A different use of Mesoamerican clay figurines: a token of popular participation in elite events in Classic period Central Veracruz
Mesoamerican clay figurines are usually found in middens, building fill, and burials; contexts that place them in the sphere of household ritual. They are rarely located in formal offerings, such as the ubiquitous caches deposited during construction phases. When figurines appear in such caches, the...
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| Udgivet i: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/jsa, |
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprog: | Anglais |
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Journal de la Société des américanistes
2025
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| Online adgang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Summary: | Mesoamerican clay figurines are usually found in middens, building fill, and burials; contexts that place them in the sphere of household ritual. They are rarely located in formal offerings, such as the ubiquitous caches deposited during construction phases. When figurines appear in such caches, they are manufactured from stone, shell, dough, wood, rubber, copal, or paper, only exceptionally clay. In this respect, Classic period Central Veracruz represents an exception, as clay figurines appear repeatedly in construction caches, as well as in ceremonial middens associated with major buildings. These ceramic figurines are linked to domestic rituals and popular religion usually identified with commoners. I propose that this recurrent practice suggests that a broad sector of the population played a larger part in political decision-making than did the inhabitants of contemporary Classic period civilizations elsewhere (Teotihuacan, Oaxaca Valley, and Maya area). |
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