Reexamining the Chacmool, One More Time

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Movement of People and Ideas in Eastern Mesoamerica during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries CE: A Multidisciplinary Approach Part II" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The striking recumbent stone figure known as a chacmool is a defining feature of the Mesoamerican Terminal Classic and Postclassic, occurring not only at Chichen Itza and Tula, where the largest number of figures is documented, but also in later Mexica and Purépacha cultures. While Maya examples are known from as far away as Quiriguá and Tazumal, chacmools are never seen in Oaxaca or the Gulf Coast. Otherwise, Maya chacmools only occur in Yucatán, where they are no longer produced during the Postclassic. Probably introduced at Chichen Itza sometime after 800, the chacmool was adopted by other groups emulating the beliefs and cultural practices of that powerful and artistically innovative city. Although much modified by the Late Postclassic, the chacmool still featured prominently in Mexica ritual, demonstrating its staying power through several centuries and across a wide swath of Mexico and Central America. Apart from examining the identity and function of the chacmool—both still poorly understood—this paper will focus on the enigmatic sculpture as a symbol of the movement of people and ideas in Mesoamerica during a period of profound cultural change.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Movement of People and Ideas in Eastern Mesoamerica during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries CE: A Multidisciplinary Approach Part II   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36767.0