31
Macaw's Head
XOCHICAlCO
CUlTURE
Epiclassic (650-900 AO), Xochicalco, Valley of Morelos
Region: Central Highlands
Basalt, stucco, red and black pigments, 58 x 36 x 44 cm
lnventory: 10-225799
Given its swift, agile flight and brilliant red, yellow and blue plumage,
Mesoamerican cultures found a symbolic link between the macaw and
fire, the radiant sun and the daytime sky. This head, which is doubtless the best-known work of Xochicalca art, is surprising for its deft abstraction and accomplished geometrism. The sculptor has created an
intriguing play of volumes, masterfully cornbining broad contours, deep
negative spaces, and surfaces with well-designed line engravings. The
characteristic ring of skin around the macaw's eyes is skillfully portrayed,
and so are its angled beak, rounded tongue and plumage pattern.
This piece was incorporated into the collection of the National Museum in 1904 thanks to the archaeologist Leopoldo Barres. lt was discovered
by accident in May 1903, when the caretaker of Xochicalco, Herculano
Verazaluce, was burning off vegetation at "the top of the hill west of the
monument under my care"-i.e. in the area west of the famous Temple of
the Feathered Serpents. This may indicate that the head formed part
of the city's main ballcourt on Mount Xochicalcc's western mesa.
All this helps to explain why the sculpture's form resembles that of
a Veracruz ballgame hacha. It is also significant that several Mesoarnerican ballcourts-including A-UI in Copan-are decorated with representations of macaws, given that the ballgame was taken as a metaphor for the
confrontation between the forces of day and night, The best example of
this is Xochicalco's eastern ballcourt, where a ring-shaped stone marker
bearing bas-relief images of macaws and bats was discovered in the 1990s.
LEONARDO
LÓPEZ LUjÁN
&
MARCO
TR.
142
ANTONIO
MICHELLE
SANTOS
SUDERMAN
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332
100 SELECTED WORKS
NATIONAL MUSEUM
OFANTHROPOLOGY
Consuelo Sáizar
National Museum of Anthropology
ational Council for Culture and rhe Arts
President
Diana Magaloni Kerpel
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Director·General
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Technical Secretary
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Administrati""
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Coordinator
ISBN: 978-607-461-D86-4
® © 2011, Artes de México y del M undo, S.A. de
e v.
Córdoba 69
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® © 2011, Instituto
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Conaculta-ncxn-Canon /Photographer:
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Luis Martin Martinez Garcia
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100 Selected Works: National
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Artes de México, 2011
General Coordinator:
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Editor: Margarita de Orellana
Editorial Coordinator:
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Englísh-Language Editor: Richard Moszka
Translators: Michelle Suderman,
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Design: Germán Montalvo
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Acknowledgments:
Martha Carmona, Arruro Cortés, Miguel Ángel Echegaray, Vanessa Fonseca, Martín Gareía Urtiaga,
Mercedes de la Garza, [ulieta Gil Elorduy, Alejandra Guerrero, Salvador Guilliem, Miguel LeónPortilla, Sonia Lombardo, Leonardo López Luján, Luis Martín Martínez García, Eduardo Matos
Moctezuma, Alejandra Morales, Pedro Ramírez Vázquez,
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Archaeological Collection Transportation
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Benito Taibo, Enrique Vela, Gracia Zanuttini
personnel, the Conservation
mernbers, the
Laboratory & the Cultural
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Measurernents in this catalogue are listed in the following order. height x width x depth
Except when noted, pieces are from the cultural area of Mesoamerica
Cover: Coatlicue, Mexica Gallery
Table of Contents
Presentation
ALFONSO
DE MARíA
Y CAMPOS
II
Introduction
DIANA
MAGALONI
KERPEL
13
Archaeological Collections in
Mesoamerica and New Spain
LEO NARDO
LÓPEZ LUJÁN
15
The National Museum and Archaeology
LUISA
FERNANDA
RICO MANSARD
The Collections'
DIANA
MAGALONI
Formation:
KERPEl
23
1955-2011
33
Ancient Mesoamerican Words on the Walls
MIGUEL
LEÓN-PORTILLA
41
Colonial Maya Books on the Walls
MERCEDES
DE LA GARZA
45
Mesoamerican Territory and Timeline
•
INTROOUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGV
ANO EARLV PEOPLES GALLERIES 53
The Origins of Man
JosÉ
ANTONIO
POMPA
55 -78
52
•
PRECLASSIC CULTURE OF THE CENTRAL
HIGHLANDS
GALLERV
Foundations
ROBERTO
•
81
of Ancient Mexico
GARCíA
83 - 104
MOll
TEOTIHUACAN
GALLERV
107
"The Place Where Gods Are Made"
EDUARDO
•
MATOS
109 - 133
MOCTEZUMA
THETOLTECSANDTHEIRTIMEGALLERV
135
Wise Men of Ancient Mexico
ROBERT
H. COBEAN
lEONARDO
MARI
lÓPEZ
CARMEN
&
ElIZABETH
lUJÁN
SERRA
ElIZABETH
JIMÉNEZ
GABRIElA
URUÑUElA
MEXICA
GALLERV
&
JIMÉNEZ
MARCO
SANTOS
137 -141
142-144
146
PUCHE
GARCíA
GARCíA
ANTONIO
I 148-156
158-160
163
Late Postclassic Cultures of the Central Highlands
lEONARDO
•
lÓPEZ
lUJÁN
CULTURES OF OAXACA
165 - 188
GALLERV
The Great Cultures of Oaxaca
NEllV
JAVIER
ROBLES
193-206
URCID
0208-216
191
•
GULF COAST CULTURES GALLERY
219
The Olmecs and Other Peoples of the Gulf
SARA
ANN
•
LADRÓN
221- 223, 232 - 242
DE GUEVARA
0224-230
CYPHERS
MAYA GALLERY
245
Maya Civilization
MERCEDES
NIKOLAI
•
DE LA GARZA
WESTERN
247 - 260
0262-268
GRUBE
CULTURES GALLERY
271
Artists and Warriors
ARTURO
273 - 284
OLlVEROS
EDUARDO
0286 - 294
WI LLlAMS
MARIE-ARETI
NORTHERN
HERS
0296
CULTURES GALLERY
Settlers of a Shifting Frontier
MARIE-ARETI
HERS
301-324
About the Authors
Bibliography
331
326
299