Gender Ideologies in Zapatista Maya Murals and Postclassic Mural Programs from the Eastern Maya Seaboard

Summary

Zapatista murals focusing on the autonomy of Maya women and their connections with the earth have strong ties to prehispanic iconographic programs that emphasize the role of female supernaturals and ancestors in nourishing and sustaining the cosmos. This presentation examines ideologies of the Zapatista movement, particularly those related to gender, as represented in the artwork associated with the movement, and draws comparisons to ideologies represented in mural programs such as those from Postclassic Tulum, as well as the Maya codices, which evidence strong notions of gender complementarity. Sculptural representations from Classic period sites in the Usumacinta region will also be examined, as they appear to form a particularly potent symbol for contemporary Zapatista artists, as do polychrome ceramic vessels featuring birthing scenes.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Mural Painting and the Ancient Americas

Keywords

Spatial Coverage