Naked Huastecs, Anxious Aztecs: Male Nudity and Gender Identity in Aztec and Huastec Sculpture

Summary

The relationship between the Aztecs and the Huastecs is complicated and often defined by Aztec reaction to Huastec culture. The Aztecs have often dominated the landscape of Mesoamerica while the Huastecs have been seen as something somewhat separate. At first glance the difference in Aztec and Huastec sculptural tradition might seem to reaffirm this disconnect. By focusing on male figurative sculpture and how it reflects the construction of gender identity we see that despite clear differences there is a core ideology which connects them through shared traditions and worldview. This examination also reveals how Aztec and Huastec depictions of, and reactions to, male nudity indicate how both cultures use shared ideas of gender and identity to address unique social and political concerns within each group. Ideas of maleness reflected in these sculptures reveal the anxiety of the Aztecs as relative newcomers trying assert themselves as a cosmic and political center of the Mesoamerican world while at the same time solidly giving the Huastec a home in that world. Ultimately this examination of Aztec and Huastec sculpture seeks to better situate both groups in terms of interactions with each other as well as their place in the broader Mesoamerican world.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22653