Jaina Figurines: a text without a text?

Summary

Most Maya figurines have traditionally been evaluated on the basis of style and facture, and more recently, on the basis of archaeological context, where possible, as at Motul de San José, Guatemala. But what about the dozens of Jaina figurines in the Mexican national collections? Is there a way to examine the figurines typically considered to be mothers, lovers, weavers, wanderers, or warriors, almost none of which bear inscriptions, in such a way as to reevaluate the sort of assumptions made abut the figurines? Can one generate a text? Particular attention will be given to both the monumental record of the first millennium CE and ethnohistoric records of later years.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Understanding Visual Culture Without Textual Sources: What Are the Possibilities for Analysis?

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