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The Manufacturing Techniques of the Teotihuacan Style Masks from the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2014

Emiliano R. Melgar Tísoc  and
Reyna B. Solís Ciriaco
Emiliano R. Melgar Tísoc*
Affiliation:
Museo del Templo Mayor, Seminario 8, Centro Histórico, México D.F., C.P. 06060, Mexico.
Reyna B. Solís Ciriaco
Affiliation:
Museo del Templo Mayor, Seminario 8, Centro Histórico, México D.F., C.P. 06060, Mexico.
*
*e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

At the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, the archaeologists found hundreds of stone masks considered foreign pieces obtained by commerce, tribute, and pillage. Because of that, they were classified in the main Mesoamerican styles, like the Olmec, Mezcala, Teotihuacan, Mayan, Mixtec and Aztec art. Among them are seven Teotihuacan Style masks found in five offerings. Its presence was explained by other researchers as relics looted by Aztec people from the Teotihuacan site, because the Aztec priests and rulers employed them as sources of power, prestige and mythical links between the City of the Gods and Tenochtitlan. But, are these stone masks from Tenochtitlan really Teotihuacan items? How can we identify which of them came from Teotihuacan and could be relics and which of them not? To solve this problem, we analyze its manufacturing techniques and compare them with lapidary objects from different areas of Teotihuacan, employing experimental archaeology, Optic Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. As results, we identify two technological patterns: five masks share the tools and techniques of Teotihuacan manufactures but two other masks contrast with them. Interestingly, its technology match with the Tenochcan productions, so, both pieces could be recreations crafted by Aztec artisans during the Postclassic times.

Keywords

scanning electron microscopy (SEM)hardnesstribology
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1618: Symposium 8A – Cultural Heritage and Archaeological Issues in Materials Science , 2014 , pp. 109 - 119
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

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