| “Linguistic Landscape Studies” and Archaeology |
INTERPRETING THREE ZAPOTEC
COCIJO EFFIGY VESSELS FROM MONTE ALBÁN
IN RELATION TO ZAPOTEC WORLDVIEW
AN ANALYSIS OF CERAMIC COCIJO EFFIGY VESSELS
FROM TOMB 104 AT MONTE ALBÁN, MEXICO, IN RELATION
TO DIRECTIONS OF THE WORLD
Nienke Verstraaten
Leiden University
Abstract
little is known about the purpose and meaning of these objects. A lack of available data on the provenance
analysed in light of the Zapotec worldview during the Classic period (± 200CE – 800CE) and the meanings
that were ascribed to the primary directions within this worldview. The three vessels which are examined
in this study are aligned with each other within the tomb and all are oriented with their face to the east,
the realm of life, and their backs to the west, the realm of death. Therefore it is suggested that there exists
the Zapotec people.
Keywords
Iconography, Worldview, Directionality, Ancestor Veneration, Animism
E-mail: [email protected]
Academia: https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/NienkeVerstraaten
I
ntroduction
The research presented in this paper deals with
arguably one of the most complex parts of
humanity; our (religious) beliefs (Morris 1987, 21).
Archaeologists are invariably limited to the material
remains left behind by the peoples of the past, which
puts researchers at a disadvantage when studying
the religious structures, rituals and beliefs of past
peoples (Insoll 2004, 1). However, a middle ground
exists between the physical world of archaeological
remains and the mental world of beliefs and religion
that can be studied through worldview theory.
p. 22 | VOL III | INTER-SECTION | 2017
A worldview can be considered a “map” of how
the world and the larger universe are constructed
of people (see for example: Arnold 1999; Hopkins
and Josserand 2001; López García 2001; Radzin
1983; Roe 1982; Wilbert 2004). Researching past
peoples using worldviews is possible, via extensive
analysis of ritual and religious contexts such as
tombs, burials, and associated material culture. This
paper aims to interpret a set of three ceramic objects
Zapotec worldview. The vessels – recovered from