Remohadas , isp. Remojadas is an archaeological monument in Mexico belonging to the Classical culture of Veracruz , but with its own peculiar style that existed from I to VIII centuries AD. er The monument remains unexplored since the first archaeological excavations conducted by the Mexican Alfonso Medellin Senil ( es: Alfonso Medellin Zenil ) in 1949-1950.
Content
Figurines
Remohadas became famous for his ceramics, in particular, for several thousand hollow ceramic figurines found in various places, including tombs and trash remains. [2]
The figures depict gods, rulers and ordinary people, as well as animals - dogs, deer, etc. Many of the figures at the same time served as musical instruments - whistles , flutes , ocarins . Some animal figures, which could be either ritual or toys, are equipped with wheels - this is one of the few examples of using the wheel in pre-Columbian art. [3]
Many of the figurines sawed teeth, which seems to reflect the widespread practice of the Remohadas culture. The earliest figures are made by hand, while the most recent ones are made by pouring into a mold. According to Michael Kou , the figures resemble similar statues of the Mayan civilization in style and execution. [four]
"Smiling"
The most famous of the statuettes from Remohadas are the figures "Smiling", which are characterized by a wide smile on almost triangular faces. Often heads either do not have a body, or are attached to “children's” bodies with outstretched arms and open palms. The “smile” is more formal, with the figure showing the teeth, and sometimes the tongue between the teeth.
Statues with a smile are rare in Mesoamerican art, and a large number of such figurines in the Remohadas culture testifies to their special role in this culture. Some researchers believe that a smile conveys a state of drug intoxication [5] , others - that it is associated with the cult of the dead. [6]
Smiling men are naked or have loincloths. Women wear skirts. Both are usually decorated with pectoral ribbons and / or bracelets, and also often have hats. Headdresses, and often on skirts, depicted emblems or stylized animals. [7]
Notes
- ↑ Coe (2002), p. 119.
- ↑ Covarrubias, p. 193.
- ↑ Diehl and Mandeville, p. 243.
- ↑ Coe (2002), p. 119.
* Medillin Zenil, p. 168. - ↑ Davies, p. 91.
- ↑ Ochoa, p. 68
- ↑ Medillin Zenil, p. 163–168.
Literature
- Coe, M; Snow, D; Benson, E; (1986) Atlas of Ancient America ; Facts on File, New York.
- Coe, MD (2002); Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs, Thames and Hudson, London.
- Covarrubias, Miguel (1957) Indian Art of Mexico and Central America , Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
- Davies, Nigel (1983) The Penguin Books, London.
- Diehl, Richard A .; Mandeville, Margaret D. (1987), Tula, and wheeled animal effigies in Mesoamerica , in Antiquity , vol. 61, no. 232; July 1987.
- Medillin Zenil, Alfonso; Frederick A. Peterson (1954) “A Smiling Head Complex from Central Veracruz, Mexico” in American Antiquity , Vol. 20, No. 2. (Oct., 1954), pp. 162-169.
- Ochoa, Lorenzo (2000) "Remojadas" in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures ed. Carrasco, Davíd, Oxford University Press.
- Speight, Charlotte; Toki, John (2003) Hands in Clay: An Introduction to Ceramics , McGraw-Hill, New York.
Links
- Remojadas figurines at the Logan Museum at Beloit College .
- Remojadas figurine at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City .
- An early Remojadas animal figurine.
- Comprehensive site on Remojadas and other pre-Columbian Wheeled Artifacts.