Mesoweb Features

The photographs in this presentation are from the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. They represent a wide spectrum of the ancient cultures of Mexico. The following is a list by culture.

AZTEC (MEXICA)

Slab with a bas-relief carving

Sunstone

Sculpture of the deity Coatlicue

Stone of Tízoc (detail)

Head of the deity Coyolxauhqui

Dedication slab

Head of a warrior of the order of the eagles

Statute of Xiuhtecuhtli

Statue of Coatlicue

Sculpture of kneeling Cihuateteo

Sculpture of Xochipilli

Serpent's head

Sculpture of a coiled rattlesnake

Sculpture of the wind deity

Sculpture of a squash

Obsidian vessel carved in the shape of a monkey

Image of a standing woman

Tripod plate

Polychrome terracota plaque with molded and apliquéd sculpture of a human face

Stone box with representations of corn cobs

Recumbent stone sculpture

Effigy vessel of an opposum

Sculpture of a standing old man

Torso and head of a male

Sculpture of a standing warrior

Model of a pyramid temple

Fish pendant

CENTRAL MEXICAN PRE-CLASSIC

Female figurine

Female figurine with flower earflares

Fish-shaped vessel

Vessel-figurine of an acrobat

Seated male figurine dressed as a supernatural beast (front view)

Seated male figurine dressed as a supernatural beast (back view)

Mask with one half representing a face and the other a skull

Representation of a deity

CENTRAL VERACRUZ

"Palma" in the shape of human forearms and hands

Anthropomorphic "hacha"

Female figurine sitting on a coffer-like object

Deity brazier

Figurine of Xipe-Tótec

CHUPÍCUARO CULTURE

Hollow standing figurine

COLIMA CULTURE

Sitting male figurine

Vessel in the shape of a parrot

Vessel in the shape of a dog

HUASTEC

Sculpture of a youth (front)

Sculpture of a youth (back)

Sculpture with a conical headdress

Huilozintla Stela

Female figurine

Tepetzintla monument

Sculpture of a seated female

Skull-shaped necklace beads

Ehecacozcatl in the shape of a flower

Sectioned shell pectoral (Ehecacozcatl)

Wind god pectoral (Ehecacozcatl)

JALISCO CULTURES

Kneeling female figurine

MAYA

Chinkultic disc

Yaxchilan Lintel 26

Reclining figure with plate on abdomen

Architectural finial

Figurine of a ballplayer

Vessel in the shape of an old man emerging from a snail shell

Polychrome vase

Stucco head

Codex-style vessel

Figurine of a man with staff

Carved and etched vessel

Floral "L"-shaped ear ornaments

Domed star ear ornaments

MEXICA (SEE AZTEC)

MEZCALA

Mask

Temple miniature

MIXTEC

Cup with a hummingbird

Vessel with a skeletal figure

Anthropomorphic vessel

NAYAR

Skull cap

NAYARIT CULTURES

Male figurine holding an object

Female figurine holding an object

Female squatting figurine

Representation of a house and its people

Temple model

NORTHERN CULTURES

Whistling vessel

Zoomorph vessel

Polychrome vessel

Anthropomorphic vessel

Polychrome pot

OLMEC

Colossal Head #6, San Lorenzo

Figurine holding an object, possibly a torch or a bundle of vegetation elements

Seated female figurine with a mirror

Anthropomorphic axe

Plaque with 5 bas-relief and etched profiles

Mask

Figure in very dynamic posture

Anthropomorphic celt

Note: "Olmec" is an art historian's term of convenience for a ceremonial complex that manifested itself throughout a large area of Mesoamerica, with a "heartland" along the Gulf Coast in the modern states of Tabasco and Veracruz. Scholars have identified as Olmec many of the artworks herein classified as "Central Mexican Pre-Classic" and "Tlapacoya", among them:

Fish-shaped vessel

Vessel-figurine of an acrobat

Seated male figurine dressed as a supernatural beast (front view)

Seated male figurine dressed as a supernatural beast (back view)

Olmec-style figurine

TARASCAN

Earflare with turquoise inlays

TEOTIHUACAN

Sculpture of a female, possibly a deity

Representation of a deity

Monument from 'La Ventilla'

Disc with a skull in the middle