Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca: Figure-making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors

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