essay
The iconography of power at Xochicalco: the Pyramid of the Plumed Serpents
xochicalco mapping project • 2 • Published In 2000 • Pages: 57-82
By: Smith, Virginia.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this paper, carvings on the Pyramid of the Plumed Serpents are analyzed as expressions of social and political themes. This study is an analysis of how power was portrayed and how images of power directly express and reflect the sociopolitical organization of the site (p. 57). Compositional elements of these carvings are described in detail along with the author's interpretation of their meaning.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Visual arts
- Writing
- Religious and educational structures
- Social relationships and groups
- Ethnozoology
- Military organization
- Comparative evidence
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Central Mexico Postclassic
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2009
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Mexico
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle; 2008
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1987-1988
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1350-1100 BP (650-900 AD)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Xochicalco, Gobernador Phase, Western Morelos, Mexico
- NotesAdditional notes
- Virginia Smith
- For bibliographical references see document 31:Hirth
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 99027545
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of Mexico--Mexico--Xochicalco--Antiquities/Indians of Mexico--Urban residence--Mexico--Xochicalco/City planning--Mexico--Xochicalco--History/Excavations (Archaeology)--Mexico--Xochicalco--Maps/Archaeological surveying--Mexico--Xochicalco--Maps/Xochicalco Site (Mexico)Xochicalco (Mexico)--Antiquities