Izapa and the iconography of water and economics

Summary

The stelae of Izapa have long been analyzed within a mythic framework, drawing heavily on longstanding interpretations of mythological narratives like those of the Maya maize god. Such interpretations, while fundamental to understanding the complex meanings of such imagery, nevertheless often neglect other salient aspects of the scenes, including elements that speak to more economic concerns, particularly those that revolved around water transport. This paper argues that a re-analysis of the Izapa imagery reveals elements of the iconography that allude to the sophisticated networks of economic productivity and exchange that were undoubtedly critical to the rise of Izapa during the Late Preclassic period, and which were couched in mythic narratives.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• New Perspectives on the Izapa State

Keywords

Spatial Coverage