The Power of Blade Stones in Postclassic Mesoamerica

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the present discussion, I will focus on mutually constitutive relationships between people and the material world, specifically on gestational dynamics, suggesting that by stone flaking and stone chipping, children (of stone) were fabricated. From the womb of the earth, which is very much a stony essence, they are chipped and flaked from the ancestors’ bodies. Some of these “metapersons” were “child blade stones” who personified warriors and fed themselves with sacrificial victims or depicted as tongues in the open mouths of deities, securing sustenance for the hungry gods. I argue that the birth of these stone warriors should be integrated into a major mythological theme, namely the Child Hero and the Old Adoptive Mother. The emphasis will be on Central Mexico but complemented with essential data from other parts of Postclassic Mesoamerica.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38426.0