Faced Façade: New Interpretations of Chavín’s Tenon Heads

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Chavín de Huántar’s Contribution to Understanding the Central Andean Formative: Results and Perspectives" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The sculptural figures at Chavín de Huántar have long been considered potent symbols of a unified religious tradition across the Andes mountains. Today, Chavín is recognized as a Formative period pilgrimage center located in the highlands of modern-day Peru. It is known for its extensive sculptural program, and particularly for the tenon heads that once embellished the exterior walls of the monument. The anthropomorphic heads feature elements such as fanged mouths, contorted expressions, and serpents slithering across the surface of stylized faces. Although previous studies have argued that the heads are representations of shamans undergoing hallucinogenic transformation, this paper reveals that they are one-of-a-kind figures at a pivotal state on a spectrum of containment and release. Metaphorical substitutions for the eyes, nose, and mouth of the figures were leveraged to distinguish Chavín as unique across an increasingly homogenizing landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Chavín de Huántar’s Contribution to Understanding the Central Andean Formative: Results and Perspectives   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39466.0