Approaching the Iconography of Epiclassic Censer Ornaments, a Typology from Los Mogotes, Estado de México

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Censers are a subset of Mesoamerican ceramics interpreted as ritual vessels used to burn incense. In ancient central Mexico, censers tend to feature mold made or handmade clay ornaments that were possibly part of iconographically composite vessels. A challenge in their interpretation, however, is that these complex vessels are often found in isolated fragments. At Los Mogotes, an Epiclassic period (ca. 600-900 CE) hilltop settlement in the northern Basin of Mexico, body sherds of censers and appliqué ornaments are part of the ceramic assemblage. This poster offers a preliminary classification and interpretation of motif classes – such as chilies, maize, and thunder – based on an analysis of ornaments from Los Mogotes. The spatial distribution of ornament types recovered across functional contexts is described: including public, domestic, and ritual spaces. Understanding the spatial distribution of ornament fragments can help ascertain the association of ornament types with once-complete composite censers. This is important because complete examples are rarely recovered. This analysis elucidates the classification of censers by approaching the repertoire of ornament symbols and their possible place in the ritual life of an Epiclassic settlement.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25228