Chichen Itza and the Early Postclassic International Style

Summary

Chichen Itza has long deserved an approach based on an analysis of the art and iconography of the site for its own merits rather than the continually frustrating analysis that results from attempts to project Late Postclassic religious stories on to the site. Effortlessly blending themes of paradise and militarism, Chichen Itza drew on a wide array of styles that appear in strikingly similar ways indicating the workings of an Early Postclassic International Style that simultaneously integrated old and new, local and exotic. The sheer cosmopolitanism of Chichen Itza makes this site an excellent point of departure for examining how stylistic and iconographic elements came to be shared at such distant sites and in similar ways. While Central Mexican influence cannot and should not be ignored, other cultural areas in the Late Classic period such as Cotzumalhuapa and Ceibal deserve renewed attention as contributors to an Early Postclassic International Style.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21584