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chapter 8 fiesta teotihuacan style Thus far the emphasis has been on architectural and visual mechanisms used by the state to structure a unified ideology for its citizens. The subjects covered have included architectural arrangements and the stylistic components of the architecture. The murals that frequently grace these architectural environments have also served as evidence, as have the painted and carved decorations on ceramics. Sculptural resources in the form of the stone masks have likewise emerged as remnants of perishable cult objects that affected social hierarchies. Enhanced with ethnohistoric data and cross-cultural comparison, the artistic record has revealed much about Teotihuacan ’s possible sociopolitical organization and the interactions between the disparate constituents. However, the art can illuminate one more facet of Teotihuacan state activity that profoundly contributed to the successful functioning of the state. Ritual performance is, by nature, ephemeral; therefore, it is difficult to reconstruct from the archaeological record. Although there are inherent difficulties in revealing the transitory events of an archaeological culture, cultures endeavor to document these activities for posterity in numerous ways, and the artistic and architectural record of Teotihuacan does reflect such attempts to archive ritual occurrences. The lines of striding figures in the Teotihuacan murals indicate that procession was an important aspect of the city’s ritual life and one of the primary means for displaying prestigious costume elements such as the butterfly noseplaque. Similarly, the elaborate caches under the Moon Pyramid, which included both human and animal remains, likely represent the residue of magnificent public spectacles. As a last foray into Teotihuacan’s past, I want to turn to one specific ritual and attempt a re- construction of this event. Doubtless, a city like Teotihuacan had many public rituals with considerable sociological and ideological impact, but this particular one is critical because it may have been the single most important annual event in the Teotihuacan ritual cycle. Evidence for this ritual comes from the socalled Tlalocan murals in the apartment compound of Tepantitla. Already discussed in previous chapters, the murals deserve much more attention because they are conceptually grand; furthermore, the inclusion of large numbers of human figures suggests that the artists attempted a comprehensive image of a Teotihuacan event. The rich density of various activities within the murals has consistently drawn scholars to them, and they may be the most discussed murals from the ancient city. The Tepantitla murals appear on all four sides of the compound’s Portico 2. Like many murals at Teotihuacan, artists let the architectural format dictate to some degree the arrangement of the composition. The upper walls, which correspond to the tablero, serve as one compositional space, while the lower walls, paralleling the talud, provide another (Figure 3.2). As a result, the walls include two separate but complementary scenes. Framing is also an essential component of Teotihuacan compositions, and at Tepantitla , frames reinforce the distinction between the talud and tablero spaces. Even though there are differences in the preservation of the various walls, it appears that a frontal image of the mountain-tree dominated the superior section of each one (Figure 1.14). Villagra’s reconstruction of the murals indicates that pairs of priests, perhaps even the rulers themselves, approached the mountain-tree and sprinkled offerings before it.1 The rather formal and austere nature of the upper walls contrasts markedly with the free-spirited environment of the lower walls (Figure 2.3). Here, much smaller figures frolic about, engaged in a myriad of individual and group activities. Instead of the repetition seen above, the talud spaces vary from wall to wall. In an effort to standardize references to the different walls, Pasztory gave them names such as the Water Talud, the Medicine Talud, and the Ballgame Talud based on thematic elements included in each wall. The contrasting styles of the upper and lower walls prompt the viewer to continually compare the two areas. Scale forcefully projects that the large upper figures carry more importance than the tiny figures that populate the nether region. In addition, the costume and features of the priests and the personified mountain are intricately detailed. The artists carefully delineated the skirts and capes of the priests, and the portions that survive exhibit elaborate feathered headdresses on these figures. The talud figures, in contrast, are scantily clad in simple loincloths, many are bald, and only a few of those with hair have rudimentary headgear. While the upper figures rigidly adhere...

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