omichicahuaztli (Other Keyword)
1-2 (2 Records)
This presentation focuses on some results of an interdisciplinary study carried out on two scraping idiophones made of human bones from ancient Mesoamerica (omichicahuaztli). Both the instruments are today on exhibit at the Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico "Luigi Pigorini" in Rome. The detailed analysis of the bone surfaces allowed us to reconstruct the taphonomic processes that affected the bones and the steps employed to transform them into musical instruments. Our research team...
Omichicahuaztli: production, use, and transformation over space and time in Mesoamerica (2016)
How can changes in production and use of a single class of ancient artifact allow us to understand changes in their meaning through time and space? We address the reasons behind the cultural practice of making the Omichicahuaztli, or notched human bones, in Mesoamerica, studying the unique histories of each object in correlation with the geographic area in which they were found and the social group that produced them. We studied over 100 Omichicahuaztlis from Central, Southern, and Western...