Images and labels: The case of the Tlatilcan female figurines
Issue Date
1988Keywords
Clay figurines -- Mexico.Idols and images -- Mexico -- Tlatilco Site (Naucalpan de Juárez)
Women in art.
Indian art -- Mexico.
Art historians.
Sexism in language.
Tlatilco Site (Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico)
Naucalpan de Juárez (Mexico) -- Antiquities.
Advisor
McElroy, Keith D.Metadata
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The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
In reconstructing the meaning of prehistoric artifacts, the art historian's task is particularly difficult. Scholars dealing with this period of time have to build their arguments on scarce archeological data, often unaided by written documents. Due to this lack of information, prehistoric female figurines are the subject of innacurate iconographic interpretations. In the case of the Mesoamerican Preclassic, the missing data is supplemented by subjective perceptions about people who do not belong to the scholar's own sex or ethnic background. The resulting misinterpretations fill the interstices between the information available and the historical facts. The traditional view that considers these figurines nothing more than beautiful women stop any further inquiries into the subject. Sometimes, the scholar's own fantasies substitute for logical arguments. Scholars writing on Mesoamerican iconography must be careful not to follow many of their predecessors to avoid confusing their colleagues, students and the general public.Type
textThesis-Reproduction (electronic)
Degree Name
M.A.Degree Level
mastersDegree Program
Graduate CollegeArt History
Degree Grantor
University of ArizonaCollections
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