Women, metaphors of alterity. Expressing elites interactions at Cacaxtla-Xochitecatl (Tlaxcala) and Xochicalco (Morelos)

Summary

Recent strontium analyses have revealed that many women buried in the Feathered Serpent Pyramid in Teotihuacan changed their environment at least two times during their lifetime. This suggests that their role, especially in cultural interactions, was particularly important, an hypothesis already presented by Gillespie and Joyce (1997) for maya societies. An iconographic study of mural painting, figurines and sculptures from Cacaxtla-Xochitecatl and Xochicalco, two epiclassic cities well known for their eclectic styles, put on light an important concern in representing women, not only as fertility metaphors, but also as leaders, warriors, captives and ritual specialists. The evidences presented lead to ask whether this figurative transformation reveal real resurgence of intermarriages process, or if it is a metaphoric way to express relationship between politic entities as well as textile increasing production.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Reconsidering the "Epic" in the Epiclassic Period of Mesoamerica Part 1: Regional Interactions

Keywords

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