Changing Representations of Gender in Ceramic Figurines During the Emergence of the Teotihuacan State

Summary

This paper investigates transformations in the construction and expression of gender in the Basin of Mexico from the late Middle Formative through Classic periods (approx. 600 BC- AD 600). Ceramic figurines from the sites of Teotihuacan, Axotlan, Cerro Portezuelo, and Huixtoco are used to explore how elements of gender were constructed and communicated in the region over the course of a millennium, and how these practices underwent a radical transformation during the emergence and expansion of the Teotihuacan state. The selection and combination of sexual attributes and decorative elements such as clothing and jewelry were changeable strategies for depicting social identity. In contrast to earlier methods for depicting feminine and masculine bodies, Teotihuacan period figurines emphasized decorative cultural attributes over physical ones—a strategy that quickly spread to rural communities in the region. The most striking transformation occurred in representations of women, which were nude and commonplace during the Formative periods, but became fully clothed and scarce during the Classic period, when the Teotihuacan state was at its height and Basin of Mexico society was increasingly socially stratified.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21516