Butterfly Imagery among the Classic Period Zapotecs of the Valley of Oaxaca

Summary

This paper explores the meaning of butterfly imagery among Classic period Zapotecs of the Valley of Oaxaca. Images of butterflies, or parts of their anatomy, sometimes appear on effigy vessels found in tombs. The effigy vessels represent rulers, or other individuals of high social-standing, as jaguars, owls or the Fire Serpent. I argue that rulers of Zapotec urban centers were perceived to have a number of specific naguales or alter-egos that constitute the moral basis of political power. The inclusion of butterfly elements in effigy vessels conveys the ruler's faculty of transformation into his/her spirit companions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Butterflies Take Wing: Ritual and Symbolism in Precolumbian Mesoamerica   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15844