Figurine Embodiment and Household Ritual in an Early Mixtec Village
An excavated collection of 3000-year-old fired-clay figurines from the Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca, Mexico, provides evidence for household practices of embodiment at a time of emerging social differences. A holistic interpretation of the figurines, including their unique archaeological associations, mortu...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Société des américanistes
2013-09-01
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| Series: | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/jsa/12586 |
| Summary: | An excavated collection of 3000-year-old fired-clay figurines from the Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca, Mexico, provides evidence for household practices of embodiment at a time of emerging social differences. A holistic interpretation of the figurines, including their unique archaeological associations, mortuary, faunal and ethnographic information illuminates key aspects of the life-cycle termination of both human and non-human subjects. The archaeological contexts at Tayata allow for an integrated application of embodiment theory with cross-field anthropological data, and reveal a deep-seated Mixtec worldview concerning the animism of corporeal objects. |
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| ISSN: | 0037-9174 1957-7842 |