Funerary objects from San Marcos, Jalisco, Mexico - article ; n°2 ; vol.56, pg 520-531

Stanley V.Long

Description

Journal de la Société des Américanistes - Année 1967 - Volume 56 - Numéro 2 - Pages 520-531
12 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique

Informations

• Publié par: JOURNAL_DE_LA_SOCIETE_DES_AMERICANISTES
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1967
• Nombre de lectures: 24
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Stanley V. Long
Funerary objects from San Marcos, Jalisco, Mexico
In: Journal de la Société des Américanistes. Tome 56 n°2, 1967. pp. 520-531.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Long Stanley V. Funerary objects from San Marcos, Jalisco, Mexico. In: Journal de la Société des Américanistes. Tome 56 n°2,
1967. pp. 520-531.
doi : 10.3406/jsa.1967.2307
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/jsa_0037-9174_1967_num_56_2_2307FUNERARY OBJECTS FROM SAN MARCOS,
JALISCO, MEXICO
bv Stanley V. LONG1
The following is a description of funerary objects found in 1966 in the
Municipio of San Marcos, Jalisco and photographed in August of the same
year. Their general provenience and the circumstances of their discovery
were established with the aid о I: several reliable informants. The excavat
ions were not controlled. Therefore, no information exists as to the loca
tion of the artifacts within the tombs. Also no artifact analysis has been
made. Nevertheless, the information of tomb and cemetery location is ac
curate.
The objects are important because they are part of the West Mexican
shaft-tomb furniture so well known as pre-Columbian art but so little known
archaeologically. Literally thousands of these funerary artifacts have been
looted from West Mexican tombs, but only a handful can be assigned to
a specific provenience.
These and similar artifacts are found in tombs from a geographic area
extending from Colima, through western Michoacán and Jalisco to Nayarit.
Many regional and temporal styles are reflected in the variety of figures
(solid and hollow) and vessels found. However, only a few of the many styles
known have been described adequately. The little information available
suggests that the shaft-tomb furniture was produced over a time span that
extended from about .100 B.C. to 700 A.D., and that the entire complex,
throughout the known area of its occurrence, reflects an elaborate form of
ancestral worship. Nevertheless, this will remain only a speculation until
much more archaeological data can be gathered.
1. Alors que cette note était déjà sous presse, la triste nouvelle du décès de M. Stan
ley V. Long, sur le Rio Vuupés (Colombie), où il poursuivait de nouvelles recherches,
nous est parvenue ; que le lecteur veuille considérer cet article comme un hommage
posthume. ■
522 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRIGANISTES
it is hoped that these descriptive data will be of use for future distribu
tional studies of this little studied but important shaft-tomb complex.
I
The Municipio of San Marcos is located about 90 kms. west of Guadalajara
and 35 kms. southeast of the archaeological site of Ixtlán del Rio, Nay arit.
It is part of the volcanic Lake Basin of Magdalena which has an elevation
of 1400 m. above sea level.
Until the early 1900's, the basin contained several fresh water lakes. The
largest of these, the Laguna de Magdalena, was drained and the sources
blocked by earth dams to provide agricultural land and water for irriga
tion. Parts of the two smaller lakes, the Lagunas de Santa Maria and Colo
rada, remain.
Archaeological sites have been found around the margins of these lakes
and on two former islands in the Laguna de Magdalena. These sites are of
two types, habitation and burial. The habitation sites are found near the
modern pueblos located on the lower slopes bordering the basin. The cemet
eries are located also on the margins of the basin but at an elevation higher
than that of the habitation sites. The cemeteries generally contain one or
several artificial mounds with shaft-tombs and pit burials located under and
around them. The shaft-tombs are usually spaced apart in rows.
West Mexican have the following general form : a vertical
pit, from 2 to 16 meters deep, with a lateral chamber or chambers exten
ding from the base of the shaft. They were excavated in a soft tuffa deposit
found throughout the basin, but occasionally were excavated in an over
lying clay-loam deposit. The tombs excavated in clay-loam often collapse
destroying any record of tomb architecture. This apparently occurred with
the tombs discovered near San Marcos.
The tombs contain one or several extended supine burials and a variety
of tomb furniture ranging from pieces of hollow clay figures, spindle-whorls
and a few bowls to several dozen elaborate hollow polychrome ves
sels, metates, obsidian mirrors, conch shell trumpets, jade and shell orna
ments. The range of tomb architecture — deeper and more complex tombs
correlate with more elaborate furnishings — and burial furniture reflect
considerable social stratification.
Some hollow figures and funerary vessels are found in caches without
burials, also occasional burials are found without grave furniture. These
are found in shallow pits and may represent a dilferent time period.
II
The artifacts from San Marcos fall into two groups with respect to both
site location and style. The first group is composed of one clay vessel, one
hollow anthropomorphic figure and one hollow two-headed dog. These arti
facts were found in a site located on the outskirts of the pueblo of San Mar- PUNERAKY OBJECTS FROM SAN MARCOS, JALISCO, MEXICO 523
cos, about 300 meters north of the road that goes from San Marcos to La
Puerta del Coche, Jalisco. Here in a pasture next to the ruins of an old adobe
house is a low mound that contained four separate burials. Human bones
were encountered at a depth of about a meter in four tombs that extended
in a row across the western side of the mound. One of the earth tombs con
tained the funerary objects mentioned above, and another, without tomb
furniture, was covered with stone slabs.
Artifacts
Fig. 1. — Seated anthropomorphic figure.
(different colors are indicated by solid black, plain white
and stippling ; on a bichrome artifact the darker color is
indicated by black or stippling ; on a trichrome artifact black
is by black, the intermediate color, usually red,
by stippling, and the lighter original surface, bulí to orange,
by plain white ; broken surface indicated by heavy stippling.)
Color : Brown with red painted lower torso and red paint
on each side of the face ; horizontal black negative (resist
technique) stripes extend across the front and back of the
upper torso.
Dimensions : Height, 22 cm. ; width, 13 cm.
Remarks : Surface oi figure is covered with a small to me
dium deposit (spotted appearance) of manganese oxide.
Fig. 2. — Two-headed dog.
Color : Slipped red ; limbs and part of the body painted
fugitive white ; white paint was covered with resist black,
leaving a pattern of white dots.
Dimensions : Height, 13 cm. ; length, 22 cm.
Remarks : Vent hole placed in top of only one of the two
heads : surface of figure covered with a heavy deposit of
manganese, oxide.
Brown vessel.
No photograph or description of the vessel is available.
These artifacts relate stylistically more with artifacts from the, State of
Nayarit than witli those from Jalisco. However, at a relatively early date
(ca. 300 to 0 B.C.), similar figures frequently appear also in Jalisco (Long
1%6 : 97-101).
The second group of artifacts was found in another cemetery located about
two kms. north of the pueblo of San Marcos and one half a kilometer east
of an arroyo called La Canada.
The site, is composed of two mounds. The southernmost mound contained
an earth tomb of about two meters depth. The burial chamber
several individuals and some 18 artifacts. These were found mixed with
earth and stone slabs. Apparently the roof of the chamber, being of clay- ;
524 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES
loam, had collapsed filling the chamber with earth and mixing the contents.
The stone slabs probably had been placed in the chamber entrance Lo pre
vent the chamber from filling with earth when the entrance shaft was refilled
at the time of the interments. This is a relatively common feature of the
tombs in this region.
Fm. 3. — Small solid, seated female (hollow head).
Color : Buff surface with a red painted neck band and skirt ;
black paint around eyes and mouth black painted spiral
band around each breast, and one vertical line between breasts.
Dimensions : Height, 22 cm. ; width, 16 cm.
Remarks : Paste is light brown with a sandy texture.
Type : Ameca Gray.
Fig. 4. — Small solid, sealed female (hollow head).
Color : Bull surface with a red painted neck band and skirt :
black paint around eyes and mouth.
Dimensions : Height, 23 cm. ; width. 13 cm.
Remarks : Paste is light brown with э sandy texture.
Type : Ameca Gray.
Fig. 5. - - Large hollow, seated female.
Color : Buff surface with a red painted headdress and upper
body , hair and part of face and skirt painted black.
Dimensions : Height, 52 cm. ; width, 34 cm.
Remarks : Paste is light brown with a sandy texture ; heavy
deposit of manganese oxide on surface of upper back.
Type : Ameca Gray.
Fig. 6. — Large hollow, sealed female (broken).
Color : Buff surface with red painted head band, nose ring
and alternating neck and arm buttons ; every other neck
and arm butto