Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T03:10:38.418Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Women, Rituals, and Social Dynamics at Ancient Chalcatzingo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Ann Cyphers Guillén
Ann Cyphers Guillén*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior, Delegación Coyoacan, Móxico, D.F. 04510
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Female figurines from the Cantera phase at Chalcatzingo, Morelos, depict stages of the life cycle: puberty, pregnancy, and child rearing. Contextual data indicate that the figurines were used in female-focused life-crisis ceremonies that created a web of social rights and obligations validated by reciprocal exchanges. These rights and obligations were the means by which power and influence were created, directed, and controlled by particular households. Thus, these figurines and their contexts permit a better understanding of the role of women in the dynamics of social-hierarchy formation at Chalcatzingo, and how the formation of social bonds and patterns of exchange were important in the accumulation of power.

Las figurillas femeninas de la fase Cantera de Chalcatzingo, Morelos, representan las etapas del ciclo de la vida: la pubertad, el embarazo y la crianza de niños. Los datos de los contextos indican que las figurillas fueron usadas en ceremonias relativas al ciclo de vida que crearon una red de derechos y obligaciones sociales apoyadas por el intercambio recíproco. Estos derechos y obligaciones constituyeron la manera en que algunos grupos domésticos crearon, enfocaron y controlaron el poder y la influencia. Estas figurillas y sus contextos permiten un mejor entendimiento de la dinámica de formación de jerarquías sociales en Chalcatzingo, y cómo la formación de nexos sociales y patrones de intercambio fueron importantes en la acumulación de poder.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 209 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Aguilera, C. 1985 Flora y fauna mexicana, mitología y tradiciones. Editorial Everst, León, España.Google Scholar
Almagor, U. 1978 Gerontocracy, Polygyny and Scarce Resources. In Sex and Age As Principles of Social Differentiation, edited by J. S. La Fontaine, pp. 139–158. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Angulo, J. 1987 The Chalcatzingo Reliefs: An Iconographic Analysis. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 132–158. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Barba de Piña Chan, B. 1956 Tlapacoya, un sitio preclásico de transitión. Acta Antropológica, época 2, tomo I, no. 1. Escuela National de Antropología e Historia, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Barba de Piña Chan, B. 1980 Tlapacoya, los principios de la teocracia en la cuenca de Mexico. Biblioteca Enciclopédica del Estado de Mexico, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Bernal, I. 1969 The Olmec World. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Boserup, E. 1965 The Conditions of Agricultural Growth: The Economics of Agrarian Change Under Population Pressure. Aldine, Chicago.Google Scholar
Bugé, D. 1987 Plant Ecology and Paleoecology. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 14–20. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Burton, S. 1987 Obsidian Blade Manufacturing Debris on Terrace 37. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 321–328. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Charlton, T. 1984 Production and Exchange: Variables in the Evolution of a Civilization. In Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica, edited by K. G. Hirth, pp. 17–43. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Charlton, T., Grove, D. C., and Hopke, P. K. 1978 The Paredon, Mexico, Obsidian Source and Early Formative Exchange. Science 201:807–809.Google Scholar
Coe, M. D. 1965 The Olmec Style and Its Distributions. In Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, pt. 2, edited by G. R. Willey, pp. 739–775. Handbook of Middle American Indians, vol. 3, R. Wauchope, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Coe, M. D., and Diehl, R. A. 1980 In the Land of the Olmec. 2 vols. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Di Castro, A. 1988 Representaciones zoomorfas de cerámica de Chalcatzingo, Morelos. Unpublished tesis de licenciatura, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Drennan, R. D. 1976 Religion and Social Evolution in Formative Mesoamerica. In The Early Mesoamerican Village, edited by K. V. Flannery, pp. 345–363. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Drucker, P., Heizer, R. F., and Squier, R. J. 1959 Excavations at La Venta, Tabasco, 1955. Bulletin No. 170. Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Earle, T. 1987 Chiefdoms in Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspective. Annual Review of Anthropology 16:279–308.Google Scholar
Eliade, M. 1958 Rites and Symbols of Initiation, The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth. Harper and Row, New York.Google Scholar
Eliade, M. 1964 Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Eliade, M. 1969 The Quest, History and Meaning in Religion. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Feinman, G., and Neitzel, J. 1984 Too Many Types: An Overview of Sedentary Prestate Societies in the Americas. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, vol. 7, edited by M. B. Schiffer, pp. 39–101. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Firth, R. 1939 Primitive Polynesian Economy. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Firth, R. 1951 Elements of Social Organization. Watts, London.Google Scholar
Firth, R. 1963 We, The Tikopia: A Sociological Study of Kinship in Primitive Polynesia. Beacon Press, Boston.Google Scholar
Flannery, K.V. 1976 Contextual Analysis of Ritual Paraphernalia from Formative Oaxaca. In The Early Mesoamerican Village, edited by K. V. Flannery, pp. 333–344. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Fries, C. Jr. 1960 Geología del estado de Morelos y de partes adyacentes de México y Guerrero, región central meridional de México. Boletín No. 60. Institute de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F. Google Scholar
González, J. 1944 Minería y riqueza minera de México. Monografías Industrials No. 2. Banco de México, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Goulder, A. 1960 The Norm of Reciprocity: A Preliminary Statement. American Sociological Review 25:161–178.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. 1968 The Preclassic Olmec in Central Mexico: Site Distribution and Inferences. In Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, edited by E. Benson, pp. 179–185. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. 1974 San Pablo, Nexpa, and the Early Formative Archaeology of Morelos, Mexico. Publications in Anthropology No. 12. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. 1987a Chalcatzingo in a Broader Perspective. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 434–442. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. 1987b Raw Materials and Sources. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 376–386. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. 1987c Comments on the Site and Its Organization. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 420–433. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. 1987d Ground Stone Artifacts. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 329–342. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. 1987e Faunal Analysis. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, Appendix J, pp. 547–549. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. 1989 Chalcatzingo and Its Olmec Connection. In Regional Perspectives on the Olmec, edited by R. J. Sharer and D. C. Grove, pp. 122–147. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C. (editor) 1987 Ancient Chalcatzingo. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C, and Gillespie, S. 1984 Chalcatzingo’s Portrait Figurines and the Cult of the Ruler. Archaeology July/August:27–33.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C, and Guillén, A. C. 1987 The Excavations. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 21–55. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Grove, D. C, Hirth, K. G., Bugé, D., and Cyphers, A. 1976 Settlement and Cultural Development at Chalcatzingo. Science 192:1203–1210.Google Scholar
Guillén, A. C. 1982 The Implications of Dated Monumental Art From Chalcatzingo, Morelos, Mexico. World Archaeology 13:382–393.Google Scholar
Guillén, A. C. 1984 The Possible Role of a Woman in Formative Exchange. In Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica, edited by K. G. Hirth, pp. 115–124. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Guillén, A. C. 1987a Las figurillas de Chalcatzingo, Morelos: Estudio de arte y antropología. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Guillén, A. C. 1987b Ceramics. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 200–251,. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Guillén, A. C. 1987c Estudio petrográfico de dos cerámicas importadas de Chalcatzingo, Morelos. Antropología y Técnica 2:85–98. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Guillén, A. C. 1988 Thematic and Contextual Analyses of Chalcatzingo Figurines. Mexicon X:98–102.Google Scholar
Guillén, A. C. 1989 Las figurillas C8 de Chalcatzingo, Morelos. In Ensayos de alfarería prehispánica e histórica de Mesoamérica, homenaje a Eduardo Noguera Auza, edited by M. C. Serra and C. Navarrete, pp. 85–96. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Guillén, A. C, and Grove, D. C. 1987 Chronology and Cultural Phases at Chalcatzingo. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 56–62. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Harlan, M. E. 1975 Prehistoric Exchange at Chalcatzingo, Morelos, Mexico. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson.Google Scholar
Harlan, M. E. 1979 An Inquiry into the Development of Complex Society at Chalcatzingo, Morelos, Mexico: Methods and Results. American Antiquity 44:471–493.Google Scholar
Harlan, M. E. 1987 Chalcatzingo’s Formative Figurines. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 252–263. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Hirth, K. G. 1978 Interregional Trade and the Formation of Prehistoric Gateway Communities. American Antiquity 43:35–45.Google Scholar
Hirth, K. G. 1987 Formative Period Settlement Patterns in the Río Amatzinac Valley. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 343–367. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Kelley, D. H. 1962 Glyphic Evidence for a Dynastic Sequence at Quirigua, Guatemala. American Antiquity 27:323–335.Google Scholar
Kelly, I. 1974 Stirrup Pots from Colima: Some Implications. In The Archaeology of West Mexico, edited by B. Bell, pp. 206–211. Sociedad de Estudios Avanzados del Occidente de México, Ajijic, Jalisco.Google Scholar
Kelly, I. 1980 Ceramic Sequence in Colima: Capacha, an Early Phase. Anthropological Papers No. 37. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Mayer, E. 1974 Reciprocity, Self-sufficiency and Market Relations in a Contemporary Community in the Central Andes of Peru. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.Google Scholar
Meillassoux, C. 1978 “The Economy” in Agricultural Self-sustaining Societies: A Preliminary Analysis. In Relations of Production: Marxist Approaches to Economic Anthropology, edited by D. Seddon, pp. 127–157. Frank Cass, London.Google Scholar
Meillassoux, C. 1981 Maidens, Meal and Money, Capitalism and the Domestic Community. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Merry de Morales, M. 1987 Chalcatzingo Burials as Indicators of Social Ranking. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 95–113. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Newman, P. L. 1965 Knowing the Gururumba. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York.Google Scholar
Oliveros, J. A. 1974 Nuevas exploraciones en El Opeño, Michoacan. In The Archaeology of West Mexico, edited by B. Bell, pp. 182–201. Sociedad de Estudios Avanzados del Occidente de México, Ajijic, Jalisco.Google Scholar
Peebles, C., and Kus, S. 1977 Some Archaeological Correlates of Ranked Societies. American Antiquity 42:421–448.Google Scholar
Piña Chan, R. 1955 Las culturas preclásicas de la cuenca de México. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Piña Chan, R. 1958 Tlatilco. Serie Investigaciones Nos. 1-2. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Porter, M. 1955 Tlatilco and the Pre-classic Cultures of the New World. Viking Fund Publication in Anthropology No. 19. Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, New York.Google Scholar
Price, B. J. 1984 Competition, Productive Intensification, and Ranked Society: Speculations from Evolutionary Theory. In Warfare, Culture and Environment, edited by R. B. Ferguson, pp. 209–240. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Prindiville, M., and Grove, D. C. 1987 The Settlement and Its Architecture. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 63–81. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Proskouriakoff, T. 1963 Historical Data in the Inscriptions of Yaxchilan, Part 1. Estudios de Cultura Maya 3:149–167.Google Scholar
Proskouriakoff, T. 1964 Historical Data in the Inscriptions of Yaxchilan, Part . 2Estudios de Cultura Maya 4:177–202.Google Scholar
Rappaport, R. A. 1968 Pigs for the Ancestors, Ritual in the Ecology of a New Guinea People. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.Google Scholar
Reyna, R. M. 1971 Las figurillas preclásicas. Unpublished tesis de maestría, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Sahlins, M. 1972 Stone Age Economics. Tavistock, London.Google Scholar
Santley, R. 1984 Obsidian Exchange, Economic Stratification, and the Evolution of Complex Society in the Basin of Mexico. In Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica, edited by K. Hirth, pp. 43–86. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Scheie, L., and Miller, M. E. 1986 The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth.Google Scholar
Spinden, H. 1928 Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Central America. American Museum of Natural History, New York.Google Scholar
Steward, F. H. 1977 Fundamentals of Age-Group Systems. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Thomson, C. 1987 Chalcatzingo Jade and Fine Stone Objects. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by D. C. Grove, pp. 295–304. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Turner, V. 1969 The Ritual Process, Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine, Chicago.Google Scholar
Vaillant, G. C. 1930 Excavations at Zacatenco. Anthropological Papers Vol. 32, Pt. 1. American Museum of Natural History, New York.Google Scholar
Vaillant, G. C. 1931 Excavations at Ticoman. Anthropological Papers Vol. 32, Pt. 2. American Museum of Natural History, New York.Google Scholar
Vaillant, G. C. 1935 Excavations at El Arbolillo. Anthropological Papers Vol. 35, No. 2. American Museum of Natural History, New York.Google Scholar
Van Gennep, A. 1960 The Rites of Passage. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Vargas, L. A. 1971 Pigmentation cutanée et cycle menstruel. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, La Faculté des Sciences de Paris, Paris.Google Scholar
Weiant, C. W. 1943 An Introduction to the Ceramics of Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, Mexico. Bulletin No. 139. Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Wolf, E. R. 1966 Peasants. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Wolf, E. R. 1990 Distinguished Lecture: Facing Power. American Anthropologist 92:586–596.Google Scholar