The Use and Function of Narrative Ceramics in West Mexican Visual Traditions during the Late Formative-Early Classic Periods

Summary

This is an abstract from the "From the Underworld to the Heavens: Expanding the Study of Central Jalisco’s Past" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Evidence of visual communication in West Mexico during the Late Formative and Early Classic Periods (c. 300 BCE to 500 CE) is predominantly found in smaller solid figurines, larger semi-hollow or hollow figures, and multi-figure tableaus. My research shows that this ceramic tradition depicts a limited number of themes or narratives important to West Mexican cultures. Like other forms of visual communication in the Americas, this ceramic tradition was likely activated through performance. This study seeks to understand this phenomenon. Determining how figurines, figures and multi-figure tableaus functioned requires an analysis of the contexts in which different types of ceramic artifacts were found. Unfortunately, most West Mexican figures were looted and lack this information, with looters often claiming to have taken ceramic sculptures from shaft tombs. As a result, discussions of the West Mexican ceramics have focused on their use in mortuary ritual. Archaeological excavations have unearthed ceramic figurines and multi-figure sculptures in other contexts such as ballcourts, on and in guachimontones, as well as in residences. This presentation features an analysis of the locations in which West Mexican figurines were found as a means to understand the ways this ceramic tradition functioned.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• From the Underworld to the Heavens: Expanding the Study of Central Jalisco’s Past

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50729