Emotions Underground: Facial Expression in the Andean Past through the Portrait Vessels (Huacos Retratos, a Heterodox Approach to the Emotions of the Past)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The critical role of emotions in any social framework is a problematic element to address from the archaeological record. The nuances of nonverbal communication preceded articulated language and the production of any other communication record in the human species. Behavioral studies, supported by neuroanatomical registration, allow the detailed registration of facial expressions to mark some significant guidelines for interpreting emotions. Historiographical contribution to emotions contextualizes and contrasts the content meaning and rapid change in time. On the other hand, artistic creation has a powerful normative axis in representing emotions. For the Andean case, the study of emotions lacks a systemic approach based on the ethnographic or linguistic record. This research takes advantage of the enormous richness of the Moche portrait vessels (AD 100–900) and suggests a heterodox approach to the registration and interpretation of the emotions from the past.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37127.0