Early Formative Figurines from Tlatilco - Understanding the Diversity and Individuality

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Mesoamerican Figurines in Context. New Insights on Tridimensional Representations from Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Early Formative site of Tlatilco, has like so many other ancient sites, been covered by modern-day urbanization. Many of these sites suffered a fate of early exploitation and looting leaving the archaeologists with puzzles that often lack many pieces. With resilience and patience, and often sheer luck, it is possible to stitch back more pieces of the puzzle. Tlatilco is one of the sites that scholars were interested in early on, and rightly so, but while waiting for permits, and other determinants, the site remained under the mercy of brick workers and art collectors, with only sporadic excavation seasons until eventually being completely covered by modern-day Mexico City. My research takes a holistic approach in my attempt at stitching back the puzzle that is Tlatilco. Incorporating archival documentation, museums objects, publications, as well as Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, understanding Tlatilco has become a captivating journey. Tlatilco has yielded astonishing objects; particularly the figurines stand out as something extraordinary as they are very diverse and display a sense of individuality! Through my research I have looked at hundreds of Tlatilco figurines in order to determine patterns and trends among this Early Formative community.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Mesoamerican Figurines in Context. New Insights on Tridimensional Representations from Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24839