Veracruz Mural Traditions: Las Higueras, México

Positioning Las Higueras Identity

Through the use of the mural iconography in conjunction with other artifacts and regional styles my dissertation will also attempt to contextualize Las Higueras. First, through identifying the context for its identity. In other words, how and where is Las Higueras iconography and style, or its visually represented identity, situated within the cultural sphere known as Classic Veracruz. And second, as a part of this region what role might it have had in influencing the creation, transformation, and exchange of visual culture in Epiclassic Mesoamerica.

As outlined above, the murals depict multiple narrative themes. To develop my discussion here I have chosen the mural fragments portraying activities or rituals associated with the Mesoamerican ballgame for a sample case study. In addition to this theme, regional comparative analyses of sculpted stone artifacts known as yokes, palmas and hachas and the formal artistic convention commonly referred to as the "Classic Veracruz" style will also be included.

The "Classic Veracruz" style, as defined by Tatiana Proskouriakoff (1954), is based on formal attributes of a design motif dominated by a pattern of interlaced scrolls that occur regularly on a variety of artifact types attributed to the Gulf coast region during the Classic period (c. 300-900 CE) (Figure 2). The scroll patterns that are included under this rubric are diverse, having antecedents in the Pre-Classic and extending into the Post-Classic. They are found beyond the borders of Veracruz, and are represented on mediums ranging from monumental architecture to small stone objects and from ceramics of several typologies to ornamental carved bones. Even with this diversity the Classic Veracruz style is still referred to by some as the Tajín style, due to the fact that one later variation of the scroll pattern is found in the relief carvings of El Tajín (Figure 3).

These motif classifications have been primarily derived from three types of carved stone objects known by Spanish identifications based on their forms: (1) the yugo or yoke, so named for its "U" shape and a belief that it was actually placed on a persons neck like a yoke (Figure 4, shown above), (2) the palma named for its palm branch appearance, this form with the notched profile is only one type of palma found in the region (Figure 5, above), and the (3) hacha named for its thin axe head appearance, the common types are human heads (Figure 6, shown below) or bird heads (Figure 7, below). Following identifications set forth by Thompson (1941) and Ekholm (1946, 1949) an association between these three objects and ballgame regalia is now generally accepted. Compelling evidence that the palma was used in conjunction with the yoke is depicted in the reliefs of the El Tajín South Ballcourt (Figure 3). Other representations were also found to suggest the hacha being worn in a similar manner (Figure 8, below). Although generally accepted, there is still debate over whether these "heavy objects of stone were designed primarily to be worn or carried on the person, or even that lighter articles [of wood or leather] worn by players were reproduced in stone merely for ceremonial purposes" (Proskouriakoff 1954:67).

Proskouriakoff’s 1954 and 1971 articles on Veracruz sculpture further delineated the corpus of Classic Veracruz interlaced scroll motifs to those carved on the stone yokes, palmas, and hachas. In these articles her focus on a purely formal analysis of the motifs provided a stage for developing an understanding of how these carved stone objects may have developed and moved both temporally and spatially.

Barbara Stark’s 1998 analysis of the scroll motif outlined several points that have improved understanding of the distribution and movement of the Classic Veracruz style. Her work, like Proskouriakoff’s, focuses on the stylistic patterns rather than any potential patterns of economic exchange. Stark’s analysis of the motif originates with the styles of Patarata in South-Central Veracruz of the lower Papaloapan basin. The work of the La Mixtequilla Archaeological Project established that the scroll style of Patarata is characteristic of the early Classic La Mixtequilla and is quite distinct from the "interlaced" style described by Proskouriakoff (1954). Stark suggests that Southern Veracruz might have participated in stylistic changes that lead to the increase in the use of scrolls during the late Pre-Classic. These changes appear to have extended to such areas as Izapa, Tres Zapotes, and El Mesón.

Proskouriakoff’s corpus is often problematic for the lack of provenance for most of the objects. Since we now know that the Patarata style is located in South-Central Veracruz, and there are no known examples of a motif combining the Patarata and "interlaced" styles, Stark proposes that it is probable that the interlaced style corresponds to an area in North to North-Central Veracruz.

Stark also expanded her corpus to include regional patterns of the scroll style depicted on ceramics, figures, murals, and other artifact categories, though she did not include all of the yoke styles or any of the palmas. The palmas were not included due to their dating to the Late Classic. In addition, the obvious differences between the palma and hacha forms may be due to definite differences in geographic distribution and possibly time. The hacha, as well as the yoke, is more widely distributed in the region, while the palma, outside of a few exceptions, is concentrated in the north-central area of Veracruz, shown here in the shaded area (Figure 9) (Luis Sanchez Olvera 1978). From this evidence it appears that the two stylistic spheres, those of the Classic Veracruz scroll style and the use of the palma, have a very similar distribution, at least during the Late Classic.

Although fragmentary, yokes and palmas diagnostic of this region have been excavated at Las Higueras. Of the 15 yoke fragments documented during the site excavation I was able to locate two in the Xalapa Museum bodega. This fragment is from the center of the yoke’s curve (Figure 10, shown above). It appears to be the nose of a creature commonly carved on Veracruz yokes categorized as the "frog" type by Strebel (1890). Of the dozen or more palmas found at the site only these three fragments were documented. Fragment "B" most clearly shows the presence of the Classic Veracruz scroll style (Figure 11). This is the upper corner of a type of palma often represented in scenes of ballplayers being sacrificed.

Scenes of ballcourt activity or ritual that incorporate the use of Proskouriakoff’s interlaced scroll style, the yoke, and the palma are found at several north-central Veracruz sites. Most prominent are those at El Tajín. The South Ballcourt Panel 4 depicts a ballplayer sacrifice, notice the sacrificial blade held to the victim’s neck (Figure 12). We can see that this event is actually taking place in the ballcourt by the architectural elements portrayed. The ballplayers’ accoutrements include a matted skirt, yoke, palma, and a circular back piece.

The El Tajín panel associated with Structure 2 illustrates another ballcourt sacrifice (Figure 13). This is once again evidenced by the cross section view of the court architecture, ballgame items of yoke, palma, matted skirt, a skull ball, and the sacrificial blade in the hand of the actor standing on the right. The missing central section of the panel is most probable the depiction of the victim. Let me call your attention to the three serpent heads along the right edge of the missing section. At the site of Aparicio a ballcourt corner stone depicts the probable missing portion of the image (Figure 14) (Kampen 1972:65-66). A decapitated ballplayer in matted skirt, with a yoke and palma, seated on scroll architecture has serpents rising from the neck. The palma worn at Aparicio is the type that the aforementioned Las Higueras palma fragment comes from, notice the use of interlaced scrolls (Figure 15, shown below).

The murals of Las Higueras Mound 1 also include a series of three ballgame related scenes on consecutively painted layers. The latest of the three depicts ballcourt activities focused around a rather large, bound, black ball (Figure 16). At the far left musicians playing long trumpets, rattles, and a drum accompany the main characters. A comparison can be made with musicians present during one of the stages of ritual depicted on the El Tajín South Ballcourt (Figure 17). The second Las Higueras scene, shown within stylized ballcourt architecture, depicts a small, headless person bracing himself against a skull ball (Figure 18). The figure to the right holds the severed head and the sacrificial blade. The earliest Las Higueras ballcourt scene is similar to those we have seen at El Tajín and Aparicio (Figure 19). Within a ballcourt of scroll architecture a ballplayer wearing a skirt, yoke, palma, kneepad, and a circular back piece sits upon a skull ball. The ballplayer has been decapitated and once again serpents rise from his neck. To his right we see his executioner holding the sacrificial blade.

The presence of ballcourt sacrifice scenes, palmas, and the Classic Veracruz scroll style can be seen as diagnostic of a North-Central Veracruz culture sphere. The presence of these traits at Las Higueras supplies a context for its regional association and identity.

With iconographic and stylistic information gleaned from both Las Higueras and the broader Classic Veracruz region, we might also reconsider what role this region had in influencing the creation, transformation, and exchange of visual culture in Epiclassic Mesoamerica. For example, one of the thorniest problems in Mesoamerican history is our understanding of the connections between Chichén Itzá in northern Yucatán and Tula in Hidalgo. The general consensus in current scholarship that there was a direct relationship between these cities has been based on a model that often excludes evidence of Gulf Coast interaction. By including a mediating category, that of Gulf Coast visual culture, we might affect this debate by drawing attention to the influential importance of what lay between the two great capitals during the Epiclassic period (c. 800-1100 CE).

Ballgame related iconography is but one type of imagery that demonstrates how features that are traditionally compared between Tula and Chichén Itzá have antecedents in Central Veracruz. For example, Rex Koontz (2000) has shown specific attributes of ballplayer imagery of Ballcourt 1 at Tula to be traceable to El Tajín and Petexbatún sites of the central Maya area, more directly than the usually referenced Chichén Itzá. A more graphic and well-known example is found in a comparison of the ritual ballcourt decapitation scenes depicted on the walls of the Great Ballcourt of Chichén Itzá (Figure 20). The figure to the left of the skull ball holds a sacrificial blade and the head of a decapitated ballplayer, who at the right kneels with serpents spewing from his severed neck. As we have seen, this imagery has precursors in Late Classic Veracruz at El Tajín, Aparicio, and in the murals of Las Higueras.

A comprehensive analysis of the Las Higueras murals and a complete catalogue of my reconstruction drawings will be included in my dissertation. Upon the successful defense and acceptance of the dissertation by the University of Texas at Austin these resources will be supplied in their entirety to the FAMSI archives.

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