The Symbolism, Use, and Archaeological Context of Masks in Formative period Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico

Summary

Mesoamerica has a long tradition of masking, as evidenced by representations of masked individuals, and the masks themselves, extending back to at least the Early Formative period. In the lower Río Verde valley of Oaxaca, evidence for masking exists throughout the Precolumbian sequence, from the earliest villages to Postclassic settlements. This evidence often consists of figurines depicting masked individuals or representations on ceramic vessels and carved stones. Recent excavations have also uncovered a small number of masks and mask fragments. In this paper, we focus on the early history of mask production and use during the Formative period (1900 BCE – CE 250). We discuss the symbolism and archaeological context of masks and their representations in other media such as figurines. We suggest that masks played an integral role in communal performances that likely also included music, dance, and oration. A means of bringing together people and the divine, masks in ancient Oaxaca (like masks in Oaxaca today) imply animistic and nagualistic aspects of Mesoamerican cosmology. These ancient masks shared broad similarities with those used elsewhere in Formative period Mesoamerica, including the incorporation of transformative capacities into relations of inequality and authority by the first centuries of the common era.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• In the Land of the Sky: Recent Interdisciplinary Archaeological Research in the Lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15843