Censer Symbolism and the State Polity in Teotihuacán

Ritual Ceramics at a Workshop in the Ciudadela, Teotihuacán: Catalog

The cataloging process is described in the Spanish volume, with the notes on the quantification procedure, grouping of pieces for the photos, and preliminary comments.

The iconographical motifs were divided into five categories: plants, animals, anthropomorphic figures, other motifs, and other parts of censers (i.e., fragments of functional parts, like vases or chimneys). The molds and ornaments–both originals and copies made with original molds–were included to show the wide variety of motifs within the same category. Pieces were selected for photos, with the idea that the catalog should include wider iconographic variety; therefore it does not necessarily represent the quantitative proportion by motif. The photos include materials of unique motifs that were not applied in other pieces. Applications of the molds were made by Múnera and Sugiyama to better understand negative motifs in positive copies, with the clay used by modern ceramic manufacturers living in San Sebastián, a village to the south of the Archaeological Tourist Zone in Teotihuacán. Each piece in the photos is indicated with a different type of letter according to whether they are original molds (capital letters), original copies (small letters), or modern copies made with original molds (small letters underlined).

Quantitative data should be considered as being tentative information, since the grouping depends on the definition of each motif, and one piece often has two or more motifs and can belong to other categories at the same time. However, I believe that these numbers adequately represent quantitative trends by motif for censer imageries in Teotihuacán. The symbolism produced at this workshop can be characterized quantitatively, and the data can be compared with other sets of motifs found in different parts of the city and abroad.

Previous Page  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Page

Return to top of page