines from Square C14 from Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 198 14.8. Figurines from Square C15, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 199 14.9. Figurines from Square Dl3, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 200 14.10. Figurines from Square D13, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 201 14.11. Figurines from Square D14, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 202 14.12. Figurines from Square D14, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 203 14.13. Figurines from Square Dl4, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 205 14.14. Figurines from Square D14, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 206 14.15. Figurines from Square D15, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 209 14.16. Figurines from Square D15, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 210 14.17. Figurines from Square E14, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 211 14.18. Figurines from Square E15, Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 212 14.19. Figurines from Feature 4, Area A, Tierras Largas site, 213 14.20. Figurines from Middens 1 and 2, Unit LSJ-1, Tierras Largas site, 214 14.21. Pottery masks from Unit LSJ-1, Tierras Largas site, 215 14.22. Figurines from Area A, 215 14.23. Figurines from Area A, possibly associated with the dooryard of Unit LSJ-1, 216 14.24. Partial plan of Household Unit LSJ-2, Tierras Largas site, showing figurine heads, 217 14.25. Partial plan of Unit LSJ-2, showing figurine torsos, 218 14.26. Partial plan of Unit LSJ-2, showing four figurines, 219 14.27. Figurines associated with the house floor, Unit LSJ-2, Tierras Largas site, 220 14.28. Figurines associated with the house floor, Unit LSJ-2, Tierras Largas site, 221 14.29. Figurines from Features 150, 149, and 161, Unit LSJ-2, Tierras Largas site, 222 14.30. Large head with pinhole-pupil eyes from Feature 160, 222 14.31. Large white-slipped head with pinhole-pupil eyes from Feature 160, 222 14.32. Small solid figurines from Feature 160, Unit LSJ-2, 223 14.33. Small solid figurines from Feature 160, Unit LSJ-2, 224 14.34. Leg from large hollow white-slipped doll from Feature 160, Unit LSJ-2, 225 14.35. Stone figurine from Feature 160, Unit LSJ-2, Tierras Largas site, 226 14.36. Stone figurine from Feature 160, Unit LSJ-2, Tierras Largas site, 227 14.37. Figurine from Area D of the Tierras Largas site, 227 14.38. Figurine heads and fragment of pottery mask, Tierras Largas site, 228 14.39. Figurines from Area D of the Tierras Largas site, 229 14.40. Figurine heads from Area E, Tierras Largas site, 230 14.41. Figurine heads from Area E, Tierras Largas site, 231 14.42. Seated male with vestigial arms and possible false beard, from Area E, Tierras Largas site, 231 14.43. Figurine torsos from Area E, Tierras Largas site, 232 14.44. Torso of woman holding a baby in the crook of her arm, 233 14.45. Figurine from Area E, Tierras Largas site, 233 14.46. Figurine heads that may be from individuals costumed as animals, 234 14.47. Spider monkey figurine head from Area E, Tierras Largas site, 234 14.48. Fragments of two broken pottery masks from Area E, Tierras Largas site, 234 14.49. Figurine heads from random sample squares, Tierras Largas site, 235 14.50. Torsos of women in fiber skirts from random sample squares, Tierras Largas site, 236 14.51. Individual in animal costume from Square 4355 at the Tierras Largas site, 236 14.52. Crude figurines from random sample squares, Tierras Largas site, 236 15.1. San Jose phase figurines redeposited in construction fill, 238 15.2. San Jose phase figurines redeposited in construction fill, 238 15.3. The south profile of Operation A at San Sebastian Abasolo, 239 15.4. Figurines from San Jose phase middens, Operation A, Abasolo, 240 15.5. Figurines in fill of Feature 3, a San Jose phase well at Abasolo, 241

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15.6. Figurine from Square 3864, Area E, Tierras Largas site, 241 15. 7. San Jose phase figurine torsos redeposited in Feature 8, Abasolo, 242 15.8. Fragment of San Jose phase pottery mask redeposited in Feature 8, Abasolo, 243 15.9. Head of San Jose phase woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes and head wrap, 243 15.1 0. Figurine of seated man with a decorated cap or helmet from Burial 35, 243 15.11. Figurine of man seated cross-legged with hands on knees, 244 15.12. The bust of a man(?) wearing decorated cap, 244 16.1. Figurine associated with Burial 65 in Zone F, San Jose Mogote, 246 16.2. Guadalupe phase figurines redeposited in fill of Structure 8, San Jose Mogote, 247 16.3. Guadalupe phase figurines redeposited in fill of Structure 8, San Jose Mogote, 248 16.4. Guadalupe phase figurines redeposited in fill of Structure 8, San Jose Mogote, 249 16.5. Fragments of Guadalupe phase figurines, San Jose Mogote, 250 16.6. Head of woman with hair parted in the middle, 250 16.7. Typical Guadalupe phase head with decorated turban, 251 16.8. Typical Guadalupe phase torso with a woman of lower status, 251 16.9. Lower portion of Area A profile at Barrio del Rosario Huitzo, 252 16.10. Figurine fragments from Guadalupe phase houses at Barrio del Rosario Huitzo, 253 16.11. Large solid white-slipped head with large punched-pupil eyes, 254 16.12. Figurine heads from midden facies of Zone E, Area A, Huitzo, 255 16.13. Figurine torsos and limbs from midden facies of Zone E, Area A, Huitzo, 256 16.14. Figurine head from ZoneD, Huitzo, a Guadalupe phase midden, 257 16.15. Figurine torsos and limbs from ZoneD, Huitzo, 258 16.16. Guadalupe phase torso from the Zone 02 midden, Area C, Huitzo, 259 16.17. Figurine fragments redeposited in earthen fill of Structure 3, Huitzo, 260 16.18. Figurines depicting Guadalupe phase women at different stages of life, 261 16.19. Figurine heads from secondary or tertiary contexts at Huitzo, 262 16.20. Head of woman, stylistically Guadalupe phase, 263 16.21. "Tonsured cacique," stylistically Guadalupe phase, with pectoral ornament, 263 16.22. Guadalupe phase torsos, redeposited in earthen fill, 264 16.23. Guadalupe phase figurine limbs, redeposited in earthen fill, 265 16.24. Dog figurine found at the contact between Zones Band C, Area B, Huitzo, 266 16.25. Two heads from Feature 112, Tierras Largas site, 266 16.26. Figurine heads from Feature 112, Household Unit G-3, 267 16.27. Figurines from Feature 112, Household Unit G-3, 268 16.28. Two views of figurine from Feature 112, Household Unit G-3, 269 16.29. Figurine torso from Feature 104, Tierras Largas site, 269 16.30. Fragment of a typical Guadalupe phase figurine from Area E, 269 16.31. Figurines from Square 1212, a random sample square at the Tierras Largas site, 269 16.32. Partial plan of Household Unit EG-1, Fabrica San Jose, 270 16.33. Partial plan of Household Unit LG-1, Fabrica San Jose, 271 16.34. Figurine legs possibly associated with Unit LG-1 at Fabrica San Jose, 272 16.35. Two torsos of seated individuals and one leg with sandal, Fabrica San Jose, 272 16.36. Two figurines from Zone L of Area C, Fabrica San Jose, 273 16.37. Unusual figurine from Level28 of Test Pit 2, Fabrica San Jose, 273 16.38. Figurine limbs from late Guadalupe phase households at Fabrica San Jose, 274 16.39. Head of dog figurine from an early Guadalupe phase midden, 274 16.40. Two figurine torsos, Fabrica San Jose, 274 16.41. Figurine from Zone JC of Area C, Fabrica San Jose, 275 16.42. Figurine from Level26 of Test Pit 2, Fabrica San Jose, 275 16.43. Figurines from Zone F of Area AI, Fabrica San Jose, 275 16.44. Figurines from Zones F and F1, Area A IV, Fabrica San Jose, 276 16.45. Torso of figurine with possible ballplayer equipment, 276 16.46. Typical Guadalupe phase torso with pubic apron and elaborate sandals, 277 16.47. Guadalupe phase figurine head redeposited in Zone IA, San Sebastian Abasolo, 277

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16.48. Guadalupe phase torso with necklace, redeposited in Zone B, San Sebastian Abasolo, 277 17.1. Remains of a Rosario phase elite residence, San Jose Mogote, 280 17.2. Anthropomorphic incense brazier from Room 1 of Structure 26, San Jose Mogote, 281 17.3. Effigy whistle in the shape of a jaguar or puma leg, San Jose Mogote, 281 17.4. Effigy whistle in the shape of a bird, San Jose Mogote, 281 17.5. Fragment from the face of a large hollow grayware doll, San Jose Mogote, 282 17.6. Partial plan of Household Unit R-1, Fabrica San Jose, 283 17.7. Large hollow doll of Socorro Fine Gray ware, Fabrica San Jose, 284 17.8. Partial plan of stone house foundation, Fabrica San Jose, showing burials, 285 17.9. Three figurines from the house floor of Unit R-2, 286 17.10. Figurine heads from layers of wall collapse above the floor of Unit R-2, 287 17.11. Fragment of pottery mask from house floor, Fabrica San Jose, 287 17.12. Figurine head and arm from Zone H, Area C, Fabrica San Jose, 288 17.13. Partial plan of Household Unit R-9, Fabrica San Jose, 289 17.14. Figurine fragment from midden, Fabrica San Jose, 290 17.15. Figurine fragments from a midden below the house in Unit R-2, Fabrica San Jose, 291 17.16. Figurine fragments from layers of brown sandy earth, Fabrica San Jose, 292 17.17. Figurine torso with skirt, Fabrica San Jose, 293 17.18. Crude figurine from Layer lOOA of Test 13, Fabrica San Jose, 293 17.19. Figurine heads from Layer 2 of Test 72, Fabrica San Jose, 293 17.20. Rosario phase figurines from Area A, San Jose Mogote, 294 17.21. Rosario phase figurine fragments from Square S1E30, San Jose Mogote, 294 17.22. Six Rosario phase figurine heads, San Jose Mogote, 295 17.23. Six more Rosario phase figurine heads with a variety of hairdos, 296 17.24. Figurine of prototypic Rosario phase "gingerbread man" torso, 297 17.25. Figurines from basketloads of fill inside Structure 28, San Jose Mogote, 297 17.26. Figurines from basketloads of fill inside Structure 28, San Jose Mogote, 298 17.27. Rosario "gingerbread woman," 298 17.28. Pottery masks from basketloads of fill inside Structure 28,298 17.29. Rosario phase figurine fragments, San Jose Mogote, 299 17.30. Fragment of Rosario phase "gingerbread woman" figurine, 299 18.1. Two fragments of Monte Alban I figurines from San Jose Mogote, 302 18.2. Partial plan of Household Unit Ic-1 at Santo Domingo Tomaltepec, 303 18.3. A sample of the 37 vessels found in the Burial 5 tomb, Tomaltepec, 304 18.4. An effigy bridgespoutjar showing a seated figurine in a macaw mask, Tomaltepec, 305 18.5. Figurine head from Feature 51, Household Unit Ic-1, Tomaltepec, 305 18.6. Two figurine torsos with long incisions on abdomen, Tomaltepec, 306 18. 7. Two figures with gaping openings in abdominal cavity, Tomaltepec, 306 18.8. Partial plan of Household Unit Ic-2 at Tomaltepec, 307 18.9. Monte Alban I figurines with medium-sized to gaping holes in the abdomen, 307 18.10. Partial plan of Household Unit Ic-3, Tomaltepec, showing features in the dooryard, 308 18.11. Dog figurine from Feature 78 of Unit Ic-3, Tomaltepec, 309

xxi

Acknowledgments In 1966, the University of Michigan began a long-term investigation of Formative villages in the Valley of Oaxaca. One goal of that project, "The Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca," was to excavate Formative sites as villages. Houses, features, activity areas, middens, cemeteries, and public buildings were to be the units of analysis, with artifacts piece-plotted in situ wherever appropriate. Four grants from the National Science Foundation to Kent V. Flannery supported his and my work at San Jose Mogote, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo, San Sebastian Abasolo, and San Pedro y San Pablo Mitla. These were grants GS-1616 (1967), GS-2121 (1968), GS-42568 (1974), and BNS-780529 (1978). Grant GS-2121 was also used to support Marcus Winter's dissertation work at the site of Tierras Largas. Additional excavation of Formative villages was made possible by NSF doctoral dissertation improvement grants to Robert D. Drennan for work at Fabrica San Jose in 1972 (GS-32066), and to Michael E. Whalen for excavations at Santo Domingo Tomaltepec in 1974 (GS-40325). That support is greatly appreciated. When the University of Michigan project was in its early stages, Harvard anthropologist Evon Z. Vogt published his classic monograph on the highland Chiapas community of Zinacantan (Vogt 1969). In that study, Vogt revealed that Zinacanteco houses were "conceptually divided" into men's and women's work spaces. In a diagram of the floor plan of a Zinacanteco house (Vogt 1969: Fig. 32), he portrayed these work spaces as (1) the hearth plus associated objects owned and used by women, and (2) the household altar plus associated objects owned and used by men. Vogt's ethnographic data inspired us to search for similar gender-related work spaces in Oaxaca's Formative villages. In Early Formative houses, such as House 2 of San Jose Mogote and House 1 (now Unit LSJ-1) at Tierras Largas, Flannery and Winter (1976) found archaeological evidence for men's and women's work areas. Over the years, additional evidence for the conceptual partitioning of men's and women's space, features, and artifacts has continued to accumulate. Had our work in Oaxaca not concentrated on separating men's and women's activity areas, this study of women's ritual would not have been possible. Obviously, therefore, we owe a tremendous debt to Evon Vogt, to whom this book is affectionately dedicated. Many colleagues contributed to this study. A preliminary typology of Formative figurines for the Valley of Oaxaca was done by Kathryn Blair Vaughn, whose unpublished notes I consulted. Robert D. Drennan and Yda Schreuder later undertook the statistical analysis of a subset of Oaxaca figurines, a study which established "eye type" as the most useful chronological variable. Most of the figurine photographs in this volume are the work of Chris Moser, whose expert photography is much appreciated. Moser's negatives were printed by David Mackres, John E. Clark, and S. 0. Kim. Then there are the very talented artists who provided the drawings. Kay Clahassey produced all the computer-generated floor plans which, like Figures 11.15 and 12.5, combine line drawings with photographs. John Klausmeyer produced the color frontispiece, as well as black-and-white masterpieces like Figure 17.7. Ruben Mendez

xxiii

of Mitla drew many of the figurines in the field, as did Susan Payne. David West Reynolds provided me with three-dimensional building reconstructions. In my development of a model which accounts for women's ritual features and artifacts, I benefited from discussions with many colleagues including ethnologists Igor Kopytoff, Raymond Kelly, Ellen Stermer, and Evon Vogt, as well as archaeologists David Grove, Christine Niederberger, Gary Feinman, Andrew Balkansky, Richard Lesure, Susan Gillespie, Elsa Redmond, Ann Cyphers, Linda Manzanilla, Will Andrews, Bob Sharer, Jerry Sabloff, Charles Spencer, and Colin Renfrew. The excavation of Formative villages in Oaxaca was done under permits issued to Flannery by Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropologfa e Historia. He and I are grateful to the many Mexican officials who made our research possible; we would like to single out our departed colleagues Ignacio Bernal, Jose Luis Lorenzo, and Guillermo Bonfil. Enrique Florescano and Angel Garcia Cook also took a special interest in our project. In Oaxaca I was greatly helped by the staff of the Centro Regional de Oaxaca (INAH), especially Manuel Esparza, Angeles Romero, Nelly Robles, Roberto Zarate, Raul Matadamas, Arturo Oliveros, and Lorenzo Gamio. I appreciate their generosity, and give special thanks to Angeles Romero for providing me with the Spanish summary in Chapter 20.

xxiv

Chapter 1

Introduction continued into the afterlife, with deceased members of the community buried near their living relatives. Even after death, the deceased were expected to continue their relationship with their descendants. Oaxaca's earliest village society was too large to be integrated the way extended families are integrated. At the same time, prior to roughly 1000 b.c., Oaxaca society still lacked hereditary leaders whose directives could provide integration. In such egalitarian village societies, ritual carries much of the burden of integration. Ritual links generations, unites men from different descent groups, unites women from different families, connects the living to their ancestors. Ritual creates public spaces, public structures, burial customs, images of humans and fantastic creatures, masks and costumes for dances and other rites. Some of the spaces, buildings, features, and paraphernalia of ritual survive to be studied by archaeologists, and although we glimpse the ritual only dimly, many patterns can be recovered (Flannery 1976a; Flannery and Marcus 1976; Marcus 1989, 1996, 1998a; Marcus and Flannery 1994). In the early villages of the Valley of Oaxaca, a significant part of the ritual fell to women to perform. As in many village cultures all over the world, it was the task of women to communicate with recent ancestors, both to meet those ancestors' needs and to remind them of their continuing obligations to their descendants. It is the ritual activities of such women which provide the focus of this study.

Sometime between 1800 and 1400 b.c. 1, after thousands of years ofseminomadic life, the Indians of Mexico's Oaxaca Valley began to settle in permanent villages. On a series of small piedmont spurs overlooking the alluvial floodplain oftheAtoyac River, they began to build rectangular wattle-and-daub houses thatched with grass (Marcus and Flannery 1996: Chapter 6). The economy of these early villages was based on the cultivation of maize, squash, avocado, and other crops; the raising of dogs for food; the hunting of deer and other game; and the collection of wild plants such as agave, prickly pear, mesquite, and hackberry. One of the unintended consequences of successful agriculture and sedentary life was the fact that Oaxaca's people were now living in larger communities than ever before. Some early villages had 50-100 persons, a larger group than had ever lived together on a permanent basis during the preceding Archaic period (8000-2000 b.c.). During the Archaic, any social conflicts could have been resolved simply by moving, with unwelcome or annoyed families seeking a new place to camp. Now, however, mobility was reduced because families were tied to a strip of productive agricultural land. They had invested labor in clearing trees from that land, building a house, digging storage pits, and making other improvements. That investment would be lost if they decided to move. What was needed was a way of integrating large numbers of people and resolving conflict without community fission. Oaxaca's early villagers responded in a way typical of egalitarian village societies all over the world. They created large groupings of families who believed, whether it was true or not, that they were all descended from a common ancestor. These groups were multigenerational, and each generation was obliged to behave in certain ways toward each other. These obligations 1

The Early and Middle Formative Periods: 1800-500 b.c. The oldest house so far excavated in the Valley of Oaxaca is House 20 from the site of San Jose Mogote (Flannery and Marcus 1994: Chapter 7). Its sample of 262 undecorated sherds, probably dating to somewhere around 1600-1500 b.c., has been assigned to the &piridi6n Complex. Little is known of this

In this volume, dates in uncalibrated radiocarbon years are given in lower

case "b.c."

1

2

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

early ceramic complex, which will probably turn out to be present at a few other early villages in the Valley. From 1400 to 1150 b.c., during the Tierras Largas phase, as many as 19 autonomous villages could be found along the Atoyac River and its tributaries. This seems to have been an era of egalitarian societies, whose families were integrated through participation in village ritual. Village leaders were presumably self-selected, charismatic individuals, who were able to attract followers, accumulate shell and obsidian, and supervise the construction of small public buildings (Marcus and Flannery 1996: Chapter 7). By 1150 b.c. the first signs of hereditary inequality had appeared in Oaxaca society. From 1150 to 700 b.c., during the San Jose and Guadalupe phases, there were at least 40 communities in the Valley of Oaxaca. Smaller villages had now lost their autonomy to larger chiefly centers which covered 20 to 70 ha. Highly ranked families were deforming the heads of their children, wearing jade, accumulating magnetite mirrors and mother-of-pearl ornaments, featuring supernatural ancestors on their pottery, performing autosacrifice with stingray spines, and exchanging gifts with elite families in the Basin of Mexico and Chiapas. Male leaders sat on wooden stools, supervised the building of temples on large adobe and stone masonry platforms, and were buried seated or in tightly flexed bundles (Marcus and Flannery 1996: Chapter 8). From 700 to 500 b.c., during the Rosario phase, the number of communities in the valley had increased to 80. Chiefly warfare had become a major factor influencing the location of settlements. Land lying between competing chiefdoms was left unoccupied to serve as a buffer zone. Wattle-and-daub houses (and even major lime-plastered temples) were sometimes burned in raids. Writing began in the context of these competing chiefdoms, with the first Zapotec hieroglyphs supplying the name of a sacrificed enemy (Marcus 1976a:44-45). Elite families lived in large adobe houses with masonry tombs beneath the interior patio, while lower-ranking families lived in wattle-and-daub houses with cobblestone foundations. Finally, sometime around 500 b.c., community leaders in the northern and central parts of the Valley of Oaxaca moved thousands of their followers to the top of a defensible mountain, creating Monte Alban-the first urban center of Zapotec civilization (Marcus and Flannery 1996: Chapters 10-11).

Village Ritual One of the most fascinating subplots of the Early and Middle Formative was the evolution of village ritual. At the beginning of this era, when life was relatively egalitarian and ritual at the household and community level was a major catalyst for social integration, the houses of Oaxaca's villages were filled with ritual features and artifacts. It would appear that the performers of ritual in this period were ordinary men and women. De-

spite the existence of small public buildings (thought to be Men's Houses), there is no evidence of ritual specialists or priests (Marcus 1989, 1993, 1996). During the Rosario phase, however, as public buildings gradually became more elaborate, the number of household ritual features and artifacts began to decline. With the founding of Monte Alban, it appears that full-time priests began to appropriate more and more of the ritual formerly conducted by ordinary families (Marcus 1996:290-91). Eventually Oaxaca witnessed the rise of a stratified society and a widespread Zapotec state religion which featured standardized temples and specialized religious personnel (Marcus and Flannery 1996: Chapters 12-13). As one might expect from reading ethnographies of village cultures around the world (Ahern 1973; Bloch 1971; Colson 1955; Freedman 1958, 1966; Goody 1962; Hsu 1948; Kopytoff 1971; Krige and Krige 1943; Ooms 1967; R. J. Smith 1966, 1974; Vogt 1969, 1976), the ancestors of living villagers were the focus of a good deal of ritual activity. This focus on ancestors is still true in Zapotec villages today, both in the Valley of Oaxaca and in the Isthmus ofTehuantepec, where the ancestors are referred to as binigulazaa, "old people of the clouds" (Cruz 1935, 1936; Henestrosa 1936). What seems to have happened during the apogee of the Zapotec state is that royal ancestors became so important that evidence for their veneration overwhelms the archaeological record, pushing the ancestors of commoner families into the background and out of our field of vision (Marcus 1983a, 1983b). In this volume, I will concentrate on the period 1800-500 b.c. That period takes us from a time of egalitarian autonomous villages, through the rise of powerful chiefdoms, to the founding of Oaxaca's first city. During the early village period, men's and women's ritual appears to have taken place in separate venues. Women's ritual-especially divination, healing, and the addressing of recently deceased ancestors-took place in the household. Men's ritual-including the use of narcotic plants and the addressing of more remote, perhaps mythological, ancestors-took place in small public buildings some distance from the household. Women's ritual appears to have been inclusionary, involving every household no matter how humble. From the small size of the early public buildings or Men's Houses, men's ritual appears to have been exclusionary, involving only a subset of men (presumably those who had been initiated). The implication is that men competed openly for positions of community leadership while women did not.

Figurines Among the most common ritual artifacts of Early and Middle Formative Mesoamerican villages were small, solid, ceramic figurines, which were made by the thousands. When such figurines first came to light in neighboring regions of Mexico (usu-

Introduction

ally in purchased collections or as the result of early, unsystematic excavations), they were subjected to every conceivable interpretation. "Venus figures," "mother goddesses," "fertility symbols," and "children's toys" were just a few. Some of these interpretations were inspired by the Old World, particularly Mediterranean, archaeology of a bygone era (Gimbutas 1989, 1991; cf. James 1959; Meskell1995; Talalay 1968, 1993; Ucko 1968, 1996). Those Old World interpretations are supported neither by Mesoamerican ethnohistory, nor by the contexts in which Formative figurines occur when sites are systematically excavated. Recent interpretations of small solid figurines from Mesoamerica continue to be diverse, even for figurine collections from the same site. For example, the heads of some Chalcatzingo figurines (particularly the type called C8, originally defined by Hay; see Vaillant 1930) have been interpreted as male figurines used in a "cult of the ruler" or as "portraits of rulers" (see Gillespie 1987; Grove and Gillespie 1984; Hammond 1989). But looking at the same Chalcatzingo figurine collection, Guillen (1993:214-15) argues that "because 92 percent of all identifiable bodies are female, and 30 percent of all heads are C8s, there is a high probability that virtually all C8 heads originally belonged to female bodies." Guillen goes on to suggest that the figurines at Chalcatzingo were used in female-focused life-crisis ceremonies because they depict stages in the female life cycle-puberty, pregnancy, and child rearing. Richard Lesure (1997) suggests that Early Formative figurines from the Pacific coast of Chiapas were used to depict stereotyped social categories. Lesure divided the figurines into two principal groups: (1) young women and (2) old males wearing masks and ritual paraphernalia. The former he interprets as women of marriageable age, and the latter as ritually skilled elders who claimed the right to give away such young women in marriage. Guillen (1993) and Lesure (1997) reach somewhat similar conclusions about the dynamics of figurines in different regions of Mesoamerica. Guillen (1993:215-16) argues that tags such as "cult of the ruler'' or "fertility cult" give static descriptions for objects used in dynamic social rituals in which human and material resources could be maneuvered to advantage by those persons seeking to accumulate power. The role of women as highly visible actors in the dynamics of socialhierarchy formation and accentuation is obscured by "cult" explanations. Lesure (1997:228), on the other hand, argues that Chiapas figurines were "points of reference in the negotiation and reproduction of actual social relationships."

The Context of Oaxaca's Figurines In Oaxaca, figurines occur in three primary contexts-in residences, in burials, and in deliberately arranged scenes in

3

households. Their most common secondary context is in household midden debris (Drennan 1976a, 1976b; Marcus 1989, 1996). Figurines found on the surface, encountered while cutting the profile of an excavation, or redeposited as mound fill are considered to be in tertiary context. It is noteworthy that public buildings, including Men's Houses, were not a primary context for figurines. This statement is true not only for the Valley of Oaxaca, but also for systematically excavated sites in other regions, such as Chalcatzingo in Morelos (Guillen 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993). I suspect that in the future, as archaeologists try harder to keep household refuse separate from public building refuse, it will also prove to be true of the Basin of Mexico, Puebla, and other highland regions. Since 1966, the University of Michigan's Oaxaca project has emphasized the isolation of houses, features, and public buildings, and the piece-plotting of artifacts in and around each type of structure or feature. It is from this kind of excavation that the dichotomy of men's and women's ritual mentioned above emerged. It is a dichotomy found in many other village cultures worldwide, especially among autonomous village societies or those with modest differences in rank. In such societies, the ancestors continue to take part in village activities even after death, and their living descendants consult with them through ritual. Much of this ritual consultation takes place in and around the household, and is directed by women. Our evidence, to be elaborated in later chapters, suggests that Early and Middle Formative figurines were made by women, and when such figurines were arranged in ritual scenes in and around the household, they provided a venue to which the spirits of recent ancestors could return. Most Formative figurines in Oaxaca and neighboring areas depict human females. Less common (though certainly important) were figurines depicting males; humans wearing costumes, or otherwise difficult to assign a gender; and animals, mostly birds and dogs. Clearly, the ancestor most frequently consulted in the household was a female, such as a deceased mother, grandmother, aunt, or sister. Very few females were shown as pregnant; those that are may represent women who died in childbirth. The facial characteristics of female figurines are relatively simple and stereotyped; one of the few variables that work well for chronological purposes is the way the eye is depicted. In contrast to the relatively standardized facial features, figurine hairdos may be very ornate and individualized. This was especially true during the Tierras Largas phase. Since that period has so far produced no convincing evidence for hereditary inequality, elaborate hairdos must reflect something other than differences in rank. Based on the hairdos of contemporary Indian groups, as well as females depicted in the late prehispanic codices of Mexico, factors such as age and marital status may be involved. Contemporary Mexican Indian women, for example, wear their hair differently depending on whether they are prepubescent, single but of marriageable age, married, married with children, or matronly.

4

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

I showed photos and drawings of Formative figurines to a series of professional hairstylists. All were asked to look at the figurines' hairdos, paying particular attention to the sides and back of the head, to see whether or not they believed that a woman could have achieved a given style without help. All the hairstylists agreed that the most complex hair arrangements would have required the help of a second person (such as one's mother, sister, or aunt) to create the hairdo, and that such a person would have had to stand behind the woman whose hair was being done. Most significantly, all the hairstylists agreed that Formative hairdos were depicted in such realistic detail that whoever made the figurines also had to have known how to produce the hairstyle depicted. Hence (unless, as seems unlikely, Early Formative society had male hairdressers) it seems logical that both the hairdos and the figurines were produced by the same people, that is, by women. Further evidence that women remained close to their immediate ancestors is suggested by the fact that when small solid figurines were deliberately included in burials, they occurred most frequently in the graves of women; this is true even on those rare occasions when the figurine itself depicts a man. Let me stress here that I am referring only to the typical small solid figurines of the Early and Middle Formative, not to large hollow white-slipped "baby doll" figures. Such large dolls were less common, occurred in different contexts, and were likely made by specialists-possibly even by men, although we lack evidence of this. Some small solid figurines depict dogs, birds, or even spider monkeys. Their exact relationship to the ancestors is not clear, but all were ritually important animals in ancient Oaxaca. Dogs were buried by themselves, or even included in some human graves; doves and quail were sacrificed in Formative rituals (Marcus and Flannery 1994).

Other Rituals Oaxaca women also played a role in divination and healing. One method of divination was known in Zapotec as tiniyaaya nifa or huefiiy nifa, "water divination." In this ritual, a woman would fill a shallow basin with water. She would then cast several maize kernels onto the water ~nd count the number of kernels that floated on the surface. At least one house of the San Jose phase was found to have two shallow lime-plastered basins in its dooryard-one painted red, the other yellow. Surrounded by the kind of debris associated with women's household activities, each basin was the kind offeature in which "water divination" could have been carried out (see Chapter 3). Men's ritual features in the Early Formative were somewhat different. Perhaps the most distinctive were the lime-plastered storage pits found in the center of several Tierras Largas phase "Men's Houses" (Marcus and Flannery 1996:87). When discovered intact, these pits were filled with finely powdered lime,

perhaps stored for use with a ritual plant such as wild tobacco (queeza in Zapotec), or jimson weed (nocui:ma cohui in Zapotec). At the time of the Spanish Conquest, both the Zapotec and their Mixtec and Maya neighbors used powdered wild tobacco mixed with lime in rituals of divination, as well as in preparation for warfare (Alcina Franch 1993:84-85; Furst 1978:9, 18; Marcus 1996:289; Pacheco Cruz 1960: 111). The Zapotec believed that tobacco had curative powers and could increase physical strength (Whitecotton 1977:137), making it an appropriate drug to use before raids (Redmond 1994). While I do not believe that there was complete separation between men's and women's rituals during this era, my interpretation of the ethnohistoric and archaeological data is that, in Ruth Benedict's (1934:78-79) sense, women's ritual tended to be more "Apollonian," while men's ritual was somewhat more "Dionysian," often involving narcotics and hallucinogens.

Possible Contributions to Gender Studies Since the 1970s, many social anthropologists have called for a renewed interest in the "socially constructed roles" that distinguish men's and women's behavior (Collier and Yanagisako 1987; Conkey and Tringham 1995; Gero and Conkey 1991; MacCormack and Strathern 1980; Moore 1986, 1988; Ortner and Whitehead 1981; Rosaldo and Lamphere 1974; Strathern 1972; Weiner 1976). At least some archaeologists interested in gender have answered the call (Bailey 1994, 1995; Bolger 1996; Bruhns 1988; Claassen 1992; Claassen and Joyce 1997; Conkey and Gero 1991; Guillen 1984, 1993; Hastorf 1991; Joyce 1993, 1996; McDermott 1996; Marcus 1976b; Pollock 1991; Tringham 1991; I. Winter 1987; Wright 1996). However, one frequent criticism leveled at "gender archaeology" is that it often consists of programmatic statements, rather than examples based on actual archaeological data (e.g. Hayden 1986; Meskell1995). I hope that by basing my conclusions on very specific empirical data, I will be able to provide a discussion of gender roles which is less vulnerable to such criticism. No matter how powerful or trendy a theoretical framework, it cannot be successfully applied to poorly collected archaeological data. If this study of women's ritual succeeds, it will be because it is based on broad horizontal exposures of Formative households, with careful mapping of features and patient pieceplotting of all artifacts, including figurines. Context is crucial to studies of both ritual behavior and socially-constructed gender roles, and context cannot be reconstructed from museum collections that lack good provenience.

The Message of This Volume In the chapters that follow, I will present archaeological evidence that the women of Formative Oaxaca were responsible for the production and use of the small solid figurines of 1800-

Introduction 500 b.c. The ritual domain of these women was the household unit, consisting of a residence, occasional outbuildings or leantos, and a dooryard of some 300-400 square meters which included storage pits, earth ovens, lime-plastered painted basins, and other features. One of the roles of women was to practice divination, a ritual carried out by Zapotec women well into the 1930s in villages like Mitla (Parsons 1936). Another was to communicate with recent ancestors, especially female ancestors. For this purpose, women made small solid figurines which provided a venue to which the spirits ,of those ancestors could return. While these figurines were not realistic portraits in our Western sense, they apparently represented specific individuals when addressed during rituals. In many cases the social persona (gender, agegrade, marital status, or social rank) of the ancestor was reflected in the body position, hairstyle, costume, or ornaments

5

worn by the figurine. Such figurines were arranged in scenes so the ancestors could participate in rituals conducted by their descendants. Later the figurines were discarded, often after being deliberately broken or defaced so they could not be used by anyone alien to the household. Such rituals seem to have become less archaeologically visible with the rise of the later Zapotec state, though the ethnohistoric sources suggest that they never fully disappeared. Since figurines are one of the main foci of my analysis, I will pursue a second goal in this study, namely, to isolate those stylistic or typological attributes of figurines which change over time. This more traditional archaeological goal-the establishment of typology and chronology-should yield results of interest to other archaeologists working on the Formative. I hope, however, that my analysis of women's role in ritual will be of even wider interest.

Chapter 2

The Context of Women's Ritual Items during the Formative

The environmental setting of the Valley of Oaxaca has been described in detail by both Kirkby (1973) and C. E. Smith ( 1978). TheY-shaped valley comprises three subdivisions called (1) the Etla subvalley, (2) the Tlacolula subvalley, and (3) the Valle Grande or Zaachila-Zimatllin subvalley (Fig. 2.1). Between 1966 and 1981, the University of Michigan project "Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca" excavated six Formative villages there. These were San Jose Mogote (Flannery and Marcus 1994: Chapters 9-15), Barrio del Rosario Huitzo (Flannery eta!. 1970), Tierras Largas (M. Winter 1973), San Sebastian Abasolo (Flannery and Marcus 1994: Chapter 17), Fabrica San Jose (Drennan 1976a), and Santo Domingo Tomaltepec (Whalen 1981). A seventh Formative village, Hacienda Blanca, was the scene of recent salvage excavations by the Regional Center of Oaxaca, a branch of the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (Ramfrez Urrea 1993). Although I will discuss ritual features and artifacts from the six Formative villages excavated by the University of Michigan, I will devote most of my attention to those from San Jose Mogote, Huitzo, Abasolo, and Tierras Largas, since many ritual features and artifacts from Fabrica San Jose and Tomaltepec have been previously published (Drennan 1976a,'Whalen 1981 ).

that it would allow us to identify men's and women's work areas, as well as specific household activities that took place in the house or its associated ramadas, lean-tos, and dooryards (see below). We also made an effort to recover as many dooryard features, burials, and household middens as we could. The result is that the proveniences of many figurines are known to the centimeter, and countless others can be tied to a specific house, a feature, or a one-by-one meter square. Having such information from several villages allows us to identify recurrent patterns and suggest possible functions for features and figurines. Simply put, there is no substitute for archaeological context. As we look through site reports and figurine studies published 30 to 50 years ago-a time when context was often not recognized or recorded-we can appreciate the handicap faced by early investigators. In most cases they could only catalogue figurines as "art objects," dividing them by stylistic attributes and speculating on the psychological profiles of their makers. In the Basin of Mexico, pioneers Clarence Hay and George Vaillant created so many figurine types and subtypes that the average archaeologist cannot remember them all (Vaillant 1930, 1931, 1935a, 1935b; Vaillant and Vaillant 1934). We would like to have the complete figurine inventories of each house at El Arbolillo and Zacatenco, but houses were not isolated and excavated as separate entities there in Vaillant's era. Drennan (1976a, 1976b, 1983) was the first archaeologist to call attention to an important fact-in Oaxaca's early villages, small solid figurines were more abundant in ordinary houses and househorct debris than in any other context. Subsequent analyses made the pattern still clearer: small solid figu-

Research Design A major emphasis of the University of Michigan project was the recovery of household units, with all significant artifacts piece-plotted in them. This piece-plotting was done in the hope

7

8

Women s Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

... f

N

Formative sites excavated by U. Michigan

1:1 Other Formative sites

I

•

0

Modern city

10

20 km

Figure 2.1. Map of the Valley of Oaxaca, showing Formative archaeological sites mentioned in the text. Heavy stipple indicates mountainous areas; light stipple indicates piedmont. White areas represent the valley floor.

Context of Women s Ritual/terns during the Formative rines occurred in primary context in households, burials, and ritual scenes, but not in public buildings (Marcus 1989, 1993, 1996, 1998a, 1998b). Moreover, most small solid figurines were female; occurred in and around women's places of work; and displayed details, such as the construction of elaborate hairstyles, which reflect women's areas of expertise. The number of figurines recovered is partly a reflection of where one excavates on a Formative site. Our sample of San Jose phase figurines from San Jose Mogote is large because we were able to excavate many San Jose phase houses. Our sample of Tierras Largas phase figurines from the same site is smaller because most of our effort was spent excavating six Tierras Largas phase public buildings, none of which contained figurines in primary context. The layers of Tierras Largas phase household midden debris at San Jose Mogote are just as rich in figurines (per cubic meter) as comparable deposits at the sites of Hacienda Blanca and Tierras Largas, but we deferred excavating them in order to expose a larger sample of public buildings (Flannery and Marcus 1994: Chapter 11).

The Household: Archaeological Manifestations In the Early Formative villages of the Valley of Oaxaca (Espiridi6n Complex, Tierras Largas and San Jose phases), most household units consisted of a single 3 x 5 m to 4 x 6 m wattleand-daub house (yoho in Zapotec ), surrounded by 200-400 square meters of outdoor working and living space. We have referred to this outdoor space as a "dooryard" to distinguish it from the kind of enclosed space sometimes called a "patio" or "courtyard." The dooryard of a house (zehe yoho in Zapotec) sometimes included outbuildings such as lean-tos, ramadas (yoho yaha in Zapotec ), or kitchens and cook shacks (yoho quena in Zapotec). Houses, outbuildings, and dooryards often displayed features of various kinds: bell-shaped storage pits, hearths, earth ovens, wells, even ritual features such as waterproofed shallow basins. There might also be burials or middens near a house. Our most prized collections of figurines are from household context, but samples from midden context were useful as well. During the Middle Formative Guadalupe and Rosario phases, as hereditary differences in rank became more pronounced, some

9

of society's more important families came to live in adobe houses. The most elegant of these consisted of 3-4 rooms around an interior patio or courtyard, which was unroofed but nonetheless private (Marcus and Flannery 1996: Fig. 139). Families of lower rank continued to live in wattle-and-daub houses, some of which were quite large, had fieldstone foundations, and may have been divided into several rooms (Drennan 1976a: Fig. 66). Figurines were more common in the houses of ordinary families than in the more elite adobe houses. As early as the Tierras Largas phase, some of Oaxaca's villages had small public buildings which may have served as Men's Houses or Lineage Houses. Figurines do not occur in primary context in and around these public buildings, which were usually lime-plastered on the interior and swept clean of artifacts. However, facilities and paraphernalia associated with men's ritual were sometimes found with Men's Houses, and there might be seated burials of adult men nearby (Marcus and Flannery 1996:84-85). After such public buildings collapsed or were abandoned, they sometimes had trash thrown in them. Any figurine fragments included in post-abandonment trash, of course, came originally from elsewhere, and were now in tertiary context. At some of our larger villages, such as San Jose Mogote, households seem to have been grouped into barrios or residential wards which were separated from each other by areas of unoccupied slopes and gullies (Flannery and Marcus 1994: Chapter 4 ). In cases where we were able to excavate more than one household in a given ward, we were curious to see whether there would be stylistic similarities shared by the figurines within a single house, or among houses of the same ward. Assuming that women learned techniques of figurine manufacture from their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, or older sisters, it seemed possible to us that stylistic preferences might also be transmitted. In fact, we did occasionally find groups of figurines so similar that they could have been made by the same woman (see, for example, House 16 of San Jose Mogote in Chapter 13). However, we found considerable variety within other households, suggesting that the figurines discarded on the floor could have been made by several women, perhaps even several generations of them.

Chapter3

Women's Ritual Insights from the Ethnohistoric Record

In the reconstruction of Formative Oaxaca ritual, there are two principal sources to which we can turn. First, we have Spanish eyewitness accounts of Zapotec ritual during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This information has the advantage of being drawn from people native to the Valley of Oaxaca. Its disadvantages are that more than 2000 years separate the documents from the archaeological data we are attempting to understand, and the sixteenth-century Zapotec were no longer a society of egalitarian villages or emerging chiefdoms; they belonged to a stratified society with state-level institutions. Our second source is the ethnographic record on village cultures all over the world. Information on such cultures has the advantage of being drawn from societies organized in ways similar to those of Formative Mesoamerica. Its disadvantage is that those cultures have no historic connection with Mesoamerica, and may display patterns which are regionally distinct. In this study I will draw with caution on both sources. From the ethnohistoric documents discussed in this chapter, I hope to extract behavioral patterns which are typically Oaxacan (if not pan-Mesoamerican). From the ethnographic record discussed in Chapter 4, I hope to extract behavioral patterns which are widespread among autonomous village societies and emerging chiefdoms. By combining these two sources, I hope to provide a framework for studying Formative women's ritual.

tered to communicate with those ancestors. Living descendants invoked the spirit of an ancestor or dynastic founder by uttering his or her name. Locus of performance refers to the specific places where ancient rites were performed. For example, the sixteenth-century Zapotec conducted rites in the house, lean-to, dooryard, graveside, agricultural field, mountaintop, and public building. Because we have yet to excavate in prehispanic agricultural fields or on mountaintops, we have not found examples of those particular loci. However, in our excavations at Formative villages we have found examples of the other loci where rites were performed (Flannery and Marcus 1994, Marcus and Flannery 1996). The performers of ritual from 1500 b.c. to 500 b.c. were ordinary men and women. After 700 b.c., however, an emerging elite increasingly began to appropriate ritual activities formerly conducted by ordinary men and women. From 700 to 500 b.c., it seems likely that there were at least part-time religious specialists; and by 200 b.c., with the appearance of the standardized Zapotec two-room temple, we can suggest that there were probably full-time priests (Marcus and Flannery 1996:181-82).

The Role of Zapotec Women in Divination Throughout sixteenth-century Mesoamerica, divination was practiced by many groups, including the Aztec, Mixtec, Maya, and Zapotec. Not only was this practice widespread, there were also many ways that divination was performed-by interpreting the stars or dreams, by sacrificing animals, or by casting stones, beans, or kernels of corn. Zapotec divination is revealed in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century sources (e.g., Balsalobre 1656; Burgoa.,l670, 1674; Cordova 1578a, 1578b; the Relaciones Geograficas de Oaxaca 1579-1581), and continu-

The Three Components of Ritual In previous analyses of ritual (Marcus 1993, 1996, 1998a, 1998b), I have found it useful to distinguish three components: (1) the content of ritual, (2) its locus ofperformance, and (3) its performers. Content refers to the subject matter of the ritual. For example, the sixteenth-century Zapotec conducted important rites to honor their ancestors. The content consists of the words ut11

12

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

Figure 3.1. Zapotec woman practicing tiniyaaya ni{:a, or divination, by tossing maize kernels into a water-filled basin.

ity is seen in twentieth-century ethnographies (Cruz 1946; de Ia Fuente 1949; Parsons 1931, 1936). For the sixteenth-century Zapotec, fray Juan de Cordova's (1578a) dictionary supplies us with specific terms for different kinds of divining--divination by water, by stars, by fire, by air, by birds, and by the sacrifice of animals and humans. Much of this sixteenth-century divination was conducted by male professionals in the context of a state religion. Such divination was conducted to answer questions about the well-being of the ruler, the elite, and the community as a whole, and it was carried out in the context of temples by men called bigafia (priests) or colaniy (diviners) (Burgoa 1670, 1674; Marcus 1978:179, Marcus 1983a:350). Zapotec women also conducted divination, but it was carried out in their houses or dooryards. Such divination was ori-

en ted toward the affairs of the family, often aimed at finding the cause of an illness affecting a family member; selecting the name of a newborn baby; determining whether a given day was auspicious for a particular family activity; or predicting the outcome of a pregnancy or marriage. One kind of women's divining, called tiniyaaya nira, involved kneeling on a mat while casting maize kernels onto the surface of a water-filled basin, then noting the number of kernels that remained floating (Fig. 3.1). Some women divined by observing whether the kernels floated in groups of three, five, or thirteen. Zapotec women in Mitla and other towns were still observed in the act of divining in 1930 by Elsie Ciews Parsons (1931, 1936). Variations described by Parsons include women who cast corn kernels onto a mat (rather thim onto the surface of

Insights from the Ethnohistoric Record

water), and women who blew air on the kernels that they cupped in their hands before casting them. Parsons says: In general the method of casting corn, tirar mais [to throw or cast corn] or cuentar [to count], is to shell out a number of grains from an ear of corn and cast them on to a mat, divining from the figures or positions the grains make or take, or, when the grains are blackened on one side, from the whites or blacks that fall uppermost. [Parsons 1936:306] To blacken one end of the corn kernel, Parsons noted that a woman would rub one end on charcoal or on soot stuck to the bottom of a cooking pot. She goes on to say (1936:307-8): In San Baltazar Rosa Hernandez shells out twenty-two grains, from the double ear she happened to husk, much to her gratification. Half the grains she places in my right hand and half in my left, making the sign of the cross over each hand. She directs me to cast each handful into a small bowl which she places on her altar. She makes the sign of the cross on the rim of the bowl and then waves it around all the pictures of the saints on the altar. From the pictures she motions toward the bowl with both hands-the same drawing-in motion I saw her making at the cross, from the four directions. Removing the bowl from the altar and placing it on the mat, she repeats the drawing-in motions-from the altar, from the north side, from the west. Now she covers the bowl with another bowl and shakes the grains up and down, three times. She uncovers the bowl and studies the grains intently. She pours all the grains into my right hand and bids me make the cast onto the mat. After I have cast several times, I am told that my mother and one son are thinking of me, that I am going home soon, that I am to live a long time. After watching many divinations, Parsons concluded that the exact number of grains was not what really mattered, since every person seemed to have cast a different number. What did seem important was either how the kernels clustered, or whether the number in each cluster was odd or even. In one case, she asked the diviner, "Will I marry again?" The response was: "Yes, said the corn, and it would be a good marriage." Parsons, then asked, "How does the corn show this?" The answer was, "because the grains turn up mostly black" (Parsons 1931 :65). Parsons also gives information about twentieth-century divination that involved the use of narcotic plants, a practice that seems to have had great time depth in the Zapotec region (Marcus and Flannery 1996:87). One of the twentieth-century narcotic plants was called bador, which Parsons translates as "little children." Parsons says bador was being grown in the yard of only one family in Mitla, who sold its leaves and seeds to two diviners, nowadays called curanderos or "curers"; they in turn administered it to their patients. After drinking an infusion from this plant, the patient supposedly could talk directly with the plant spirits, that is, the two plant "children," one male, one female. (It sounds as if bador might have been Datura, but this cannot be confirmed.) Parsons recorded information on the four "world directions," noting that items were offered to the "four parts of the world"

13

in an "anti-sunwise" (counterclockwise) circuit. In Mitla, the Zapotec call the four world directions the "four winds" or "four sides." East is the "up side" or "up" (hia); West is "down" (hiyet); North is "big mountain" (referring to the Dan Ro mountain range); South is "comb or jar mountain" (referring to another range, Dan Berg). For the sixteenth-century Zapotec of the Valley of Oaxaca, the term for East meant "where the sun rises," and the term for West "where the sun sets" (Cordova 1578a, Marcus and Flannery 1978:60). Significantly, during Parsons' fieldwork East and West were still the only cardinal points given "directional" labels; North and South were simply defined by mountain ranges. As is true of other Mesoamerican groups, the Zapotec assigned a color to each of the four world directions or quadrants. However, based on available studies of various parts of the Zapotec region, it appears that not every Zapotec group associated the same colors with the same directions. This variability over time and space could be the result of ancient or post-Conquest "drift," or it could constitute evidence that color/world direction links were not as static as we sometimes think. For example, in the sierra south of Miahuatlan, Oaxaca, Weitlaner and de Cicco (1962) collected data on a twentiethcentury Zapotec group who still linked the four world directions with four colors. During rituals there, the four world directions and the world center were symbolized by the use of five different flowers: East, black flower; West, white flower; North, green flower; South, yellow flower; Center, blue flower. These colors and directional associations are not likely to correspond to prehispanic ones, because blue and green would not have been two separate colors in prehispanic times. Based on other archaeological and ethnohistoric data, I suggest that the ancient Zapotec associated red with East, black with West, yellow with South, and white with North; the center of the world was blue/green, which was considered one color in prehispanic times.

Evidence for Water Divination in the Early Formative Divination by water, or tiniyaaya nira, could have been conducted by Zapotec women in their dooryards (zehe yoho in Zapotec). Household Unit C3, a residential unit in Area A of San Jose Mogote, contained several features which could have served for water divination. This household belonged to the San Jose phase and produced two radiocarbon dates, 1170 b.c. ± 120 years and 930 b.c. ± 95 years, uncalibrated (Flannery and Marcus 1994:382). In the dooryard of Unit C3 were two shallow basins, Features 3 and 8 (Fig. 3.2). Feature 3 was circular, 120 em in diameter, and recessed 5 em into the dooryard; it had been mudplastered, given a coating of waterproof lime plaster, then painted red with specular hematite. (When found, it had some loose stones in its center which probably represent postabandonment debris.) Feature 8 was a similarly recessed circle, found 3m to

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

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Figure 11. I 6. Partial plan of House 4 showing architectural features, piece-plotted figurine torsos and limbs, and a few other artifact categories.

Area C of San Jose Mogote

125

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Figure 11.17 (left) . Specimens 1-2 from House 7, Area C, San Jose Mogote. Both figurine heads have two-ploughing-stroke eyes; Specimen l has white pigment in the eyes.

1a

2a

2b

ers that was heavily overgrown with weeds, they could not be piece-plotted in situ as we later did with artifacts on house floors. They must therefore be treated as figurines from tertiary context. We present 36 of these figurines in Figures 11.31-11.45 to increase our sample from Area C. They include many of the same types seen in the primary and secondary contexts in that area. Specimen I: a Tierras Largas phase woman's head with pinhole pupils and an elaborately braided hairdo. Her hair has been perforated for ribbons three times, twice horizontally through her chignon qtfadrille and once vertically through the braids crossing her forehead (Fig. 11.31). This head probably came from Zone For G. Specimen 2: a Tierras Largas phase man's head displaying the same cap worn by the Hacienda Blanca specimen in Figure 8.7 (Fig. 11.32). This head, which has a few bunlike hair elements on the back of the head, probably came from Zone For G.

Specimens 3-9: slit-eye figurines typical of the early San Jose phase (Fig. 11.33). This group includes women with necklaces (Specimen 3), "tonsured caciques" with necklaces (Specimen 4), and occasional crude variants (Specimen 7). These specimens probably came from Zone E or D. Specimens 10-16: heads with two-ploughing-stroke eyes (Figs. 11.34-11.35). Most of these heads depict typical San Jose phase women. Hair coverings range from a simple cloth head wrap (Specimen 10), with or without hair buns poking out (Specimens 11, 15), to a head band (Specimens 14, 16). Some, like Specimen 13, simply have their hair parted in the middle in what I suspect was a married woman's style. Specimen 17: a white-slipped head with eyes indicated by simple slashes; hair has bangs and no part in the middle (Fig. 11.35) Specimens 18-22: "tonsured caciques," probably all from San Jose phase house remnants or middens (Figs. 11.36-11.37). The largest specimen (Fig. 11.36) is whitewashed, burnished, has realistic eyes with pupils, and may show cranial deformation. Specimens 19-22 may also show deformation, although artistic license makes this difficult to prove. Specimens 23-25: heads with tight-fitting skull caps, probably male (Fig. 11.37). The indentations on Specimen 25's head are superficial; they do not go all the way through as do the perforations on some Tierras Largas phase women. Specimen 26: the body of a man seated cross-legged with hands on knees, a typical San Jose phase position of authority (Fig. 11.38) Specimens 28-29: possible elite furniture, done in miniature (Fig. 11.39). Specimen 28 appears to be a miniature stool with a single concave pedestal base; Specimen 29 may be the miniature clay model of a wooden box like those kept by chiefly individuals in Central American and Polynesian societies. They are here compared to the miniature four-legged stool found in House 4 (Specimen 27).

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

126

L__j

1 em

1

2

Figure 11.18. Specimens 1-5, figurines piece-plotted in the dooryard midden associated with House 14, Area C, San Jose Mogote. 1-2, heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes. 3-4, torsos of women, one with a necklace. 5, torso of seated male.

Specimen 30: a figurine possibly attired in ballplayer's gear, supplied with a "third leg" support in the back (now broken) so that it would be easier to stand it erect as part of an arranged scene (Fig. 11.40). Specimen 31: a costumed male, possibly a dancer in some ritual (Fig. 11.41 ). He has been equipped with a "third leg" support in the back (now broken oft) so that it would be easier to stand him erect as part of an arranged scene. Specimen 32: the head of an animal, or a person wearing an animal costume (Fig. 11.42)

Specimen 33: a dog figurine with the head broken off (Fig. 11.43) Specimen 34: the arm from a large hollow white-slipped "baby doll" (Fig. 11.44). This San Jose phase specimen is probably from Zone D or C. Specimens 35-36: large noses from masks (or ceramic effigies). Specimen 35 is white-slipped and highly burnished. These fragments could be broken off masks large enough to cover the face of an adult human (Fig. 11.45).

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Figure JJ .19. Partial plan of House 14 and its dooryard midden, showing postmolds (hachured circles), piece-plotted figurine fragments, and a few other artifact categories.

Women 's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

128

Figure 11 .20 (leji) . Specimen I from the Zone E midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote. This figurine has two-ploughing-stroke eyes and is painted like a harlequin, with areas of red hematite on the left chest and right thigh; it may be a depiction of a dancer at some ritual.

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Figure 11 .21 (below) . Specimens 2-5 from the Zone E midden. Most of these women's heads have typical two-ploughing-stroke eyes, although a vertical pupil has been added to Specimen 3's eyes.

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Area C of San Jose Mogote

129

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Figure 11.22. Two large solid heads (Specimens 6-7) from the Zone E midden . Specimen 6 has pinhole pupils and an elaborate hairdo produced by braiding. Specimen 7 appears to be a white-slipped male wearing a decorated helmet.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

130

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9b

9a

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10a

8b

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Figure 11.23. Specimens 8-15 from the Zone E midden. Eye forms include the slit eye (Specimen 8) and pinhole-pupil eye (Specimen 9) . Specimen 10 is crudely made. Specimens 11 and 12, while different in size, are similar enough to have been made by the same woman . 13, woman's torso. 14. microtorso. 15, torso with necklace.

Area C of San Jose Mogote

131

L_j

1 em L___j

1 em

Figure 11.24. Specimen 16 from the Zone E midden, an animal head with its ears broken off. Figure 11 .26 (below). Specimens 1-4 from the Zone D2 midden, Area C, San Jose Mogote. These four figurine heads with two-ploughing-stroke eyessimilar enough to have been made by the same woman-were all discarded as a group in Square S l7C.

1a

Figure 11.25. Head of a woman with pinhole-pupil eyes, and perforations in the upper part of the head to allow the addition of cloth strips to the hairdo. Found in Feature 43, Area C, San Jose Mogote. This pit originated in Zone E (an early San Jose phase level), but was intrusive into Zone F (a Tierras Largas phase level).

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1b

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3a

3b

4a

4b

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

132

6 5 L__j

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Figure 11.27. Figurines with slit eyes and slit eyebrows (Specimens 5-7) from the Zone D2 midden . Specimens 6 and 7 wear necklaces of alternating horizontally and vertically strung beads, typical accessories of slit-eye figurines .

133

Area C of San Jose Mogote

9

L__j

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11a

11 b

Figure 11.28. Specimens 8-12 from the Zone 02 midden. Specimens 8 and 9 have two-ploughing-stroke eyes, with 8 being unusually large. Specimen 10 is unusual both in eye form and head shape. Specimen ll is a crude, inexpertly made figurine. Specimen 12 is a white-slipped seated male, possibly in a position of authority.

Women s Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

134

L__j

1 em

L__j

1 em Figure 11.29. Specimen 13 from the Zone 02 midden, a "tonsured cacique" with possible cranial deformation.

Figure 11.30. Specimen 14 from the Zone 02 midden, a miniature pottery mask.

Figure 11.31 . Specimen l from the Area C profile, San Jose Mogote: the head of a woman with pinhole-pupil eyes and an elaborate hairdo produced by braiding. Her hair has been perforated three times (two horizontally, once vertically) so that colored ribbons could be added . Found while cutting the Area C profile at San Jose Mogote, this head is typical of the Tierras Largas phase.

1b

1a

L__j

1 em

Figure 11.32. Specimen 2 from the Area C profile: the head of a man with pinhole-pupil eyes, wearing typical male headgear (see, for example, Figs. 8.7, 8.8). Found while cutting the Area C profile at San Jose Mogote, this head is typical of the Tierras Largas phase.

2a

2b

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135

Area C of San Jose Mogote

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Bb

Figure 11.33. Specimens 3-9 from the Area C profile: heads with slit eyes and slit eyebrows . Specimens 3 and 4 wear necklaces typical for slit-eye figurines: alternating horizontally and vertically strung beads (early San Jose phase).

Women 's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

136

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10a

12a

11 b

11a

12b

13a

13b

Figure 11 .34. Specimens 10-13 from the Area C profile: heads of women with eyes made by two ploughing strokes . Specimens l 0-12 have cloth wraps on their heads; Specimen 13 seems to have a simple part in her hair.

Area C of San Jose Mogote

137

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14a

16a

14b

16b

17a

17b

Figure 11.35. Specimens 14-17 from the Area C profile. Specimens 14-16 are heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes and hairdos involving head wraps (14-15) or a headband (l6). Specimen 17 is a white-slipped man's head with eyes made by slashes.

138

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

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1 em

18a

Figure 11.36. Specimen 18 from the Area C profile: a "tonsured cacique" head, white-slipped, probably showing cranial deformation .

Area C of San Jose Mogote

139

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19b

21a

21b

23a

23b

20a

20b

Figure 11 .37. Specimens 19-25 from the Area C profile, a group of men's heads. Specimens 19-22 are "tonsured cacique" heads, most showing some degree of tabular deformation . Specimens 23-25 wear simple caps or close-fitting helmets. Specimens 19-24 were originally white-slipped, but are now eroded.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

140

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27

26a

26b

28 Figure 11.38 (above). Two views of Specimen 26 from the Area C profile, the torso of a man seated cross-legged with hands on knees (probably a position of authority). Figure ll.39 (right). Elite paraphernalia, scaled do"Yn to "figurine size." Specimens 28-29 were found while cutting the Area C profile, San Jose Mogote, not far from House 4; Specimen 27 is a miniature four-legged stool from House 4 (see Fig. 11.15). Specimen 28 is a miniature stool with concave base; Specimen 29 may be a miniature version of a carved wooden box.

29 L___j

1 em

Area C of San Jose Mogote

30a

Figure 11.40 (above). Specimen 30 from the Area C profile: the torso of a man wearing heavy equipment of some kind, held in place by suspenders and a belt (see similar figurine from House I 0, Fig. 11.11 ). This figurine would have been kept upright by a "third leg" support on the back, now broken.

141

30b

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1 em

Figure 11.41 (right). Front and side views of Specimen 31 from the

Area C profile. This figurine depicts a man in an animal costume of some kind, and would have been kept upright by a "third leg" support on the back, now broken.

31a

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

142

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1 em

32a L___j

1 em

Figure ll.42. Top and side views of Specimen 32 from the Area C profile, the head of an animal (or a human in animal costume). Figure 11.43. Two views of Specimen 33 from the Area C profile, a probable dog figurine .

Figure 11.44 (right). Specimen 34 from the Area C profile, an arm from a large hollow white-slipped "baby doll" figurine.

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34

Area C of San Jose Mogote

Figure 11.45. Specimens 35-36 from the Area C profile: noses broken off large masks or ceramic effigies.

143

Chapter 12

Area A of San Jose Mogote Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Contexts Area A of San Jose Mogote lay at the eastern edge of the piedmont spur on which the core of the San Jose phase village was located (Fig. 9.2). Resting on bedrock in Area A was a barrio midden called Stratigraphic ZoneD, filled with household refuse in secondary context. Above the Zone D midden we found a series of four superimposed San Jose phase household units called (from oldest to youngest) C4, C3, C2, and Cl. Excavation of these household units usually involved exposing one part of the house and a portion of the adjacent dooryard (Flannery and Marcus 1994:3016). We consider these households to be primary contexts, and significant figurine fragments were piece-plotted in situ as they came to light. Following the abandonment of Household Unit C 1, two public buildings called Structures 1 and 2 were built in Area A. The fill of these public buildings was composed of thousands of basketloads of earth, dug up either in nearby middens or in an area of alluvium just to the east of the piedmont spur. Many of those basketloads of earth contained figurine fragments which increase our overall sample; unfortunately, such figurines are in tertiary context.

lllustrated Fragments

Specimen 1: a head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, wearing what appears to be a very elaborate head wrap. It is not clear whether Specimen 1 is male or female. Specimen 2: a slit-eye and slit-eyebrow figurine with hair parted in the middle Specimen 3: the head of a bird, unidentified to genus Specimen 4: the leg from a large hollow figurine with traces of white slip Specimen 5: a small solid arm with cupped hand Specimen 6: a small solid lower leg with cuff or "kneeguard" Specimen 7: a white-slipped solid limb Fragments Not lllustrated

2 small solid torso fragments 8 small solid women's legs 2 small solid feet 1 small solid arm with cupped hand 12 miscellaneous small solid limb fragments 2 fragments from large white-slipped hollow dolls

Four Households from Area A Household Unit C4 (Figs. 12.1-12..2)

Household Unit C3 (Figs. 12.3-12.10)

Our excavations exposed part of the dooryard of this household; areas of wattle-and-daub wall collapse indicated that the house itselflay just to the west. Feature 5, a large outdoor hearth with fire-cracked rock, appeared in the northeast part of the excavation (Fig. 12.2). Many of the piece-plotted figurine fragments lay between that hearth and the area of wattle-and-daub debris. A total of 34 figurine fragments were found on the dooryard surface; 7 of them are illustrated in Figure 12.1.

Our exposure of Household Unit C3 included an area of wattleand-daub wall collapse from the east wall of the house, plus 13 square meters of the dooryard to the east of the house. Feature 6, a stone-lined outdoor hearth with a broken charcoal brazier and cooking pots lying nearby, was one of the landmarks on this dooryard surface. There was also a bell-shaped cooking pit or earth oven, Feature 2, near the east wall of the house (Fig. 12.5). Two of the most interesting features of the Unit C3 dooryard were the two waterproofed, painted, shallow ritual basins al145

146

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

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Figure 12.1. Specimens l-7, figurines piece-plotted in association with Household Unit C4, Area A, San Jose Mogote. 1, head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes. 2, head with slit eyes . 3, bird head. 4, leg from large figurine. 5, 6, legs from smaller figurines (6 has an ankle cuff). 7, unidentified limb fragment.

ready described in Chapter 3. Feature 3, a lime-plastered and red-painted basin 1.2 m in diameter, lay 2 m northeast of the wall collapse. Feature 8, a lime-plastered and yellow-painted basin of roughly the same size, lay roughly 3 m south of Feature 3. As discussed in Chapter 3, Features 3 and 8 appear to be the kind of ritual basin in which Zapotec women performed que/a huefi.iy nifa. This was a divination ritual in which kernels of maize were tossed onto the surface of a water-filled basin for the purpose of seeing whether those that floated were in oddnumbered or even-numbered groups. The combination of features in this part of the dooryard-an outdoor hearth, an earth oven, and two ritual basins-suggests that it was frequently the scene of women's activities. Possible women's artifacts found nearby include fragments of metates and manos, sherds from broken cooking pots, and other artifacts associated with food preparation.

It should be added, however, that there were also artifacts from several craft activities scattered over the Household Unit C3 dooryard. We do not know whether men, women, or entire households performed these particular craft activities. Included were the cutting of mica sheets, the cutting and perforating of shell ornaments, and the conversion of iron ore lumps into small mirrors. Household Unit C3 produced 68 figurine fragments (an unusually large number) and a possible ceramic mask, as follows:

Illustrated Fragments l woman's head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; cloth head wrap with decorative cords hanging down; noseplug (Fig. 12.3, Specimen 1) 2 women's heads with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, wearing a headband above bangs (Fig. 12.3, Specimens 2 and 3)

147

Area A of San Jose Mogote

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Figure 14.3. Plan of Household Unit LSJ-1, Area A, Tierras Largas site, showing the house, its associated middens, and those artifacts which lay directly on the original floor.

Tierras Largas phase. The hairdo consists of braids wound densely over the top and sides of the head, plus four to six falls or chignons in the back (Fig. 14.11 :31b). This head might be a broken Tierras Largas phase specimen, picked up and tossed into the debris in the house.

Specimen 32: head, gender uncertain, with two-ploughingstroke eyes. It could be wearing a cap with three decorative elements, or a hairdo with three buns or Zulu knots; this is unclear, since the elements are unstriated. Although this head is solid, it is reminiscent of Specimen I from Feature 140, Household Unit ESJ-1 (Fig. 14.2:1)

195

San Jose Phase Households

Midden 1

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Figure 14.4. Specimen I from Unit LSJ-1 , a small solid white-slipped woman's torso from Square BI4.

Specimen 33: crude, inexpertly made head with what appear to be Zulu knots in front and a "pony tail" in back; the eyes are slits Specimen 34: head of a woman with atypical eyes; earspools; and long, irregularly trimmed bangs below a headband. Above the headband is an apparent topknot or chignon quadrille Specimen 35: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; and a turbanlike head covering which might combine both hair (striated) and cloth (unstriated) Specimen 36: complete figurine of a standing woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; "catcher's mitt" hands; and a cloth wrap with two hair buns poking out above it Specimen 37: most of a standing woman (reassembled from broken parts) with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; hair parted in the middle, braids descending to her shoulders .Specimen 38: head and torso of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; noseplug; earspools; hair pulled into one prominent "horn" held in place by a ring; braids descending to her shoulders; holding in her right arm what may be a baby (broken) Specimen 39: head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; headband or cloth wrap with prominent forelock above it; possibly female

Specimen 40: head and shoulders of woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; hair parted in the middle; braids descending to below shoulders Specimen 41: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; hair parted in the middle; braids descending to shoulders; face resembles Specimen 37 enough to have been made by the same woman Specimen 42: head and torso of woman(?) with twoploughing-stroke eyes (while her head was from Square D14, her torso was found in Feature 4); cloth head wrap with prominent flap in front Specimen 43: broken fragment from the head of a large hollow doll, showing striated hair; traces of red pigment Specimen 44: fragment of head showing the "multiple horn" hairdo mentioned in sixteenth-century documents. (Above a headband, the hair is drawn out into hornlike bundles and held in place by rings; this specimen had at least 3 "horns," two of them broken.) Specimen 45: head, probably male, wearing a simple cap or helmet; the eyes are shallow grooves Specimen 46: small solid head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; cloth head wrap with prominent forelock above it Specimen 47: bent leg, probably from seated figurine Specimen 48: torso fragment from slender woman wearing a belt

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

196

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Figure 14.5. Specimens 2-6 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square Cl3. Specimens 2-4, heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; note similar hairdos on 2 and 3. 5, leg. 6, seated torso.

Specimen 49: solid unslipped leg Specimen 50: arm with "catcher's mitt" hand Specimens 51 and 52: solid unslipped legs from women wearing short skirts of some kind Specimen 53: solid torso, slipped Atoyac Yellow-white, burnished; possibly male Specimens 54 and 55: solid unslipped women's torsos Specimen 56: kneeling potbellied figure with tail Specimen 57: solid unslipped torso Specimen 58: top view of legs, seated figure Specimens 59 and 62: solid unslipped women's legs Specimens 60 and 61: solid white-slipped legs

Square D15 (Figs. 14.15-14.16) Specimen 63: fragment of head showing the "two horn" hairdo mentioned in sixteenth-century documents. Two hornlike bundles of hair are held in place by rings; the element between them could be the cloth flap from a head wrap Specimen 64: head of an animal (or a human in animal costume) Specimen 65: white-slipped arm from a hollow doll Specimen 66: part of the face from a hollow "baby doll," now eroded but with traces of white slip

197

San Jose Phase Households

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14 11 Figure 14.6. Specimens 7-14 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square Cl4 (part l of 2) . Specimens 7-8, 10-12, heads with one variant or another of the twoploughing-stroke eye. 9, head with perforated pupil. 13, 14, torsos of women .

Specimen 67: crude, inexpertly made figure with eyes shown as slots Specimen 68: complete figure of woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; seated with her ankles crossed; fingers delineated; hairdo simple, with tresses on both sides descending to shoulders Specimens 69 and 70: badly eroded torsos

Specimen 71: small solid unslipped woman's torso Specimens 72, 73, and 74 are Guadalupe-like in style, suggesting that debris continued to be tossed into the LSJ-1 house until very late in the San Jose phase. Specimen 73 is a face fragment with large punched pupils; 72 and 74 are torsos with lozenge-shaped navels and traces of pectorals.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

198

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1 em

18 Figure 14.7. Specimens 15-20 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square Cl4 (part 2 of2). Specimens 15, 16, legs from seated figurines . 17, top view of torso with "third leg" support. 18, arm with cupped hand. 19, 20, legs of women.

Specimen 75: an unidentified animal Specimens 76 and 77: solid unslipped women's legs Specimen 78: a solid unslipped leg from a woman wearing a fiber skirt Square E14 (Fig. 14.17) Specimen 79: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; cloth head wrap with prominent central flap Specimen 80: nearly complete figure of a standing woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; hair pulled into one prominent "horn" held in place by a ring. While not identical, this woman's face and hairdo resemble those of Specimen 38

Specimen 81: solid unslipped woman's leg Specimen 82: solid unslipped torso, probably male, wearing a loincloth Specimen 83: solid torso, probably from a seated male; with a concavity showing that the head was made as a separate piece, and added on Specimen 84: head of a woman(?) with two-ploughingstroke eyes, cloth head wrap with prominent forelock above it Specimen 85: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; noseplug; earspools; hairdo eroded and indistinct, but possibly involving a cloth wrap and a central "horn" of hair

199

San Jose Phase Households

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Figure 14.8. Specimens 21 -22 from Unit LSJ-1 , figurines from Square Cl5 . Specimen 21, crude, inexpertly made head . 22, leg.

Square E15 (Fig. 14.18) Specimen 86: crudely made head with pinhole pupils and simple hairdo, gender uncertain Specimens 87, 88, and 89: badly eroded and broken heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes Specimen 90: solid unslipped woman's torso Specimen 91: solid unslipped woman's leg Feature 4 (Fig. 14.19) Specimen 1: nearly complete figure of an individual in an animal mask, wearing a loincloth and leg cuffs. Around his neck is a large circular pendant (possible materials include shell and magnetite).

Specimen 2: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, noseplug, and earspools; her hair is parted in the middle, and she wears a simple headband Specimen 3: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes and earspools; like Specimen 35 from Square 014 (Fig. 14.11), she wears a cloth head wrap, above which her hair is wrapped around her head turban-style Specimen 4: a small solid unslipped limb Specimen 5: eroded head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes Specimen 6: a sturdy, solid limb from a figurine whose torso may have been hollow Middens 1 and 2 (Fig. 14.20) The gray ash midden inside the house (Midden 2) produced two figurine heads:

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

200

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23

24

27

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Figure 14.9. Specimens 23-28 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from SquareD 13 (part I of 2). Specimens 23, 24, young women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes. 25, 26, pregnant women with fiber skirts, each with her abdomen supported by a belt; these two specimens are similar enough to have been made by the same woman. 27, head with perforated pupil (like Specimen 9, Fig. 14.6). 28, leg.

Specimen I: head and shoulders of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; hair parted in the middle, with long braids descending below shoulders. This is the same hairdo seen on Specimen 24 in Square D13, immediately to the south ofMidden 2 (Fig. 14.9),

and Specimen 37 from Square Dl4, just southeast of Midden 2 (Fig. 14.12). Specimen 2: badly broken head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes

San Jose Phase Households

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1 em

29

30

Figure 14.10. Specimens 29-30 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square D 13 (part 2 of 2). Both figurines depict women seated with legs extended forward , ankles touching.

201

Specimen 2: head and shoulders of an individual with twoploughing-stroke eyes; noseplug; earspools; wearing a headdress that may represent a bird. The headdress seems to have a central beak, two circular elements for eyes, and six to eight elements representing a crest of feathers. Specimen 3: head of a "tonsured cacique," slipped Atoyac Yellow-white; his eyes are lifeless-looking slots Specimen 4: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; nose broken; hair parted in the middle, encircled by a simple headband (like Specimen 2 of Feature 4, Fig. 14.19). Faint streaks on the eroded right cheek may indicate facial paint. Specimen 5: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; hair in a turbanlike cloth wrap Specimen 6: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; hair parted in the middle Specimen 7: battered head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; cloth head wrap with three hair buns poking out above it Specimen 8: head of a dog wearing earspools, his tongue out as if panting

Household Unit LSJ-2 (Figs. 14.24-14.36) The gray ash midden immediately outside the house (Midden I) produced two torsos: Specimen 3: small solid unslipped woman's torso Specimen 4: standard-size solid unslipped woman's torso Masks from Household Unit LSJ-1 (Fig. 14.21) One complete mask and one mask fragment were found in the debris inside the house. Both were of appropriate size to fit over the lower face of an adult individual, as shown in miniature in Figure 8.28. Specimen a: circular mask, 6.8 em in diameter, depicting a "monster" with puffy eyes; found in Square Dl4 Specimen b: fragment of a broken mask, bearing a nose; found in Square C14 Eight Figurines Possibly from the Dooryard of Unit LSJ-1 (Figs. 14.22-14.23) Because the site of Tierras Largas was so shallow (and had been plowed to bedrock in some places), it was not always easy to find the limits of a given household's dooryard. The following eight figurine fragments from Area A may have been associated with the dooryard of Household Unit LSJ-1. Specimen 1: complete figurine of a man with earspools, seated cross-legged, arms tightly crossed over his chest; his eyes are made by two ploughing strokes, with small perforations for pupils. This figurine may represent an important male ancestor, tightly bundled as a seated burial.

Not far to the south of Household Unit LSJ-1, another late San Jose phase household came to light. Called Household Unit LSJ-2, it consisted of a partial house floor with two postmolds; a large bell-shaped pit immediately beside the house (Feature I60); and a series of features in the dooryard. Included among the latter were a smaller bell-shaped pit (Feature 150), a more cylindrical pit (Feature 156), and two earth ovens called Features I49 and I6I (M. Winter I973: Table 9). The layout of the house and its associated features can be seen in Figures I4.24-I4.26. Judging by its contents, Unit LSJ-2 appears to have been the household of a relatively highstatus family. Eight Figurines from the House Floor (Figs. 14.27-14.28) Specimen I: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; her hairdo featuring two "horns" (on the top and the forehead) and a thick braid passing from right to left behind the topmost "horn" Specimen 2: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, hair parted in the middle Specimen 3: top view of crossed legs from a seated figurine Specimen 4: torso of a seated figure, probably a woman with her legs extending out in front of her; wearing the belt and fiber skirt seen on some pregnant women Specimen 5: solid unslipped limb Specimen 6: solid unslipped leg, covered with short incisions·that may represent clothing or a costume

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

202

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33a

33b

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34

Figure 14.11. Specimens 31-35 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from SquareD 14 (part 1 of 4 ). Specimen 31, head of a woman with pinhole-pupil eye and elaborate hairdo, featuring braiding plus four to six falls of hair in the back; possibly a redeposited Tierras Largas phase specimen. 32, head from large figurine, possibly male. 33, unusual head with slit eyes and geometric tonsuring on back. 34, head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes and elegant hair treatment. 35, head of a woman with turban created by combining cloth and hair.

203

San Jose Phase Households

38

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1 em

Figure 14.12. Specimens 36-41 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square 014 (part 2 of 4). Most are women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; four have braids or tresses to their shoulders (Specimens 37 -38; 40-41 ). 38 holds a baby in the crook of her arm. 39 could represent a man . 36 shows a narrow-waisted female torso with tapering legs and straight arms ending in a cupped hand .

204

Women:s- Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

Specimen 7: torso of a figure seated cross-legged with hands on knees, probably a male in a position of authority Specimen 8: partial head and torso of a figure wearing a mask, shoulder pads, and a heavy belt, possibly ballplayer's gear; it had a "third leg" support in the back, now broken Figurines from Features 149, 150, andl61 (Fig. 14.29) These three features produced only a few photogenic figurine fragments, as follows: Feature 149 2 solid unslipped torsos, one of which is shown in Figure 14.29 (bottom left) Feature 150 1 eroded head with pinhole pupils, possibly a redeposited Tierras Largas phase specimen (Fig. 14.29, top) 1 other fragment (not photogenic) Feature 161 1 microtorso (Fig. 14.29, bottom right) Ten Clay Figurines from Feature 160 (Figs. 14.30-14.34) Feature 160, the large bell-shaped pit next to the Unit LSJ-2 house, produced some of the most interesting figurines from that household. Having been swept into the pit after it ceased to serve for storage, however, these figurines were in secondary context. The following specimens were notable: Specimen 1: a large head with pinhole pupil eyes, the hair close-cropped and indicated by fine striations (Fig. 14.30). Possibly a redeposited Tierras Largas or early San Jose phase specimen, this head could have come from a male figurine standing 25-30 em tall. Specimen 2: a large, solid white-slipped head with pinhole pupil eyes; its profile (Fig. 14.31:2b) hints at cranial deformation, but this cannot be confirmed because the top of the head is broken. This may be a "tonsured cacique." Specimen 3: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; wearing a cloth wrap, above which the hair is pulled into a tall horn or chignon quadrille (Fig. 14.32:3a, 3b) Specimen 4: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; a nose ornament; and a hairdo almost identical to that of Specimen 3 (Fig. 14.32:4a, 4b). Indeed, Specimens 3 and 4 might depict the same ancestor, modeled by two different women Specimen 5: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, crude pupils gouged in them; earspools; wearing a cloth wrap, above which the hair is coiled turban-style

(Fig. 14.32:5a, 5b) Specimen 6: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, her hair in a simple cloth wrap (Fig. 14.32:6a, 6b) Specimen 7: solid unslipped torso of a woman whose hair reached her shoulders; wearing a belt and loincloth (Fig. 14.32:7) Specimen 8: solid unslipped torso of a seated figure, hands on chest, apparently wearing shoulder pads and a belt of some kind (Fig. 14.33:8a, 8b) Specimen 9: human figure costumed as an animal (possibly an opossum?), wearing a heavy belt and loincloth; hands on chest, fingers delineated; badly broken, but might have had a "third leg" support in back (Fig. 14.33:9a, 9b) Specimen 10: leg from a large hollow doll; possible traces of light-colored wash, but not the usual burnished Atoyac Yellow-white slip (Fig. 14.34) A Stone Figurine from Feature 160 One of the most remarkable objects found in Feature 160 was the stone figurine shown in Figures 14.35 and 14.36. Though crudely made, using techniques akin to the sawing and carving of a bark beater, it represents the oldest stone figure known so far from the Valley of Oaxaca. It was found resting on the very floor of Feature 160, and is probably no younger than the late San Jose phase. Measuring 13.5 em in height, the figure is made on an unidentified (probably metamorphic) black stone, not unlike that used for the celts of the San Jose phase. It stands stiffly erect like a soldier at attention, its arms at its sides. The eyes, nose, nipples, and navel are all made by shallow circular drill holes. A crude necklace of rectangular beads appears on the front side. The hair is indicated by grooves (V-shaped in cross-section) which begin on the top of the head and continue to the nape of the neck; similar grooves on the back may depict long hair continuing to the waist, although this is not certain. The fingers are delineated. The deep grooves separating the arms from the trunk resemble those that result when a celt is sharpened on a whetstone. It is not clear whether this figure is male or female, and one can only guess at what it represented to its maker. Figurines Possibly Associated with the Dooryard of Unit LSJ-2 (Figs. 14.37-14.39) As Figure 14.24 shows, the house from Unit LSJ-2 came to light in a block of 2 x 2 m squares known as Area D. In addition to the figurines found on the house floor, more fragments came from areas outside the house proper. There is a good chance that these additional Area D figurines were associated with the dooryard surrounding the house, "although owing to the overall shallowness of the site and its heavily plowed condition, that association cannot be guaranteed.

205

San Jose Phase Households

44

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Figure 14.13. Specimens 42-52 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square 014 (part 3 of 4). In the case of Specimen 42, the head was found in Square 014, but the conjoining torso was found in Feature 4. Specimen 43, section of hair from the head of a large hollow figurine. 44, hairdo featuring "horns" of hair like those depicted in later codices (see Fig. 6.5). 45 and 46 could be males. 47, bent leg from seated figure . 48, woman's torso with belt. 49-52, legs.

The eight most photogenic of these additional figurine fragments from Area Dare shown in Figures 14.37-14.39. They are as follows: Specimen 1: head with slit eyes; only a hint of pupils; large earspools; wearing closely cropped hair. This head might represent a young male (and could even be redeposited from a Tierras Largas phase level). Specimen 2: eroded head of a woman(?) with twoploughing-stroke eyes, apparently wearing a cloth head

wrap with decorative folds or flaps on front and side(?) Specimen 3: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; a cloth head wrap with a flap in front; possible braids descending to the shoulder (Fig. 14.38:3b) Specimen 4: head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, pupils indicated by perforations; nose ornament; earspools; hair parted in the middle, braids twisted into a chignon quadrille in back

206

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

Figure 14.14. Specimens 53-62 from Unit LSJ- I, figurines from SquareD 14 (part 4 of 4). All specimens are torsos or legs. Specimen 56 is pot-bellied, seated, and has an appendage on the back. 58 is the top view of a seated torso.

San Jose Phase Households Specimen 5: crude head with eyes and mouth made by slots; hair close cropped Specimen 6: fragment of ceramic mask, preserving one of the holes drilled for suspension Specimen 7: head of a dog with his tongue displayed as if panting Specimen 8: complete figure of a small bird, perhaps an ocarina or whistle (Fig. 14.39:8)

Tertiary Contexts at the Site of Tierras Largas Not all the excavations at Tierras Largas involved houses, dooryards, or features. During 1969, Winter gridded the site into 5307 squares, each 2 m on a side. He then drew a random sample of 197 squares (3.71% of the universe of squares) and excavated them. The purpose of this sampling strategy was to get an estimate of the number and spacing of household units in the Formative village (M. Winter 1976a). Many of the sample squares excavated by Winter hit nothing relevant to this volume. Other sample squares hit what appeared to be parts of household units; in such areas, Winter excavated additional squares in an effort to expose the unit. In some cases, households did emerge, one example being the already discussed Unit LSJ-2 in Area D. In other cases, an entire block of contiguous 2 x 2 m squares might be excavated without finding an intact household unit. While such blocks of squares must be treated as tertiary contexts, they often produced interesting samples of San Jose phase figurines. Area E (Figs. 14.40-14.48) Area E of Tierras Largas did not produce an actual San Jose phase house. However, a total of twelve 2 x 2m squares (48 square meters) were excavated in Area E, producing a significant sample of San Jose phase figurines (M. Winter 1973: Table 2). Some 25 photogenic specimens from that block of contiguous 2 X 2m squares are presented in Figures 14.40-14.47. These figurines all came from the same small area of the site, and some are similar enough to have come from the same household. Specimens 1 and 2 (Fig. 14.40): although different in size, these two figurines were similar enough to have been made by the same woman. Each depicts a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; a mouth also·made by two ploughing strokes; and a hairdo featuring two hair buns. Specimen 1 wears a cloth wrap. Specimens 3 and 4 (Fig. 14.40): while probably made by different women, these two heads with ploughingstroke eyes have similar hairdos, featuring two hair buns over a cloth wrap. Specimen 5 (Fig. 14.40): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; nose plug; cloth wrap with a central decorative element; hair pulled back into two

207

buns on the sides; long unbraided hair falling to the shoulder Specimen 6 (Fig. 14.40): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes and a prominent forelock over a cloth wrap Specimen 7 (Fig. 14.40): head of a woman with eyes made by simple slits, hair eroded but apparently featuring a combination of bangs and hair buns or Zulu knots Specimen 8 (Fig. 14.41): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; hair parted in the middle, with descending braids; prominent chin Specimen 9 (Fig. 14.41): woman with two-ploughingstroke eyes and prominent earspools; she seems to be wearing a hat, but it might be an elaborately coiled cloth head wrap Specimen 10 (Fig. 14.41): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; prominent chin added as a fillet; two buns of hair peek out from below the upper coil of an elaborate cloth head wrap Specimen 11 (Fig. 14.41): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes, and a prominent forelock of striated hair peeking out from below a turbanlike cloth wrap Specimen 12 (Fig. 14.41): small head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; noseplug; earspools; hair closely cropped, with bangs Specimen 13 (Fig. 14.41): eroded head and shoulders of woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes (the ridge between the strokes gives the impression of a pupil); cloth head wrap with decorative flap in front; her left arm is lifted to her head Specimen 14 (Fig. 14.41): head and torso of a simple, somewhat crudely made figure of uncertain gender, wearing earspools; it is not clear whether a cloth wrap or close-cropped hair is depicted Specimen 15 (Fig. 14.42): two-thirds of a seated figure, probably male, with "seal flipper" arms; eyes made by two ploughing strokes; earspools; a central forelock over what may be a head band or cloth wrap; beneath the mouth is a large fillet depicting either (1) a false beard or (2) the world's most prominent chin Specimen 16 (Fig. 14.43): torso of a woman with outstretched arm ending in a cupped hand; broken in such a way as to show that the neck was a peg over which the head was added Specimen 17 (Fig. 14.43): torso of a woman with belt, "thong bikini," and braids (or hair falls) descending to below the shoulders Specimens 18, 19, and 20 (Fig. 14.43): solid unslipped torsos of women Specimen 21 (Fig. 14.44): torso of a woman(?) holding a baby on her hip with her left arm Specimen 22 (Fig. 14.45): figure of a man dressed as a bird(?) with a "third leg" support in back to facilitate

208

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

standing upright; a concavity on the back indicates that an additional appendage is missing (as well as the head) Specimen 23 (Fig. 14.46): head of an animal, or a human in animal costume (species uncertain) Specimen 24 (Fig. 14.46): head of an animal, or a human in animal costume (species uncertain). Note the strong similarity between this animal head and Specimen 64 from Household Unit LSJ-1, Square D15 (Fig. 14.15:64a, 64b); they are similar enough to have been made by the same person Specimen 25 (Fig. 14.47): head of a spider monkey figure (this fragment was found in Feature 172 of Area E) In addition to the figurine fragments described above, Area E produced two fragments from ceramic masks which would have been large enough to cover the lower face of an adult. They appear in Figure 14.48. Both mask fragments strongly resemble the faces of San Jose phase figurines-fillets added for the eyes, earspools, nose ornaments, even a clay fillet added for the chin. What these characteristics suggest is that these particular masks were worn to impersonate ancestors, rather than monsters, animals, or supernatural forces. Clearly, therefore, ancestor ritual went far beyond the arranging and addressing of figurine scenes. Figurines from Isolated Random Sample Squares (Figs. 14.49-14.52)

Finally, we come to a series of San Jose phase figurine fragments from 2 X 2m squares which formed part of Winter's random sample at Tierras Largas, but could not be tied to a household unit. While they increase our sample of figurines with San Jose phase attributes, they come from tertiary contexts and are therefore not much more informative than a surface collection. Only the fourteen most photogenic are shown in Figures 14.49-14.52.

Specimen 1 (Fig. 14.49): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; noseplug; earspools; prominent nose added as a separate piece; topknot or chignon quadrille above a head band Specimen 2 (Fig. 14.49): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; noseplug; earspools; hair parted in the middle; prominent chin Specimen 3 (Fig. 14.49): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; prominent forelock over cloth head wrap Specimen 4 (Fig. 14.49): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; cloth head wrap with central flap; two prominent hair buns, one on each side Specimen 5 (Fig. 14.49): small head with two-ploughingstroke eyes; gender uncertain; earspools; simple cap or head wrap Specimen 6 (Fig. 14.49): head of a woman with twoploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; prominent chin; head in a cloth head wrap, coiled turbanlike Specimen 7 (Fig. 14.49): head with deeply gouged twoploughing-stroke eyes; gender uncertain; prominent nose; simple cap or head wrap Specimens 8 and 9 (Fig. 14.49): two heads, both from Sample Square 156, that are similar enough to have been made by the same woman. Both have twoploughing-stroke eyes made with a wide, blunt tool; wear earspools; and appear to be tonsured Specimens 10 and 11 (Fig. 14.50): solid unslipped torsos of women wearing belts and fiber skirts; Specimen 10 might be pregnant Specimen 12 (Fig. 14.51): nearly complete figurine of a human costumed as an animal (possibly a dog or coyote) Specimens 13 and 14 (Fig. 14.52): two crude, inexpertly made figurine heads, possibly early attempts by novices

209

San Jose Phase Households

• Midden 1

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64a

64b

67

66

68

Figure 14.15. Specimens 63-68 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square D 15 (part 1 of 2) . Specimen 63, hairdo featuring two "horns" of hair like those depicted in later codices (see Fig. 6.5). 64, head of individual in animal costume. 65, 66, arm and fragment of face from hollow "baby dolls"; 65 is still whiteslipped, 66 is badly eroded. 67, crude, inexpertly made figurine. 68, woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, seated with legs extended forward, ankles touching (see Fig. 14.10 for similar examples).

210

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

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1 em

Figure 14.16. Specimens 69-78 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square 015 (part 2 of2). Specimens 69-71, typical San Jose phase torsos. 72, 74, torsos with the pectoral ornaments and lozenge-shaped navels most popular during the Guadalupe phase. 73, face with the large punched pupil most popular during the Guadalupe phase. 75, figurine of animal, possibly a dog. 76-78, legs from women; 78 wears a fiber skirt.

San Jose Phase Households

211

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\

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leg. 82, Figure 14.17. Specimens 79-85 from Unit LSJ-1 , figurines from Square El4. Specimens 79, 80, 84, 85, women with two-ploughing-strok e eyes. 81, possible male torso with loincloth. 83, torso from seated figurine whose head was evidently modeled as a separate unit.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

212

89

88

• 90

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Figure 14.18. Specimens 86-91 from Unit LSJ-1, figurines from Square El5. Specimen 86, head with pinhole-pupil eye, probably male. 87-89, heads with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, probably female. 90, 91, torso and leg, female.

213

San Jose Phase Households

2

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Figure 14.19. Figurines from Feature 4, a small bell-shaped pit in the Unit LSJ-1 house. Specimen l, two views of man in loincloth and animal costume, possibly a dancer. 2, 3, heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes and hairdos that combine hair with a cloth wrap. 4, 6, legs. 5, eroded head .

214

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

2

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Figure 14.20. Figurines from Middens 1 and 2, Unit LSJ-1. Specimens 1, 2, women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes from Midden 2; note similarities between Specimen 1 of this figure, Specimen 24 of Figure 14.9, and Specimens 37 and 41 of Figure 14.12. 3, 4, female torsos from Midden 1.

215

San Jose Phase Households

b L__j

1 em

Figure 14.21 (above). Pottery masks from Unit LSJ-1. a, complete specimen from SquareD 14. b, fragment of mask from Square C 14. Figure 14.22 (left). Figurines from Area A of the Tierras Largas site, possibly associated with the dooryard of Unit LSJ-1 (part 1 of 2) . Specimen 1, figurine of seated man, perhaps tightly bundled for burial. 2, two views of an individual with an elaborate helmet, perhaps representing a raptorial bird. (In later periods, such helmets were awarded by the Zapotec to warriors who had distinguished themselves in raids or battles; see Marcus and Flannery 1996: Fig. 237 .)

2a

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216

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

4

5

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8 7

Figure 14.23. Figurines from Area A of the Tierras Largas site, possibly associated with the dooryard of Unit LSJ-1 (part 2 of 2). Specimen 3, two views of white-slipped "tonsured cacique" head, now eroded. 4-7, heads with two-ploughing-stroke eyes. 8, head of dog.

San Jose Phase Households

217

•

Features Feature

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Figure 14.24. Partial plan of Household Unit LSJ-2, Tierras Largas site, showing small solid figurine heads from house floor and features.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

218

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se

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Figure 14.25. Partial plan of Unit LSJ-2, showing small solid figurine torsos from house floor and features.

219

San Jose Phase Households

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150 Area C Figure 14.26. Partial plan of Unit LSJ-2, showing four noteworthy figurines from Feature 160 (a bell-shaped pit) .

Women 's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

220

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1a

2b

2a

1b

4

3

5

Figure 14.27. Specimens 1-6, figurines associated with the house floor, Unit LSJ-2 (part I of2). Specimens I, 2, heads ofwomen with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; Specimen l's unusual hairdo may depict "horns" of hair like those seen in later codices (see Fig. 6.5). 3, crossed legs from seated figure. 4, seated torso in fiber skirt, possibly a woman with legs extended forward. 5, 6, legs.

San Jose Phase Households

221

7b

7a L__j

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Figure 14.28. Specimens 7-8, figurines associated with the house floor, Unit LSJ-2 (part 2 of 2) . 7, torso of seated maJe with hands on knees, in a position of authority. 8, figure wearing a mask and heavy equipment of some kind, with an apparent "third leg" support on the back (now broken).

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

222

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F.150

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F.161

Figure 14.30. Large head with pinhole-pupil eyes, Specimen I from Feature 160 of Unit LSJ-2 (see Fig. 14.26 for location).

Figure 14.29. Figurines from Features 150, 149, and 161, Unit LSJ-2 (see Fig. 14.24 for location). The head from Feature 150 has pinhole-pupil eyes. The Feature 161 specimen appears to be a microtorso.

2a

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2b

Figure 14.31. Large white-slipped head with pinhole-pupil eyes, Specimen 2 from Feature 160 of Unit LSJ-2 .

San Jose Phase Households

3a

223

3b 4b

4a

Sa

5b

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6a

6b

1 em

Figure 14.32. Small solid figurines, Specimens 3-7 from Feature 160 of Unit LSJ-2. Specimens 3-6, heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; note similar hairdo on 3 and 4. 7, woman's torso.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

224

Bb

Sa l___j

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Figure 14.33. Small solid figurines, Specimens 8-9 from Feature 160 of Unit LSJ-2. Specimen 8, two views of seated figure. 9, human figure in animal opossum?). costume (perhaps depicting

an

225

San Jose Phase Households

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14.34. Leg from large hollow white-slipped doll, Specimen JO from Feature 160 of Unit LSJ-2.

226

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

Figure 14.35. Front and back of stone figurine from Feature 160 of Unit LSJ-2. Height 13 .5 em. (Photo by Chris Moser)

San Jose Phase Households

227

Figure 14.36. Front, back, and cross-section of stone figurine from Feature 160 of Unit LSJ-2 . (Drawing by Susan Payne)

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1 em

Figure 14.37. Specimen 1 from Area D of the Tierras Largas site, possibly associated with the dooryard of Household Unit LSJ-2. This figurine head has pinhole-pupil eyes.

1a

1b

Women 's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

228

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6 Figure 14.38. Specimens 2-5 (figurine heads) and Specimen 6 (a fragment of pottery mask) from Area D.

San Jose Phase Households

7a

229

7b

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1 em

8

Figure 14.39. Specimens 7-8 from Area D. Specimen 7, two views of dog head . 8, bird, perhaps a whistle or ocarina.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

230

3 L___j

1 em

4

5

6

7

Figure 14.40. Specimens 1-7. figurine heads from Area E. Tierras Largas site. 1-6, heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes and topknots of hair over a cloth wrap; 1 and 2 are similar enough to have been made by the same woman . (7, eyes too battered to allow type to be ascertained .)

231

San Jose Phase Households

L__j

1 em

9

8

12 11 Figure 14.41. Specimens 8-14, figurine heads from Area E, Tierras Largas site. All have two-ploughing-stroke eyes. Hairdos vary from parted in the middle (8) to enclosed in cloth wraps or turbans (10,11). 9 has an unusual hat or cloth wrap.

Figure 14.42. Specimen 15 from Area E, Tierras Largas site. This figurine appears to be a seated male with vestigial arms and a possible false beard.

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1 em

232

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

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1 em

20

Figure 14.43. Specimens 16-20, figurine torsos from Area E, Tierras Largas site. All but Specimen 19 appear to be women. Note such features as the extended arm with cupped hand (16), loincloth (17), and tapering legs (18, 20).

233

San Jose Phase Households

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1 em

21a Figure 14.44. Specimen 21 from Area E, Tierras Largas site, the torso of a woman holding a baby in the crook of her left arm.

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1 em

22b Figure 14.45. Two views of Specimen 22 from Area E, Tierras Largas site. This figurine would appear to depict an individual dressed as a bird, held upright by a "third leg" support in the back. The head (now broken off) was evidently modeled as a separate unit.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

234

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1 em

Figure 14.46. Specimens 23-24 from Area E, Tierras Largas site. These heads appear to be from individuals costumed as animals (24 may represent a dog).

24

Figure 14.47 (left). Specimen 25 from Area E, Tierras Largas site. This figurine head depicts a spider monkey.

25

Figure 14.48 (below). Fragments of two broken pottery masks from Area E, Tierras Largas site. Both strongly resemble San Jose phase figurines , suggesting they may depict ancestors rather than animals, monsters, or supernaturals.

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235

San Jose Phase Households

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3

2

5 6 4a

4b

8 Figure 14.49. Figurine heads from random sample squares, Tierras Largas site (Specimens 1-9). All have two-ploughing-stroke eyes. Specimens 8 and 9, both from Square 156, are similar enough to have been made by the same woman.

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

236

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Figure 14.50. Torsos of women in fiber skirts from random sample squares, Tierras Largas site (Specimens 10-11).

11

10

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Figure 14.51. Two views of an individual in animal costume from Square 4355, a random sample square at the Tierras Largas site (Specimen 12).

12a

12b

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Figure 14.52. Crude, inexpertly made figurines from random sample squares, Tierras Largas site (Specimens 13-14).

13

14

Chapter 15

San Jose Phase Proveniences at Huitzo, Abasolo, and Tomaltepec In addition to the large samples of San Jose phase figurines from San Jose Mogote and Tierras Largas, the University of Michigan project recovered smaller samples from Barrio del Rosario Huitzo, San Sebastian Abasolo, and Santo Domingo Tomaltepec.

1 small head with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, wearing a pointed head covering which could be either a cap or a cloth wrap; gender uncertain (Fig. 15.1, Specimen 2) 1 head of a woman(?) with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; nose battered and hairdo broken off (Fig. 15.1, Specimen 3) 1 head of a spider monkey (Fig. 8.36, top).

Figurines from the Fill of Structure 4, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo

Fragments Not Illustrated

Barrio del Rosario Huitzo is a Formative ceremonial center some 15 km north of San Jose Mogote. While Huitzo was occupied at least as far back as the San Jose phase, the site really rose to prominence during the Middle Formative Guadalupe and Rosario phases. In Area A at Huitzo, San Jose phase materials were found in a layer of interbedded black clays and sand immediately overlying sterile soil (Flannery and Marcus 1994: Fig. 4.8). Directly above this layer-in Stratigraphic Zone F-lay Structure 4, a 2 m-high platform that supported a Guadalupe phase public building. Its fill consisted of basketloads of earth, held in place by retaining walls of planoconvex adobes. Because the basketloads of earth had been dug up in areas of earlier houses and middens, they contained many San Jose phase sherds and a few figurine fragments. All such sherds and figurines, of course, were in tertiary context, redeposited far from their original areas of use. The figurines were as follows: Illustrated Fragments

1 head of a woman with two-ploughing-stroke eyes; earspools; wearing a cloth head wrap with central flap (broken) and two striated hair buns, one on either side. This is a hair-and-wrap style we have seen at both San Jose Mogote and Tierras Largas (Fig. 15.1, Specimen 1)

2 eroded San Jose phase heads 1 solid unslipped torso, seated male(?) 1 solid unslipped woman's leg 1 solid unslipped arm

Figurines from the Fill of Structure 2, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo Stratigraphically above Structure 4 at Huitzo were several more Middle Formative public buildings. One of these was Structure 2 in Stratigraphic Zone B (Flannery and Marcus 1983:62). Structure 2 was a large earthen platform with retaining walls of stone and adobe, as well as a possible stairway on the extreme west side. Most of the fill was earth with redeposited Guadalupe phase sherds, but in a few places nearly complete vessels of very late Rosario types were found. There were also some sherds of earlier San Jose phase types. Redeposited in the fill of this Rosario phase platform were two fragments oflarge hollow white-slipped dolls. Because such dolls were most common during the San Jose phase, I have chosen to illustrate them in this chapter; however, I cannot rule out the possibility that they were early Guadalupe phase specimens. They are as follows: 237

Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca

238

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4

3

2 L___j

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Figure 15.1. San Jose phase figurines redeposited in the construction fill of later public buildings, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo. Specimens 1-3, heads of women with two-ploughing-stroke eyes, redeposited in the fill of Structure 4 (a Guadalupe phase earthen platform).

1 head fragment of a hollow white doll, showing an eye with a perforation for its pupil; the hairdo seems to involve striated hair buns or Zulu knots (Fig. 15.2, Specimen 4) 1 head fragment of a hollow doll, showing the middle portion of the face (Fig. 15.2, Specimen 5)

Operation A of San Sebastian Abasolo San Sebastian Abasolo lies in the Tlacolula subvalley, some 30 km southeast of San Jose Mogote (Fig. 2.1). The region is one of high agricultural productivity, with two to three crops a year possible as the result of irrigation from shallow wells. One of the University of Michigan's excavations there-designated Operation A-brought to light a stratified sequence of San Jose phase houses, features, burials, and neighborhood middens (Flannery and Marcus 1994: Chapter 17). The stratigraphic cross-section of Operation A is given in Figure 15.3. Zone E2 Stratigraphic Zone E2 was the lower half of a layer of yellow clay with San Jose phase remains, immediately overlying sterile sand and gravel at the base of the stratigraphic column. It produced one crude, inexpertly made figurine head, gender uncertain, wearing a cap or simple head wrap (Fig. 15.4, Specimens 1a, I b). This fragment is considered to be from secondary context.

Figure 15.2. San Jose phase figurines redeposited in the construction fill of later public buildings, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo. Specimens 4-5, fragments of large hollow white-slipped "baby dolls," redeposited in the fill of Structure 2 (a Rosario phase earthen platform).

Zone D2 Stratigraphic Zone D2 was the lower half of a probable neighborhood midden of the San Jose phase. It produced one solid unslipped torso of a seated figure, probably male (Fig. 15.4:2). This fragment is also considered to be in secondary context. Feature 3 Feature 3 was an actual well of the San Jose phase, evidently dug down from the top of ZoneD 1 and prior to the construction of House 1 (see Fig. 15.3). A smashed jar, found in the mud at the bottom of the well, may have fallen there while being used to draw water from the well (much like the Maya vessels found by Brainerd [1958] in Mani Cenote). Eventually, the well fell into disuse and was filled in with earth. Some basketloads of the fill dirt contained sherds and figurines, considered to be in tertiary context. While the radiocarbon dates from the well fall very late in the San Jose phase (Flannery and Marcus 1994:383), the figurines look typologically earlier than that-perhaps early San Jose phase, or even late Tierras Largas phase. This is not surprising, since they could have been redeposited in the trash used to fill the well. The four least-eroded figurines (Fig. 15.5) are as follows:

~E

E13

E14

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e

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water level (1969)

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e

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Square

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Figure 15.3. The south profile of Operation A at San Sebastian Abasolo, showing San Jose phase levels (Zones C-E), Feature 3, and Feature 6.

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