Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T02:58:26.626Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

THE MURAL PAINTINGS OF EL ZAPOTAL, VERACRUZ, MEXICO

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2011

Cherra Wyllie
Cherra Wyllie*
Affiliation:
Humanities Department, Hillyer College, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117
*
E-mail correspondence to: wyllie@hartford.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

During the 1970s, excavations at El Zapotal revealed a Late Classic period ossuary with multiple burials, sumptuous funerary offerings, and life-sized terracotta sculpture individually on a par with the Chinese national treasures from Xi'an. Less known are murals adorning a U-shaped banquette centering on the monumental clay sculpture of a skeletal Death God.

Wyllie, through the assistance of Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Veracruz, produced drawings of the now deteriorating paintings. The murals form part of a larger narrative program integrating sculpture, architectural elements, burial offerings, and human osteological remains connected with Mesoamerican underworld stories of creation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , Fall 2010 , pp. 209 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aguirre Beltran, Gonzalo 1975 Pobladores del papaloapan: biografía de una hoya. Dirección General de Arte Popular, Mexico.Google Scholar
Arnold III, Philip J., and Stark, Barbara L. 1997 Gulf Olmec Settlement in Perspective. In Olmec to Aztec: Settlement Patterns in the Ancient Gulf Lowlands, edited by Stark, Barbara L. and Arnold III, Phillip J., pp. 310–329. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Báez-Jorge, Félix 1973 Los Zoques-Popolucas: Estructura social. Colección SEP-INI, No.18. Secretaria de Educación y Cultura, Instituto Nacional Indigenista, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Báez-Jorge, Félíx, and Galván, Félíx Darío Báez 2005 The Popoluca. In Native Peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico, edited by Sandstrom, Alan R. and Valencia, E. Hugo García, pp. 139–157. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Beals, Ralph L. 1945 Ethnology of the Western Mixe. Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 42, No. 1. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Berlo, Janet Catherine 1989 Early Writing in Central Mexico: In Tlilli, In Tlapalli. In Mesoamerica After the Decline of Teotihuacan a.d. 700–900, edited by Diehl, Richard A. and Berlo, Janet Catherine, pp. 19–48. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Bernal-Garcia, Maria Elena 1994 Tzatza: Olmec Mountain and the Ruler's Ritual Speech. In Seventh Palenque Round Table 1989, edited by Robertson, Merle G. and Fields, Virginia M., pp. 113–124. Pre-Columbian Research Institute, San Francisco, CA.Google Scholar
Campbell, Lyle R., and Kaufman, Terence S. 1976 A Linguistic Look at the Olmecs. American Antiquity 41:80–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coe, Michael D. 1965 Archaeological Synthesis of Southern Veracruz and Tabasco. In Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, Part 2, edited by Willey, Gordon R., pp. 679–715. Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 3, Wauchope, Robert, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Coe, Michael D., and Koontz, Rex 2002 Mexico 5th ed.Thames and Hudson, New York.Google Scholar
Daneels, Annick 1997 Settlement History in the Lower Cotaxtla Basin. In Olmec to Aztecs: Settlement Patterns in the Ancient Gulf Lowlands, edited by Stark, Barbara L. and Arnold III, Philip J., pp. 206–252. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Delgado Calderón, Alfredo 2005 The Ethnohistory of Southern Veracruz. In Native Peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico, edited by Sandstrom, Alan R. and Valencia, E. Hugo García, pp. 45–65. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Diehl, Richard A. 2004 The Olmecs: America's First Civilization. Thames and Hudson, New York, NY.Google Scholar
Drucker, Philip 1943 Ceramic Stratigraphy at Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz, Mexico. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 141. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Durán, Fray Diego 1971 Book of the Gods and Rites and Ancient Calendar. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Foster, George M. 1969 The Mixe, Zoque, and Popoluca. In Ethnology, Part 1, edited by Vogt, Evon Z., pp. 448–477. Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 7, Wauchope, Robert, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Gutiérrez Solana, Nelly, and Hamilton, Susan K. 1977 Las esculturas en terracotta de El Zapotal, Veracruz. Cuadernos de historia del arte, No. 6. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Harvey, Herbert R., and Kelly, Isabel 1969 The Totonac. In Ethnology, Part 2, edited by Vogt, Evon Z., pp. 638–681. Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 8, Robert Wauchope, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Ichon, Alain 1973 La religion de los Totonacas de la Sierra. Instituto Nacional Indigenista, Secretaría de Educación Pública, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Justeson, John, and Kaufman, Terrence 1993 A Decipherment of Epi-Olmec Hieroglyphic Writing. Science 259:1703–1711.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Justeson, John, and Kaufman, Terrence 2008 The Epi-Olmec Tradition at Cerro de las Mesas in the Classic Period. In Classic Period Cultural Currents in Southern and Central Veracruz, edited by Arnold III, Philip J. and Pool, Christopher, pp. 159–196. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Terrence, and Justeson, John 2008 The Epi-Olmec Language and Its Neighbors. In Classic Period Cultural Currents in Southern and Central Veracruz, edited by Arnold III, Philip J. and Pool, Christopher, pp. 55–84. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Klein, Cecelia 1988 Rethinking Cihuacoatl: Aztec Political Imagery of the Conquered Woman. In Smoke and Mist: Mesoamerican Studies in Memory of Thelma D. Sullivan, Vol. 1, edited by Josserand, J. Katherine and Dakin, Karen, pp. 237–277. BAR International Series 402, British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Koontz, Rex 2008 Iconographic Interaction between El Tajín and South Central Veracruz. In Classic Period Cultural Currents in Southern and Central Veracruz, edited by Arnold III, Philip J. and Pool, Christopher, pp. 323–360. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Koontz, Rex 2009 Lightening Gods and Feathered Serpents: The Public Sculpture at El Tajín. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Ladrón de Guevara, Sara 1997 El Zapotal—Das Reich des “Herrn der Toten.” In Mexiko: Präkolumbische Kulturen am Golf von Mexiko, edited by Judith, Rickenbach, pp. 127–129. Museum of Rietberg, Zürich.Google Scholar
Ladrón de Guevara, Sara 2005 Tres tradiciones pictóricas en la costa del Golfo. La Palabra y El Hombre: Revista de la Universidad Veracruzana 135:21–32.Google Scholar
Maldonado Vite, Maria Eugenia 1995 Astronomia Prehispanicas en la Cuenca Baja del Río Papaloapan. Tesis de Licenciatura Facultad de Antropología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Marcus, Joyce 1989 Zapotec Chiefdoms and the Nature of Formative Religions. In Regional Perspectives on the Olmec, edited by Sharer, Robert J. and Grove, David C., pp. 148–197. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe, and Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Medellín Zenil, Alfonso 1960 Ceramicas del Totonacapan: Exploraciones Arqueologicas en el Centro de Veracruz. Instituto de Antropología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Medellín Zenil, Alfonso 1971 Nopiloa: Exploraciones Arquelogicas. Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Melgarejo Vivanco, Jose Luis 1947 Historia de Veracruz: Tomo I, Época Prehispánica. Secretaria de Educación y Cultura, Xalapa, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary Ellen 1991 Rethinking the Classic Sculptures of Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz. In Settlement Archaeology of Cerro de las Mesas Veracruz, Mexico, edited by Stark, Barbara L., pp. 26–38. Monograph No. 34, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA Institute of Archaeology Press, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary Ellen, and Taube, Karl 1993 The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. Thames and Hudson, New York.Google Scholar
Morales Fernández, Jesús 1971 El Popoluca de Veracruz. Tesis de Licenciatura Facultad de Pedagogia, Filosofia y Letras Escuela de Antropología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Moranté Lopez, Rubén 2004 A Guided Tour, Xalapa Museum of Anthropology. Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave y Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Münch Galindo, Guido 1983 Etnología del istmo veracruzana. Serie antropológicas No. 50. Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Ortega Guevara, Jaime M. 2000 El Zapotal, un sitio funéreo del clásico tardío. In Identidad y Testimonio de Veracruz, edited by Gorrochotegui, Gilberto Bermúdez, pp. 75–95. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Editora de Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz-Llave, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Pool, Christopher A. 2007 Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pool, Christopher A. 2008 Architectural Plans, Factionalism, and the Proto-Classic-Classic Transition at Tres Zapotes. In Classic Period Cultural Currents in Southern and Central Veracruz, edited by Arnold III, Philip J. and Pool, Christopher, pp. 121–158. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Sahagún, Bernardino de 1950–1982 Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain, edited by Anderson, Arthur J.O.; translated by Anderson, Arthur J.O.; 12 vols. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Sánchez Bonilla, Juan 2005 Zapotal. In Ollin, Edicíon de 700 ejemplares, Vol. 4, pp. 6–12. Conaculta y Centro, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Sandstrom, Alan 2000 Contemporary Cultures of the Gulf Coast. In Ethnology, edited by Monaghan, John D. and Edmonson, Barbara, pp. 24–49. Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 6, Monaghan, John D. and Edmonson, Barbara, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Sandstrom, Alan 2005 The Indigenous Cultures of Gulf Coast Mexico. In Native Peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico, edited by Sandstrom, Alan R. and Valencia, E. Hugo García, pp. 3–21. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Segota, Durdica 2004 El Zapotal. In Muros que hablan: ensayos sobre La Pintura mural prehispánica en México, edited by de la Fuente, Beatriz, pp. 467–476. El Colegio de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Stark, Barbara L. 2001 Project Excavations in Perspective. In Classic Period Mixtequilla, Veracruz, Mexico: Diachronic Inferences from Residential Investigations, edited by Stark, Barbara L., pp. 297–304. Institute for Mesoamerican Studies Monograph No.12. University at Albany, Albany, NY.Google Scholar
Stark, Barbara L. 2008 Polity and Economy in the Western Lower Papaloapan. In Classic Period Cultural Currents in Southern and Central Veracruz, edited by Arnold III, Philip J. and Pool, Christopher, pp. 85–120. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Stark, Barbara L., and Arnold III, Philip J. 1997 Introduction to the Archaeology of the Gulf Lowlands. In Olmec to Azetcs: Settlement Patterns in the Ancient Gulf Lowlands, edited by Stark, Barbara L. and Arnold III, Philip J., pp. 3–32. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Stark, Barbara L., Hall, Barbara A., Speaker, Stuart, and Yarborough, Clare 2001 The Pottery Sequence at Excavated Mounds in Excavated Residential Mounds. In Classic Period Mixtequilla, Veracruz, Mexico: Diachronic Inferences from Residential Investigations, edited by Stark, Barbara L., pp. 105–121. Institute for Mesoamerican Studies Monograph No.12., University at Albany, Albany, NY.Google Scholar
Stirling, Matthew 1943 Stone Monuments of Southern Mexico. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 138. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Suzan Morales, Adelina 1997 La muerte en El Zapotal: el simbolismo de sus esculturas. Tesis de Licenciatura Facultad de Antropología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico.Google Scholar
Tate, Carolyn 1999 Patrons of Shamanic Power: La Venta's Supernatural Entities In Light of Mixe Belief. Ancient Mesoamerica 10:169–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taube, Karl 1996 Olmec Maize God: The Face of Corn in Formative Mesoamerica. Res: Journal of Anthropology and Aesthetics 29/30:39–81.Google Scholar
Torres Guzmán, Manuel 1970 Exploraciones en la Mixtequilla. Tesis de Licenciatura Facultad de Antropología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico.Google Scholar
Torres Guzmán, Manuel 1972 Hallazgos en el Zapotal, Veracruz: informe preliminar (segunda temporada). Boletín del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Series 2(2):3–8.Google Scholar
Torres Guzmán, Manuel 1990 El principio dual y Mictlantecutli. Boletín Informativo del Instituto de Antropología. 3a Época, No. 9.Google Scholar
Torres Guzmán, Manuel 1999 Antecedentes en la Mixtequilla de los Dioses Narguodos y de algunas cerámicas del posclásico temprano. In Antropología e Historia en Veracruz. Instituto de Antropología e Historia de la Universidad Veracruzana y Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz-Llave.Google Scholar
Torres Guzmán, Manuel 2002 El Zapotal. In La Ruta del Son: Guía Turística Región Costera del Sotavento del Estado de Veracruz, edited by Illescas, Gloria Jiménez, pp. 176–179. México Consejo de Promoción Turística, Veracruz.Google Scholar
Torres Guzmán, Manuel 2004 Los entierros múltiples en la zona arqueológica de El Zapotal. In Practicas funerarias en la Costa del Golfo de México, edited by Lopez, Yamile Lira and Sánchez, Carlos Serrano, pp. 203–211. Instituto de Antropología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, and Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Torres Guzmán, Manuel, Reyes, Marco Antonio, and Guevara, Jaime Ortega 1975 Proyecto Zapotal, Veracruz. In Balance y perspectiva de la antropología de Mesoamérica y del Centro de México, Vol. 1, pp. 323–329. XIII Mesa Redonda de la Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, Xalapa, Mexico.Google Scholar
Townsend, Richard 2000 The Aztecs. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Umberger, Emily 1987 Events Commemorated by Date Plaques at the Templo Mayor: Further Thoughts on the Solar Metaphor. In The Aztec Templo Mayor, edited by Boone, Elizabeth Hill, pp. 411–449. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Valderrama Rouy, Pablo 2005 The Totonac. In Native Peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico, edited by Sandstrom, Alan R. and Valencia, E. Hugo García, pp. 187–210. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Vargas Gonzáles, Alfredo 1998 La industria alferera en el sitio arqueológica de la Mojarra, Cuenca Baja del Papaloapan. Tesis de Licenciatura, Facultad de Antropología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico.Google Scholar
von Winning, Hasso, and Gutiérrez Solana, Nelly 1996 La Iconografía de la Cerámica de Río Blanco, Veracruz. Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Wichmann, Søren 1995 The Relationship among the Mixe-Zoquean Languages of Mexico. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Wyllie, Cherra 2002 Signs, Symbols, and Hieroglyphs of Ancients Veracruz: Classic to Postclassic Transition. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Yale Graduate School. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, MI.Google Scholar
Wyllie, Cherra 2008 Continuity and Change in Late Classic Southern Veracruz Art, Hieroglyphs, and Religion. In Classic Period Cultural Currents in Southern and Central Veracruz, edited by Arnold III, Philip J. and Pool, Christopher, pp. 225–258. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Wyllie, Cherra 2009 A Classic Veracruz Royal Tomb: El Zapotal Mound 2 (c.e. 800–1000). 53rd International Congress of Americanists. Proceedings published by Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City.Google Scholar