essay
Comments on the site and its organization
ancient chalcatzingo • Austin • Published In 1987 • Pages: 420-433
By: Grove, David C..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this interpretation of the data from survey and excavation in and around the Olmec-influenced highland site of Chalcatzingo, Grove begins with a review the settlement pattern data showing the special status of the site within a regional system, and considers internal variability at the site as it relates to social status and craft production. Evidence for destruction or 'ritual termination' of dwellings is compared to the mutilation and burial of stone monuments in the Olmec heartland; possibly at the death of the associated personage, be it household head or king. Although of distinctively local style, the Type C8 ceramic figurines described in Grove: 1987 (Document 17) exhibit consistent individualized traits (especially headdresses), making them analogous to the portraits of rulers found in the colossal stone heads of the Gulf Coast Olmec. Parallels in portraiture on monumental stone carvings at Chalcatzingo provide evidence of the diffusion of a 'Cult of the Ruler' from the Gulf Coast, stimulating increased social stratification. A review of monumental stone sculpture identifies three consistent themes: 1) leadership and the importance of external relations with Olmec coastal centers and other highland outposts; 2) mythological-religious cycles; and 3) reference to a sacred landscape with Cerro [Mount] Chalcatzingo located within a vaguely defined cosmology. All three aspects of Olmec-style monumental sculpture at the site--most clearly contemporary with La Venta IV examples--appear somewhat modified to address specifically highland concerns with seasonal rain and fertility.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Visual arts
- Chief executive
- Settlement patterns
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Status, role, and prestige
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Olmec
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- 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
- Leon G. Doyon ; 2006
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1972-1976
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 3500 BP-2500 BP
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Río Amatzinac Valley, Morelos State, Mexico
- NotesAdditional notes
- David C. Grove
- For bibliographical references see Grove: 1987 (Document 3)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 85022673
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Olmecs