Epi-Classic Cultural Dynamics in the Mezquital Valley

Oaxaca

Alfonso Caso had also noticed the link mentioned by Coggins, pointing to an apparent Maya influence of jade Maya carvings in Monte Albán IIIb, while additionally, a number of fragments directly imported from that region were found, included in offerings together with local pieces (Caso, 1965a:899).

As mentioned above, the pieces originated in Monte Albán attributed to periods IIIb, IIIb-IV and IV (Caso, ibid.:906-911; Paddock, 1966:157-160) (Figure 4) are abundant. In the chronological sequences of the site, those are precisely the more confusing periods in regard to their temporal delimitation and social characterization, as there are no true material distinctions between them (Flannery and Marcus, 1983:184; Paddock, 1983:187; Kowalewski, 1983:188; Scott, 1998:185). Ignacio Bernal considers that culturally they are "exactly the same", as both ceramics and architecture are identical, and the only trait that corresponds to the latter one is the destitution of Monte Albán as the major center in the Oaxaca Valley (Bernal, 1965:802, 804, 806-807). For this reason, the author came to the conclusion that there were not two, but one unique period with two subphases, and he attributed this continuity to the fact that notwithstanding the abandonment of the ceremonial center, the valley was still inhabited (Bernal, ibid.:804).

Recently, the archaeologist Marcus Winter produced a thorough analysis of the features that could be reliably attributed to each one of the intervals, in Monte Albán and other contemporary sites, corroborating that there are no grounds to differentiate the periods IIIb and IV. By acknowledging that only one designation was valid (IIIb) and based on radiocarbon dates and ceramic correlations, he suggested it began by the year A.D. 500 at the most, to culminate around A.D. 800 (these datings fluctuate specifically between the years A.D. 640 and 755); it was by then that the ancient Zapotecan city of Monte Albán was experiencing its peak. Winter also noted that there is no information supporting the idea that the occupation extended until the year A.D. 1000, as is usually stated (1989:127).¹²

Significantly, in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca the greenstone figures referred to in this report replace those with a strong Teotihuacán style, common during the Period IIIa (Caso, 1965a:903). Caso refers to this change as a rebirth or reanimation of jade carvings in Monte Albán, contemporary or slightly later to the rebirth of the Maya style in the Late Classic.

According to Caso’s work, lots of these figurines were recovered from Offering 3 of the Jaguar Temple, and from the first and third offerings from Mound B. Except for one piece, this work makes no reference to an association with human burials, while the contextual characteristics were not thoroughly studied; also, their apparent absence inside the famous Zapotecan tombs is quite amazing. It is a pity that among the more elaborated samples known originated in Oaxaca, Caso illustrated just two of them: one from Guiengola, whose precise provenience is unknown, and the other one was recovered in Monte Albán’s Mound B, of an uncertain temporality (Caso, ibid.:908, 910, figs. 26 and 27). About the last piece that features an individual with a glamorous headdress, Caso notes: "[…] it may be the representation of a man with the attributes of a feathered serpent (i.e. Quetzalcóatl) […]" (ibid.:908).

Headdresses with serpent attributes are common among the more sophisticated plaques, like the one exhibited at the Völkerkunde Museum, in Vienna,¹³  and illustrated by Marcus Winter, who pointed out: "These adornments are portable and they were probably exchanged between groups from different regions, and that’s why they have also been found in Xochicalco and Chichén Itzá. The place of manufacture has not yet been determined" (Winter, 1994:165).

Previous Page  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Page

Endnotes

12. The next phase showing some certainties in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, is Monte Albán V (A.D. 1250-1521), while there’s a span of approximately five hundred years with very scarce information available (Winter, 1989:127-129). Considering the abandonment of Monte Albán prior to the year A.D. 1000, an approximate duration of 200 years would sequentially correspond to Period IV, at least in that city. To avoid the problem involved in the numeric designation of phases, the scholars actually working in Oaxaca have suggested a new terminology (see Winter 1998:158, fig. 1), whereby Monte Albán’s peak is now denominated "Xoo Phase" (Winter, ibid.:158, 170-176).

13. One of these pieces, very probably of Zapotec manufacture, was found in San Jerónimo de Juárez, Guerrero (Von Winning and Stendahl, 1972, fig. 338; Hirth, 2000:203). The headdress of the individual features a feathered serpent in profile, with the face of a second individual, also in profile, emerging from the muzzles. We ignore exactly where it came from; and regarding its contextual association, we only know it was found inside a tecali tripod vessel, with two shells (Von Winning and Stendahl, ibid., fig. 337). With these data, it is difficult to suggest a temporality, as in this area of coastal Guerrero, there was a seemingly continued occupation from Formative times to the Early Post Classic (Weitlaner, 1948:80-81). Towards the Classic, specifically, there are references about "Teotihuacanoid" and "Mayoid" objects, and later, about elements of the "Mazapa culture" and Plumbate ceramics (ibid.:83).

Return to top of page