Object Notes

The human figure was a popular sculptural theme at Teotihuacan (Teotihuacán), carved in a range of sizes and in a variety of stones. As exemplified in this carved obsidian standing figure, the body tends to be idealized in form with a focus on the human face, and less emphasis on the definition of individual features, form, or expression.

The Zapotec people believed clouds were the primordial beings from which they descended, hence their name, Peni-Zaa or "cloud people." Zapotecs honored their ancestors who, after death, returned to the c

This hand was found with the Head of the rain god (1967.5) and the pair of crouching frogs (1969.13.1 and 1969.13.2), repor

This crouching frog was reportedly found as part of a pair (with 1969.13.1) along with the Head of the ra

This crouching frog was reportedly found as part of a pair (with 1969.13.2) along with the Hea

From about 1000 CE, independent kingdoms of the Mixtec people dominated western Oaxaca and adjacent parts of Puebla. After the Aztecs conquered some Mixtec kingdoms in the 15th century, the tribute they subsequently paid included works of art in ceramic, metal, and turquoise mosaic, for which the Mixtec craftsmen were justly famous.

The "Xantiles" are bottomless cylindrical vessels representing specific supernaturals in the pantheon of the Mixteca-Puebla culture. They were placed over containers of burning copal incense. This figure retains much of its original paint. The body is yellow and ornaments are blue, with additional painted red and black decorative details such as the rectangular mouth mask.

The carved stone images Olmec kings wore on their foreheads and chests projected supernatural power. This carved jadeite bead in the shape of a monkey would have originally been suspended from a necklace as indicated by the drilled hole at the back of the figure's head. Deeply incised lines indicate the facial features and arms of the figure.