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

360 Pages·1998·43.393 MB·English

by  Joyce Marcus

latilopeyo (cloth head wrap)
laoni (eye)
toopexono (braid)
pigaa (string of beads)
naa peega (left hand)
lace nijani (lower leg)
quela qulti (hide sandal)
J. KlAU~MEYE.R
Frontispiece. A generic figurine of a standing woman. combining attributes of the San Jose and Guadalupe phases. The
components are labeled in sixteenth-century Valley Zapotec. (Painting by John Klausmeyer)

PREHISTORY AND HUMAN ECOLOGY
OF THE VALLEY OF OAXACA
Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus
General Editors
Volume 1 The Use of Land and Water Resources in the Past and Present Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, by
Anne V. T. Kirkby. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 5.
1973.
Volume 2 Sociopolitical Aspects of Canal Irrigation in the Valley of Oaxaca, by Susan H. Lees. Memoirs
of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No.6. 1973.
Volume 3 Formative Mesoamerican Exchange Networks with Special Reference to the Valley of Oaxaca,
by Jane W. Pires-Ferreira. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan,
No.7. 1975.
Volume 4 Fdbrica San Jose and Middle Formative Society in the Valley ofO axaca, by Robert D. Drennan.
Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 8. 1976.
Volume 5 Part 1. The Vegetational History of the Oaxaca Valley, by C. Earle Smith, Jr. Part 2. Zapotec
Plant Knowledge: Classification, Uses and Communication about Plants in Mitla, Oaxaca,
Mexico, by Ellen Messer. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan,
No. 10. 1978.
Volume 6 Excavations at Santo Domingo Tomaltepec: Evolution ofa Formative Community in the Valley
of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Michael E. Whalen. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, Univer
sity of Michigan, No. 12. 1981.
Volume 7 Monte Alban's Hinterland, Part I: The Prehispanic Settlement Patterns of the Central and
Southern Parts of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Richard E. Blanton, Stephen Kowalewski,
Gary Feinman, and Jill Appel. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michi
gan, No. 15. 1982.
Volume 8 Chipped Stone Tools in Formative Oaxaca, Mexico: Their Procurement, Production and Use,
by William J. Parry. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 20.
1987.
Volume 9 Agricultural Intensification and Prehistoric Health in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Denise
C. Hodges. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 22. 1989.
Volume 10 Early Formative Pottery of the Valley of Oaxaca, by Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus, with
technical ceramic analysis by William 0. Payne. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology,
University of Michigan, No. 27. 1994.
Volume 11 Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca: Figurine-making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors,
by Joyce Marcus. Memoirs of the Musuem of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 33.
1998.
Related Volumes
Flannery, Kent V.
1986 Guild Naquitz: Archaic Foraging and Early Agriculture in Oaxaca, Mexico. New York: Aca
demic Press.
Marcus, Joyce and Kent V. Flannery
1996 Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico's Oaxaca Valley. London: Thames
and Hudson.

Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology
University of Michigan
Number33
Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca
Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus
General Editors
Volume 11
Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca
Figurine-making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors
Joyce Marcus
Ann Arbor
1998
©199by8th eR egentthseU noifv erMsiicthyi goafn
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ISBN 978-1-951519-93-3 (ebook)
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Thpea puesrei dnt I:tpiusb limceaetttihsroe en q uiroeftm hAeeNn StSIst an2d3a9r.d4 8-
198(4P ermaonfPe anpceer )
for
EvonZ. Vogt
an inspirational teacher,
a magnanimous colleague, and
a gifted scholar committed
to the study of ritual and religion

Contents
LiosfTt a blxeisv,
LiosfIt l lustxriavtions,
Acknowlexxdigmieints,
Chap1tI.en rt rod1u ction,
ThEea ralnyMdi d dle FormaPteirvi1eo8 d00s-:5b 0.0c .,
1
VillaRgiet 2ual,
Figur2ines,
ThCeo ntoefOxa tx acFai'gsu rines,
3
OtherR ituals,
4
Possible CtooGne ndterSrit buud4tiieosn,s
ThMee ssoafTg heVi osl ume,
4
Chap2t.eT rhC eo ntoefWx otm enR'ist Iutaeldm usr itnhFgeo rma7tive,
ReseDaerscih7g n,
ThHeo useAhroclhda:e oMldongiifecsat9la tions,
Chap3t.eW ro menR'ist uIanls:ifr gohmtt hsEe t hnohiRsetcoo1rr1idc,
ThTeh ree CoomfRp iotnueanlt,s
11
ThReo loefZ apoteci DnWi ovmienn1a 1tion,
EvidfoernW caetD eirv iniantt hiEeoa nrF loyr ma1t3ive,
ThIen volvoefZm aepnoWtto emcew ni Rtehc eAnntc es1t5ors,
Chap4t.eW ro menR'ist uIanls:if grhottmhsE e t hnogrRaepchoircd , 17
AnceRsittou1ra7 l,
ThCeo ncoefFp atc ele1s7sness,
Geneonymy,
19
WaTsh eSrueca Th h ians"g A nceWsotrosrh ip"?,
19
"Recvesn" tRe"m oAtnec"e stors,
20
SocEivaoll uatntidho Aenn ces2t1ors,
WhyW ere AnNcoeStsh tooawrsn"s O ld2"1?,
WhaAtr Wee t oM akoefA nimFailg ur2i2nes?,
Summa2r2y,
Chap5t.Fe orr maAtnicveesR tiotruA aF lr:a mewBoarskoe ndB otZha potec
EthnohainsWdto orrElytd h nogr2a5phy,
WholFei guriinBn uersi2 a5l s,
FiguriinFn oersm aBtuirvifreao lmOs u tstihVdeae l olfOe ayx a2c6a,
LarHgoel lWohiwt e-s"lDioplp2le8sd, "
Summa2r9y,
Chap6tT.eh rSe o cIinaflo rmianFt iigounHr aiinres 3t1yles,
Nah(uAaz tHeaci)r3 d2o s,
MixtHeaci r3d2os,
ZapoHtaeicr 3d4os,
EthnohainsEdtt ohrniocgH raaiprhsiAtcS y ulmemsa3:r5 y,
SomCeo mmToenr Umsse fodrF ormaHtaiivres3 t5yles,
vii