The Lagartero Figurines

8/10/2019 The Lagartero Figurines

1/8


2/8

174

Susanna

M.

Ekholm

covered.

During

excavation most o{ the figurine fragments

could be

separated

from

the

mass

of

potsherds,

and these have been

partially

processed

in

the

laboratory.

Almost

all

the

figurines

from this refuse

situation

were unfortunately found

headless

or

bodiless;

complete

figurines

have

not

yet

been reconstructed,

and

so the descriptions

here

will

be

preliminary.

The richness

of

the collection, however

is

abeady

apparent.

The importance

of

the figurine collection from

Lagartero

lies in its

size

iover

five hundred figurines

represented),

the large number of each

variety

of

figuring

their fair preservatioq

and some

unusual

charuc-

teristics

such as their costume. The

great

majoity,

a specific

mafor

complex,

provide

us with a new focus

of

Maya figurine art, a style

previously

unrecognized. The

homogeneity

of

this

coilection

cor-

responds

to the extraordinary

homogeneity

of the

pottery

vessel col-

lection

(this

is especially notable

in

the

polychrome

pottery)

and

gives

us

a

glimpse

of Maya ceremonial equipment at one

point

il Maya

his-

tory

on the

southwest

ontier.

f

run FrcuRrNEs

In

general,

the

mafor Lagartero

ffgurine

complex

lIigs.

10-2-10-4)

fits

within

the traditions of the Late Classic Maya mold-made figurines.

The

figurjnes

share

traits with

both

Maya

Lowland and

Highland ex-

amples. They have

the stepped

haircut,

the

tall

conical

hats, the

plumed

and

effigy

headdresses,

etc. Most of the heads

probably

fall

within Butler's

(1935)

Y

type,

although

we know

that

that

general

type

is

not

at

all crude and

unrealistic,

as

she

characterizes

it.

How-

evert at

Lagartero we

have

a

local style,

a

particular

combination of

traits that

does

not

occur in other areas/

plus

traits

speciflc

to Lagar-

tero.

Most

o{ the mold-mde human figurines

from

Lagartero fail

within

what one can

probably

call

one

type

of Maya

figurine

with

difierences

on a varietal levef if I may

borrow terms

from

the classificatory sys-

tem

for

Lowland

Maya ceramics. The

persons

shown

all

seem

to be

dignitaries of some kind. Thee are no

graceful

dancers

such as are

found

in

AkaYerapaz.

Poses

are

usually

rigid

and

formal.

The mold-

made

pendants

lFig.

10-5J, included here with

the

figurines, consis-

tently

show

what

are

probably

shamans and

deity

representations.

Certin

other

characteristics

of the

mold-made

figurines are espe-

cially

outstanding.

About

60

percent

of the bodies

are female.

These

are

not women

shown in

genre

attitudes,

but

elegant,

obviously

elite

or

priestly

individuals

in

highly stylized

and

presumably

meaningful

formal

poses.

The heads,

which

we have

not

yer

ff.tted

to the

bodieb,

seem

generally

masculine in

aspect,

but the

faces

of female figurines

in

Maya art

usualiy

difier

little

from

those

of the

males, and

I

am

hopeful

that

the heads

and bodies

will be

oiaed

together.

Unlike

the

mold-made figurines

from

most

Maya

areas,

only a

very

smali

percentage

o{ the

Lagaftero

figurines

are

whistles

(Iig.

10-3d);

so

far only six

have evidence

of

a mouthpiece.

When a

mouthpiece

is

present

it is

on

the

side

of the figurine rather than a third foot-

like

extension at the back.

Costume and omament

are

of

greatest

importance. To display

these

fully

the Lagartero

human

seated

figurine

boes

{80

percent

of the

total number of bodies) usually were

made

in three

pieces-the

backs

and many of the

bases

are mold-made, with designs

that

continue

from the front.

Standing

flgurines

are

molded

in

two

pieces plus

the

had.

The

heads

are mold-made in two

pieces,

front

and

back. Decoration,

such

as

turbanlike rolls

of

cloth,

conical hats,

earspools, and

plumes,

are

usually

added

afte molding.

Heavy appendages were

stuck

part

way between the two halves of the head before they were

ioined

to

give

extra

support.

The

largest

group

of

heads

{Fig.

l0-2a-c),

about

fffty, have

stepped

hairdos

and turban

headdresses.

More than

half have

a

row

of

raised

dots down

the

forehead;

these correspond

to dots down the

forehead

and nose

of

painted

flgures

on

the

polychrome

pottery.

Others

have

a

pinch

of

ciay

on

the

nose

and

another on

the

forehead.

Three

have

nose

plugs;

one

has filed teeth.

-$.,

A small

group

(Fig.

10-29)

of

about ten

examples have

a smile show-

lng

teeth and

center-parted

hair.

The

second-largest

group

of

heads

ifig.

10-2d-f,

i),

about thirty ex-

amples, have

appliqu strips of

hair framing

the

faces.

This

group

in-

cludes

moe

expressions,

especially grimaces.

Teatment of the

fore-

head

is similar to that

of

the

other

group.

A fourth

and

large

group

(about

thirty)

look

much like the

first

$oup

except

that the turbans and the

earspools are

included

in

the mold,

as

are

hairdos

on

the backs

{Iig.

10-2j). Only

the

tassels on the ear-

spools

were

added later.

Iifteen

heads

wear open-mouthed monster mask

headdresses

(Fig.

10-2h)

that were common throughout

the Maya

area in

Tepeu times.

The

headdresses vary

from

compietely

mold-made

to completely

modeied

and

there

are combinations

of the two.

Small

varieties

of

mold-made heads

include

those

with

closed

eyes,

sunl


3/8


4/8

179

The Lago.rtero

Figurines

0

Scm.

lrtltl

FrcuRE

ro 3.

Seated female

mold made

figurine

bodies.


5/8

184

Susanna M.

Ekholm

ill

tt:

i1

5

cm.

rrrrl

IGURI,

ro-4. a-e:

Seated male mold-made

frgurine bodies

(note

the

mold-

made base showing

folded legs in

b);

f:

standrng female

figurine body;

g:

stand.

ing male

figurine

body.

0

I

181

The Lagarterc

Figwines

t


6/8

182

Susanna

M

Ekholm

ln

anotler

variety of about

forty

similar figurines

{Iig.

10-3b-c)

the

women

weat

short huipils of

gauze.

Some

have

flower

designs

on

the

front and

back,

some

have

a

net

design,

and some have a combination

of

the two.

The

thid

variety of

women with

their

hands

on

their

knees wear

short

jackets

or

shawls

just

covering

both

breasts

(IiS.

10-3d).

The

two

examples,

quite

small

figures,

were

probably

both

whistles.

Seated

women

are

often

shown

gesturing

elegantly.

About

twenty-

four raise their right

hands, the

fingers curved

{Fig.

10-3e).

Nineteen

of

these

wear elaborately

decorated

shawls

like

rubozos. Thee othrs

wear

their

shawls closed

with the comers

hanging in

points

and the

.hu"rpil showing below.

One,

raising

her le{t

hand

has

a

band of

gl1phs

around the

neck

of

her

short

huipil

that

is decorated

front and

back

with

a monster mask

with

half-closed eyes.

Several

wear

unusual

gar-

ments

that

cover

only

one breast.

Seated

women

are also shown

gesturing

with the left hand

palm

outward

and

fingers

extended

(Fig.

10-3f).

Four

of tese

wear a shawl

over

a

p14n,

longhuipil or

shawl

decorated

with circles; these

latter

ae

distinctive, however, in

that the

heads ae

molded

with

the

bodies

-even

the

earspools

and

hairdos are molded

(Fig.

10-2i).

Other

positions

cannot

yet

be described.

Thee women

with

iacket-

like

garments

seem

to

hoid

both

hands at the waist.

Iour fragments

with

glyph

bands

at the

neck wear

unusual

pendants

with

almost

glyphlike

faces.

-)The

seated

male

figurines

(Fig.

10-4a-e) are

of

the

same

type. They

are

recognizable by

their

distinctive

garments

and

their less

shapely

bodies.

They sit

in

a

slightly

difierent

position

with

their

feet

pro-

truding in front.

The most common man's

garment

is

a short

toga or

shawllike cloth

tied

on

the

left shoulder

{about

forty)

or

the

right shoulder

(about

eleven) and

passing

below

the other arm. The

designs

on

these togas

and

the shape

of

their edges

vary.Ten

have a

glyph

band

at the

top

edge

(although

these

"glyphs"

are'much

more

cursive

than the

ones

on

the women's

gamcents)

and

a monster mask

on

the

front

and back

the men wear a breechclout

that

is

seen

passing

between

their

legs

on

the

molded

bases; their

right

arms are

raised

across

thefu

chests

(Fig.

10-4a).

A

similar

toga

but

with

a'squared

edge

and

no

glyphs

is

worn by

thirty

men who

raise

their left hands

across

their chests

(Fig,

10-4b). Eleven

have togas

with

monster masks in cartouches;

they

raise

their right

hands across

their

chests.

The

second typical

garment for

seated

men is

a

wide

decorated

cloth

or skin worn hanging down

in

the front only

(Fig.

10-4d)

over a

breech-

clout that leaves the buttocks

naked.

In

all

cases

the men

sit

with

both

arms

encased

by the

garment.

Although the

position

looks un-

comfortablg

the figures, with such elaborately decorated clothes, do

not

seem

to be bound

prisoners.

There

appear

to

be examples of

"front

capes"

(Mahler

).965:590-591)

and seem

to refute Mahler's

suggestion

that

the

representations of

thee

on

pottery

and in the

codices

may

be side views of a rounded front

cloak. Fifteen have monster mask

designs on

their

belts and

fringed

skirts

below. Ten wear triangular

garments/

some

with

circle

designs,

others

with

monsters.

183

The Lagartero

Figuines

ili

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l,

l

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ri::;;

ili-

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lt-

u'

ti-

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it.,l

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j

i;

'''

li.r;t

1,

i'r

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lll

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1..,"

,.,i

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il

5

i

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I

rni

FIGURE

ro-5.

Mold-made ciay pendants.

5 cm.

I

t


7/8

184

Susanna M

El,Jtolm

Three

seateti

men

wear fringed

jackets,

like

the Aztec

xicolli,

with

flower

designs

in

circles

(Iig.

10-4eJ.

Seven

seated

males

are shown

gesturing

(Iig.

l0-4c).

They wear

what

is

probably

a

deerskin

tied

behind

so

that

it hangs

ofi

the

shoulders

and covers

the

figure,s

front,

with the white tail flipped

ove

to make

a

pendant

on

the

chest;

the

front

has a

monster

*st

ln

a

cartouche.

The

right hand

makes

the gesture

with the

fingers

curved

that

is iden-

tical

to

that

of

the

women.

)

Standing

mold-made

female flgurines

(Fig.

l0-4{}

are

outstanding for

their

graceful

gestures

and

regal

bearing,

although

these ffgures

are

rare.

Their

costumes

are

even

more elaborate than those

of the seated

females

and

ae

usually

shawls over huipils

that

in turn

cover

one

or

more

skirts.

Hands

are

shown

curving

up

in front

of

the

chest

on

seven

exampies,

curving

down

on

ffve

examples, one

curving

up

and

one

curving

down

on two

examples,

one

pointing

up and

one

pointing

down on

two

examples.

Three ffgurines

show the use

of

fine,

long

quexquemitls.

There

ae no

comparable

standing

mold-made

male figurines.

All

standing

males

are

possibly

shamanlike

and

may be shown in

an act

of

ritual

transformation

into

an animal.

About

ten

plain

ones wear

only a breechcloug

but

they have

tails.

Others, about

fifteen,

wear

skins

or nets

and

are often

grotesquely

fat-bellied

{Fig.

1O-ag).

Much

of

the originai

paint-blue,

red

and

white-remains

on the

ffgurines.

There

is

another

group

of

mold-made

clay artifacts

that

is related

to

the flgurines.

These

are

pendantg

presumably

to

be

worn

on neck-

laces.

Perhaps

they are

the

pendants

that

are

shown

being

worn

by

most

of

the

mold-made

figurines.

Most

of them

are

simply heads,

but they

are not

broken

ofi

of

figurines

they

are

complete

as

they

are,

with

perforations

in

the

back lor suspension.

Eighteen

pendants

epresent

what

may

be

shamans

(Fig.

10-5). They

are

bearded grotesque

faces,; protruding

from

the

head

are one round

knob

or horn

and

one

ot two

tassels.

Even more

grotesque

faces,

o{ten

with

starlike

protrusions,

number

sixteen.

Of twenty-five

monsters,

six

ae

long-nose

creatures.

Animals,

too/ are

shown

as

pendants,;

they

are

usually

birds,

either

ound-bellied

unelistic

ones

(twelve

examples) or macaws

or

quetzals (eleven exampies).

It

is

not

within the

scope

of

this essay

to treat

the

several hundred

animal

figurines/

most

of

which

are

mold-made.

It

is

interesting,

how-

ever,

that about

one

hundred

of the animal

ff.gurines

represented

are

dogs.

Many dog

bones were also

found

in thebasurero.

Mold-made

and modeled

figurines

occur together in

the

Lagartero

basuterc.

Modeled

flgurines

are much

fewer in

number

and seem

to

represent

a

difierent class

of

persons.

AII are

males.

They

arc scantily

clad, usually

only in loincloths,

and some

may

depict

sacrificial

vic-

tims

whose

entrails are

shown

during

some

form

of disembowelment.

Other

modeled

ffgurines

are

grotesque,

fat,

half-animal,

and

phallic

figures.

Some

animals, too,

especially

birds,

which

are

usually

whis-

tles,

are modeled.,

What

can

be said

about the Lagartero mold-made

figurine

complex

at this

early

stage in

our

analysis?

By the

nature

of the

baswero,

with its lacl< of stratigraphy

and

its

homogenous

contents,

I

feel

that

the refuse in it was deposited within

a

fairly short

time,

perhaps

even

within

a

single season. Whether it

refers to ceemonies

that

took

place

on

the

platforms

or was brought

in fom

another

part

of the ceremonial

center we do

not know.

All of

the figurines

(and

other artifactsJ

were

probably

being used at

the

same

time.

It

also

seems.

likely

that

the

figurines

wee manufact\red

at

LaE r'

tero. The

pastes

are all

generally

similar.

Included in

the

refuse

were

about

twenty figurine

molds. There

are

many pairs and

groups

of fig-

urines

made

in the

same

mold.

One of

the

extraordinary

facts about

the

polychrome pottery

from

the basurero

is

that only

about

5

percent

of

the

vesseis

do

not bear

giyphs.

O{ those

that

do,

90

percent

bear only a Chuen-like

glyph

with

various

affixes.

That is

the same

glyph

as the

one

shown on the

huipils

o

the

main

group

of seated

female figurines,

and

the

glyph

may be associatd especially

with Lagartero

or

its ceremonies.

.

.

The

elaborate

cosumes

on

the

Lagartero

ffgurines

will

merit

special

attention. Apparently shown are cotton

garments

with various types

of decoration

(embroidery,

brocadg

appliqu, and

paint),

and the

gar-

ments

are

of many types.

They incate a

$eat

textile

uaft

specializa'

tion and will be

stued

to identify

gatments

and

make

comparisons

with

ethnographic

costume and

costume shown on

Maya stelae

and

other

figurines

(Walter

F.

Morris,

fr.,

work in

preparation).

Apparently

the

Lagartero figurine

sculptors took the

license

of

not showing dra-

pery

as that wouid

distort the

essentiai

thing the designs on the

fabics.

The area

neat

Lagartero

today

is

an

importnt

cotton-growing

zone,

and

not too distant

areas were famous

for their

cotton

production

in

ancient

times.

Thomas Gage

{}.

E. S. Thompson

1958:148)

speaks

of

the

production

of

cotton-wool

in

Copanabastla

iCopanaguastla)

that was widely traded,

Then

at Izquintenango,

Gage

encountered

a

great

trading certer,

very

rich, by reason

of

the much cotton-wool

in it

{Thompson

1958:161).

Izquintenango

is about a three-hour

walk

from Lagartiro.

The

Grifalv

a

ialtey until

very recently was

famous

l-

fo its

fine cotton

textiles such

as

those

of the

Zoque

of

Tuxtla Gu-

tirez

and

those of

the Tzeltal

Maya

of

San

Bartolom

de

los

Llanos

(Venustiano

Caranza)

(Cordry

and

Cordry

l94I).

That this

fame

pos-

sibly

extended

back

to Late

Classic

times

in

the easten

part

of the

valley may

be evidenced

by

the.Lagartero

figurine

costumes.

A

major

problem

when

faced

with the study

of a

figurine collection

such

as this one

is the

lack of

published

comparative

material. Ex'

cavated

ffgurines, usually fragmentary,

are

rurely

published

complete-

ly.

Also,

known whole

figurines are usually

from

looted sites and

have

lost their

provenience.

In this

respect,

howevet,

we have had some

luck. In

the

report

on

the excavations

atZaotler,

Woodbury

and

Trik

i1953:

Figs. 270-2771

show some

figuriie

fragments that came

from their

excavations

and

from

a

small

mound south

of

and across the barranca

from the

Zaculeu

ceremonial

center, and

there is our

flgurine

complex. The

heads,

while

difficult to

evaluate

exactly, would

not

be

out of

place

among our

185

The

Lagarterc

Figuilnes


8/8

186

Susanna M.

Ekholm

figurines.

Body fragments

shown

could

be from

Lagartero.

There

are

even

six

examples

of

our

peridants-five

grotesque

faces

and

a

bird.

Here

is

confirmation

of

the

pendants,relationship

with

the ffgurines

nd

some

evidence

of

the

areal spread of

the

entire

mold-made

com-

plex.

Wolfgang

Haberland

has

funished

me

with

a

photograph

of

a

ffgurine

in the

Termer

Collection

in

the Museum

frlr

Vlkeikunde,

Hamburg,

that

was purch

ased in 1926

and comes

from

Aguacatan,

near

Huehuetenango

it

could

be

frona

the

same

mold

as oui

male

figures

wearing

short,

fringed

jackets.

This is the

only real

comparative

evidence so

far,

tJrough,

and

we must

assume

that

the

complex is

limited

to

the

southwestern

Maya

frortier.

Figurines,

in

spite

of

their

ubiquity

and often very illuminating

eth-

nographic

detail,

remain

an

enigma. No one

has

ever

been

able

to

say

for

sure how

they

were used,

and one

usually

ends

up

saying,

as

does

Rands

(1965J

in his

summary

article

on Highland

Maya flgurines,

simply that

they

were

probably

used in many

ways.

This

may

well

be

true

in

the

main,

but

perhaps

with

finds

such

as this

one at Lgartero

we

can

begin

to discuss

the

function

of specific

fi.gurine

complexes.

No

ffgurines

(or

polychrome

pottery)

were found-in any

of the fiIty

or

so

burials

of

the

northwest

plaza,

although

many

were

probably

of the same

period.

The ffgurines

are an

exception

to

Borhegyi,s

{1965:

35)

rule

that

Highland

Late

Classic

figurines

are

primarily

,,ofr.ertory

or decorative

objects

and

that

they

are

never found

boken

or

bat-

tered.

The

preponderance

of

female

figurines

is intrigng.

This ffgurine

complex

is intimately

associated

with

the

polychrome

pottery

com-

plex

with

its

extensive

fi.gure

painting.

But

only

males

seem

to be

painted

on

the

pots.

The

female figurines

seem

to

be more

prepossess-

ing

and important

than

the male

ones, as

if

they

played

i more im-

portant

role.

We have

the tantalizing

suggestion

tat this collection

of

figurines

with

such

a narow

range

of activities

shown

may

represent

a

small

numbe

of individual

roles

pertaining

to

a

parricular

ritual

or

group

of

rituals

such as

an end-of-cycie

ceremony.

The

few

por.r

*d

g.r-

tures may

also refer to

slight

variation

of

class

or

social

status.

We

,are

left

with the

hope

of being

able

to

reconstruct

in

some

wy

some

highly

f

ormali

zed.

rrt:ual.

il

.,t,r

ir

,;i

'

lll

1

::x

..i

.lr

,|

:,:

i,1

Ethnohistoric

Approaches

The Lagartero Figurines

Documents

Transcript of The Lagartero Figurines