And They Look into the Mirror for Answers: Mirror Analysis to Understand Its Holder

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "And They Look into the Mirror for Answers: Mirror Analysis to Understand Its Holder" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

No matter what material they were made of, stone, metal, or crystal, or if it was cheap or expensive (gold, silver, copper, bronze, obsidian, or pyrite), mirrors are one of the most fascinating artifacts made by artisans in the past. The users of these items were normally high-class members of society (political figures, high military members, merchants, holy men, or priests), and due to their complex manufacture, they were not easy or cheap to get their hands on them. Mirrors were considered a high-status item and used as a commodity for commercial, ceremonial, and even political performances. Mirror studies have gained a lot of attention lately in order to understand how they were made, who used them, how they used them, and/or what they mean for holders. In this symposium, we will present the results of those analyses.

Other Keywords
Trade and exchange • Iconography and epigraphy • Cultural Transmission • Craft Production • Materiality • Olmec • Iron Age • Maya: Preclassic • Archaeometry & Materials Analysis • Etruscan

Geographic Keywords
Republic of El Salvador (Country) • Republic of Guatemala (Country) • North America (Continent) • Mesoamerica • United Mexican States (Country) • Baja Verapaz (State / Territory) • Sacatepequez (State / Territory) • Cabanas (State / Territory) • Peten (State / Territory) • Jutiapa (State / Territory)