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Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca: Figurine-making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors
Joyce Marcus
This book covers divination, figurine-making, and women's ritual treatment of ancestors in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, from 1600 to 500 BC.
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Contents
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List of Tables
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List of Illustrations
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Acknowledgments
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Chapter 1. Introduction
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The Early and Middle Formative Periods: 1800-500 b.c.
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Village Ritual
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Figurines
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The Context of Oaxaca's Figurines
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Other Rituals
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Possible Contributions to Gender Studies
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The Message of This Volume
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Chapter 2. The Context of Women's Ritual Items during the Formative
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Research Design
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The Household: Archaeological Manifestations
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Chapter 3. Women's Ritual: Insights from the Ethnohistoric Record
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The Three Components of Ritual
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The Role of Zapotec Women in Divination
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Evidence for Water Divination in the Early Formative
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The Involvement of Zapotec Women with Recent Ancestors
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Chapter 4. Women's Ritual: Insights from the Ethnographic Record
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Ancestor Ritual
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The Concept of Facelessness
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Geneonymy
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Was There Such a Thing as "Ancestor Worship"?
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"Recent" vs "Remote" Ancestors
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Social Evolution and the Ancestors
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Why Were Ancestors Not Shown as "Old"?
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What Are We to Make of Animal Figurines?
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Summary
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Chapter 5. Formative Ancestor Ritual: A Framework Based on Both Zapotec Ethnohistory and World Ethnography
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Whole Figurines in Burials
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Figurines in Formative Burials from Outside the Valley of Oaxaca
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Large Hollow White-slipped "Dolls"
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Summary
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Chapter 6. The Social Information in Figurine Hairstyles
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Nahua (Aztec) Hairdos
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Mixtec Hairdos
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Zapotec Hairdos
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Ethnohistoric and Ethnographic Hairstyles: A Summary
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Some Common Terms Used for Formative Hairstyles
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Chapter 7. The Origins of Figurine-making in the Mexican Highlands
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The Earliest Figurine from the Valley of Oaxaca
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Summary
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Chapter 8. Chronological Change in Oaxaca's Formative Figurines
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Previous Figurine Typologies
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Prior Work on Valley of Oaxaca Figurines
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Attributes of Tierras Largas Phase Figurines (1400-1150 b.c.)
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Attributes of San José Phase Figurines (1150-850 b.c.)
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Attributes of Guadalupe Phase Figurines (850-700 b.c.)
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Attributes of Rosario Phase Figurines (700-500 b.c.)
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Attributes of Monte Albán I Figurines (500-200 b.c.)
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Chapter 9. The Tierras Largas Phase and the Spatial Separation of Men's and Women's Ritual
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Figurines from Tierras Largas Phase Houses, Features, and Middens
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San Jose Mogote, Area C
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A Household in Area B San Jose Mogote
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Households at the Tierras Largas Site
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Tierras Largas Site, Feature 100
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Chapter 10. An Introduction to San José Phase Figurines: Plácido's Midden
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Plácido's Midden
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Heads with Slit Eyes
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Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Hair Parted in the Middle
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Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Possible Hair Bun/Zulu Knot Poking Out above Cloth Wrap
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Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Two Hair BunslZulu Knots Poking Out above Cloth Wrap
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Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Wearing Turbans
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Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Headbands or Cords Used to Hold Hair
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Heads with Two-Ploughing-Stroke Eyes, Bangs, and Hair Tied in 1-2 Buns
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Heads with Pinhole-Pupil Eyes, Three Holes Punched in Hair
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Heads with Large Punched Pupils, Wearing Turbans
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"Tonsured Caciques"
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Costumed Figures with "Third Leg" Supports
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"Hatchet-face" Figurines
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Heads with Puffy Cheeks
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"Singers" or "Chanters"
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Unusual Figurines
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Torsos from Slender, Non-Pregnant Women
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Pregnant Torsos
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Microtorsos
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Seated Torsos
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Stray Arms
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Stray Legs
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"House Dedication" Figurines
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Animal Figurines
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Large Hollow White-Slipped Dolls
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Crude, Inexpertly Made Figurines
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Pottery Masks
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Chapter 11. Area C of San José Mogote: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Contexts
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Eight Houses from Area C, San José Mogote
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Two Middens from Area C
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A Tertiary Context: The Area C Master Profile
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Chapter 12. Area A of San José Mogote: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Contexts
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Four Households from Area A
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A Secondary Context: The Zone D Midden
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A Low-Status Residence: House 13
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Tertiary Contexts In Area A
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The Earthen Fill of Structure 1
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Comment on Structure 1 Fill
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Cutting the Area A Profile
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Chapter 13. Area B of San José Mogote: A Household with a Figurine Scene
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House 17
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House 16
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Pottery Masks from House 16 Area
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Feature 63
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The Dooryard of Houses 16-17
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Pits in Bedrock Below House 17
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Comments on Houses 16-17 and the Lower Terrace
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The Upper Terrace
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Chapter 14. San José Phase Households at the Site of Tierras Largas
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Household ESJ-1, Area B
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Household LSI-I, Area A
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Household Unit LSJ-2
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Tertiary Contexts at the site of Tierras Largas
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Chapter 15. San José Phase Proveniences at Huitzo, Abasolo, and Tomaltepec
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Figurines from the Fill of Structure 4, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo
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Figurines from the Fill of Structure 2, Barrio del Rosario Huitzo
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Operation A of San Sebastián Abasolo
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Area B of San Sebastián Abasolo
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Santo Domingo Tomaltepec
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The Tomaltepec Cemetery
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Chapter 16. Guadalupe Phase Proveniences
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Primary Contexts at San José Mogote
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Tertiary Contexts at San José Mogote
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Primary Contexts at Huitzo
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Secondary Contexts at Huitzo
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Tertiary Contexts at Huitzo
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Household Unit G-3 at the Site of Tierras Largas
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Guadalupe Phase Figurines from Miscellaneous Proveniences at Tierras Largas
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Households and Middens at Fábrica San José
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Figurines from San Sebastián Abasolo
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Chapter 17. The Rosario Phase: Emerging Differences in Ritual between Elite and Low-Status Families
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Changes in Ritual
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Elite Households from San José Mogote
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Rosario Phase Household Units from Fábrica San José
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Secondary Contexts: Rosario Phase Middens at Fábrica San José
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Tertiary Contexts at Fábrica San José
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Disturbed Rosario Phase Household Units at San José Mogote
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Tertiary Contexts at San José Mogote
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A Tertiary Context at San Sebastián Abasolo
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Chapter 18. Epilogue: Monte Albán I and Beyond
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Changes in Ritual
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Monte Albán I Figurines from San José Mogote
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Late Monte Albán I Figurines and Ceramic Effigies from Santo Domingo Tomaltepec
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Epilogue
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Chapter 19. Women's Ritual: Summary and Conclusions
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What was the role of women in Formative ritual?
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Where did women conduct rites of divination?
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What do the small solid figurines so common in the Formative period represent?
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Who made the small solid figurines?
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Why are so many of the small solid figurines female?
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If the figurines are ancestors, why don't they look old?
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Why were there also figurines of dogs and birds?
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What about large hollow white-slipped dolls?
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Why were there so many thousands of small solid figurines?
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When figurines are discovered whole and intact, where are they?
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Why are so many figurines broken - is it by accident or design?
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Why are figurines made of fired clay, rather than other materials?
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Why did figurine makers focus so much attention on hairstyles?
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What can we tell from the ornaments on figurines?
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What do different eye types mean?
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When do we see the greatest diversity in figurines, and why?
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Why do small solid figurines appear when they do, and disappear when they do, in the archaeological record?
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What form should future studies of Formative women's ritual take?
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Chapter 20. Resumen en Español, by María de los Angeles Romero Frizzi
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References Cited
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Index
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Citable Link
Published: 1998
Publisher: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology
- 978-0-915703-48-7 (paper)
- 978-1-951519-93-3 (ebook)