nected to a rope attached to captives who are carved in relief
on the sides of the object. Th is imagery probably indicates the
ruler’s earthly and supernatural powers.
Also of note is the appearance of the stela form of monu-
mental sculpture, where a large stone slab is decorated with
relief carvings to commemorate an event or person. Relief
carvings are created by cutting a design into stone and then
removing the background to make the design stand out. Oft en
depicting rulers, deities, or both, stelae became one of the most
distinguishing art forms in Mesoamerica. Stelae functioned
as records of events and have provided signifi cant informa-
tion concerning Mesoamerican history, society, and religion.
Th e Olmec carved smaller objects in the form of supernatural
beings in jade and greenstone. One example is the werejaguar,
a supernatural fi gure marked by its almond-shaped eyes,
upturned lip, pug nose, and cleft head. Th e features of the
werejaguar reappear throughout Mesoamerican art.
Other unique artistic developments are found outside
the Olmec center. Highly naturalistic male and female fi g-
urines were made at Xochipala (in modern-day Guerrero)
and Tlatilco (north of Mexico City) and lifelike ceramic
baby fi gures at Las Bocas (in central Mexico). Cave painting
also began during the Middle Preclassic Period. One exam-
ple found at Oxtotitlan depicts a ruler in the guise of a bird
deity. While Olmec cultural production was varied, a clear
emphasis was placed on rulers and supernatural beings. De-
spite the dominance of the Olmec for many centuries, the
culture eventually collapsed sometime before 100 b.c.e. for
reasons still unknown.
Th e Zapotec culture arose within the Oaxaca valley re-
gion during the Late Preclassic Period (400 b.c.e.–150 c.e.).
A key Zapotec site, Monte Albán, features impressive exam-
ples of monumental architecture and art. Of particular im-
portance is the Temple of the Danzantes, which is named for
its numerous incised stone slabs featuring dancing fi gures.
Th e dancers are male captives who bear physical evidence of
their captors’ power and brutality; they all have their eyes
closed, symbolizing their death, and are stripped nude as a
form of humiliation. Each dancer also has a scrolling motif
emanating from the genital area as a sign of mutilation. Giv-
en the abundance of dancers (numbering at least 300), the
Zapotec rulers clearly wished to express their dominance
and power, but not all of their art production focused on
such issues. Th e Zapotec also created ceramic and jade ob-
jects that demonstrate the infl uence of the Olmec. Indeed,
pieces of Olmec jade have been found at Monte Albán and
throughout later sites, providing further evidence of the
Olmec’s prestige and infl uence.
An entirely diff erent artistic tradition developed in west-
ern Mexico during the Late Preclassic. Unaff ected by activi-
ties taking place elsewhere in Mesoamerica, the cultures of
western Mexico produced a style of ceramics unlike any oth-
er. In Colima unique ceramic vessels in the shape of hairless
dogs were created. Oft en wearing human masks, the Colima
dogs display an unusually high degree of charm and natu-
ralism. Th e Nayarit engaged in an entirely diff erent form of
ceramics, creating unusual scenes of human fi gures placed in
architectural settings. From ball courts to domestic houses,
the Nayarit ceramic scenes provide an unprecedented view
of daily life in Mesoamerica. Th is area is known for their un-
usual, nonfunctional ceramic art works, which was their pri-
mary form of artistic production.
Many important cultural developments of the early Maya
also occurred during the Late Preclassic Period—in the high-
lands of Chiapas, Mexico, and Guatemala; along the Caribbe-
an coast; and in the Petén region of northern Guatemala. Th e
highland sites of Izapa in Chiapas and Kaminaljuyú in what
is now Guatemala City produced objects that bear the mark
of Olmec infl uence, but they developed stylistic programs all
their own. Th e importance of stelae as markers of rulers, dei-
ties, and events evolved with the development of glyphs and
an iconographic, or symbolic, program. Images on early Maya
stelae primarily emphasize the mythical and supernatural
(such as the water god Chaak, the mythical World Tree, and
the bird deity), though ruler stelae do appear at Kaminaljuyú.
Th ese stylistic developments set the stage for the Maya to be-
come one of the most sophisticated cultures in the world.
Th e most important and infl uential center of civilization
in all of ancient Mesoamerica was Teotihuacán. Located in the
Valley of Mexico, it became a powerful urban center of com-
merce and cultural activity during the Early Classic Period
(150–650 c.e.). At its height it is estimated that the city’s pop-
ulation reached as high as 125,000 inhabitants. Teotihuacá-
nos expanded upon the existing pantheon of Mesoamerican
gods to develop a synthesized and complex visual program.
Th is culture produced monumental art and architecture as
well as ceramics, ceremonial and burial objects (like censers,
adornments, and fi gurines), and intricate masks. Many mon-
umental stone sculptures were created at Teotihuacán, such
as a large depiction of Chalchiuhtlicue (the water goddess,
also called the Great Goddess, an important deity in this cul-
ture). Not all of the sculpture produced at Teotihuacán was
monumental in size. Many extraordinarily detailed fi gurines
in various poses have been found. Also large, brightly colored
ceramic urns with human and animal elements were created
from mass-produced elements. Numerous beautiful death
masks have been found at Teotihuacán, which demonstrate
an emphasis on craft smanship.
Caves and mountains were essential components of Teo-
tihuacán’s religion, because it was from these locations that
water fl owed and life was generated. Th is concept informed
much of the art produced there, particularly with respect to
the prevalence of the Great Goddess. Th e most unusual and
striking contributions made by Teotihuacános to the history
of art were their advancements in mural painting. Brightly
painted and intricate murals would have decorated the walls
of Teotihuacán’s buildings. Many of these murals seem in-
structive, in that they depict processional scenes of fi gures in
profi le carrying ceremonial implements like incense bags and
maguey spines for bloodletting. Th e only fi gures that were de-120 art: The Americas