Profane Illuminations: Molded Maya Figurines in Comparative Context

Summary

In many ways, simple molded Maya figurines during the Late Classic period become ordinary objects, aided in part by the technological capability of reproduction through molds. Nonetheless, molds do not automatically create ordinary, accessible, everyday objects, and, in turn, ordinary objects are not without their ability to delight and affect the senses. This paper draws on newly collected ceramic production evidence from the site of Ucanal, Guatemala, as well as a compilation of research on figurines from elsewhere in Peten, Guatemala, to explore the technological, spiritual, and sensual aspects of ceramic figurines. In comparing molded figurines from the Late/Terminal Classic period with figurines from the Preclassic and Postclassic periods, the paper explores how the value of mold technologies – and concepts of the ordinary – change over the longue durée.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Molding Matter: Technologies of Reproduction in the Precolumbian Americas   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14592