An Extraordinary Composite Stela from Teotihuacan

Author(s): Luis Aveleyra Arroyo de Anda

Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Oct., 1963), pp. 235-237
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/278494
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 FACTS AND COMMENTS

AN EXTRAORDINARY COMPOSITE Controlled excavations at Teotihuacan began with the

STELA FROM TEOTIHUACAN work of Batres at the beginning of the present century.
Since then several sculptured elements from composite
LuIS AVELEYRA ARROYO DE ANDA stelae have been found. Batres (1908, Pls. 15, 23) shows a
large clay disc similar to the top element of the stela
ABSTRACT from La Ventilla, as well as a globular carved-stone ele-
In February, 1963, an unusual discovery was mentmade
that at
is almost identical with the globular element in
La Ventilla, less than a mile from the "Ciudadela" in
the La Ventilla stela. Gamio (1922, P1. 22) illustrates two
Teotihuacan, Mexico. This find is a composite or sec-
tional stela made up of four superimposed elements parts fromthatsimilar composite stelae, one globular, the
fit into each other by means of stems and orifices. other cylindrical.
All However, these are all isolated finds,
elements are different in form and are, from and top until
to bot-
the discovery of the stela of La Ventilla it was
tom, discoidal, globular, conical, and cylindrical, not the lastto interpret them correctly.
possible
fitting into a platform base. This piece is unique in Meso-
american archaeology and seems to have no significant The composite stela of La Ventilla is important be-
parallels elsewhere. This stela was carved during the cause it is one of the rare examples of true free sculpture
Classic period of Teotihuacan. Its function has been clari-known in the Teotihuacan culture. The "Water Goddess"
fied through comparison with mural paintings of thein the National Museum of Mexico, generally considered
Tlalocan in Tepantitla, Teotihuacan, where a ball-game
the most representative example of monumental free-
scene is portrayed, and at each end is a stela that is almost
identical with that of La Ventilla. It seems evident that standing sculpture, is decidedly architectural not only in
the La Ventilla monument is a ball-court stela-marker. its artistic conception but also in its probable function.
The La Ventilla stela is covered with a thick coat of
IN FEBRUARY, 1963, a remarkable composite stela was
stucco that partially obscures the carved reliefs of each
found near the southeastern limits of the town of San
element. The top disc, which is obviously the most im-
Juan Teotihuacan, Mexico. It was uncovered on La Ven-
portant part, presents reliefs that represent a fringe of
tilla ranch in an area where agricultural operations have
feathers strung on a cord. These encircle the periphery
exposed and partially destroyed a typical Teotihuacan
of the disc. This motif, symbolic of precious feathers em-
habitational area composed of houses, patios, and palaces.
ployed to emphasize the value or sacred quality of some
This stela is from a locality approximately 1 km. west-
object or element, is frequently found in the Teotihuacan
southwest of the southwestern corner of the "Ciudadela."
culture and appears repeatedly in pottery, especially in
The find was investigated by Ricardo de Robina, Ro-
the small clay discs applied as ornaments to great cere-
man Pifia Chan, and Luis Aveleyra Arroyo de Anda. As
soon as it was authenticated and its scientific value deter-
monial "braziers" or censers. The same circular fringe
has also been interpreted as the feathers which encircle
mined, the stela was acquired for the National Museum
the eye of the owl, a bird closely connected with the cult
of Anthropology. It will be placed in the new museum
of the rain god Tlaloc.
building that is now under construction in Chapultepec
Park.
In the central part of the disc is a cutout design that
consists of interlaced spirals and lateral bands which re-
This sculpture (Fig. 1) is a composite or sectional
semble rays. This is reminiscent of the manner in which
stela made up of four superimposed elements that are
the longitudinally cut snail shell and the cloud are repre-
joined by means of stems and orifices. Each of the four
sented in codices. If this interpretation is correct, the
elements has a different form. From top to bottom the
stela may have been dedicated to Quetzalcoatl or to
stela consists of a discoidal element, a globular element, a
Tlaloc, deities whose cult was so prominent in Teotihua-
conical element, and a cylindrical or columnar element. can.
The last also has a stem at its base that served to affix the
The remaining three lower elements-globular, conical,
stela to a masonry platform or an altar. The various stems
and cylindrical-are covered with interlacings, scrolls, and
and corresponding orifices are of different forms and sizes,
other motifs in the purest and most classic El Tajin style
and they fit together with such precision that it is virtu-
of central Veracruz. The basal column seems to represent
ally impossible to combine them in any manner other
a bundle of feathers. These clear influences from the
than that which is shown in Fig. 1. The total height of
Gulf coast add to the increasing number of elements of
the stela with its elements joined is 2.13 m. This measure-
ment does not include the lengths of the various stems Tajin style that have been recognized in Teotihuacan
above the cylindrical element that forms the base. during recent decades.
This piece is of special interest because it appears to be After this outstanding piece of sculpture was dis-
unique in Mesoamerican archaeology. At first glance, it covered, detailed excavations were made at La Ventilla
seems to be decidedly foreign to the usual stylistic stand-under the direction of Roman Pifia Chan. These excava-
ards of Mesoamerican art. Nevertheless, there is no ques-tions have revealed the original position of the stela. It
tion of its Teotihuacan association, and there is also nowas placed erect on a low, rectangular bench or altar in
question about the way in which the four elements werethe center of a patio flanked on its four sides by houses, in
originally combined. accord with the typical Teotihuacan plan. Furthermore,

235

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236 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [ VOL. 29, No. 2, 1963

FIG. 1 [AVELEYRA]. Composite stela from Teotihuacin, Mexico. Height 2.13 m.

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 FACTS AND COMMENTS 237

BATRES,
BATRES,LEOPOLDO
LEOPOLDO
1908
1908 Exploraciones
Exploracionesy yconsolidaci6n
consolidaci6n
de los
de los
monumentos
monumentos
arque-
arque-
ologicos
ologicos de
deTeotihuacdn.
Teotihuacdn. Imprenta
Imprentade Buznego
de Buznego
y Le6n,
y Le6n,
Mexico, D. F.

GAMIO, MANUEL AND OTHERS

1922 La poblaci6n del Valle de Teotihuacdn, Vol. 1, Pt. 1.
Secretaria de Agricultura y Fomento, Direcci6n de Antro-
pologia, Mexico, D. F.

INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ANTROPOLOGIA E HISTORIA

INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES HIST6RICAS, UNIVER-

SIDAD NACIONAL AUT6NOMA DE MEXICO

Mexico, D. F.
March, 1963

THE APPLIED SCIENCE CENTER

FOR ARCHAEOLOGY

FROELICH RAINEY

ABSTRACT
0 1 2 3 4 5
The Applied Science Center for Archaeology of
University Museum in Philadelphia is now experimen
FIG. 2 with devices that will facilitate the from
[AVELEYRA]. Stelae-markers task of precise
th l
scene at Tepantitla, tion and even discovery of cultural strata. The Geo
Teotihuacan.
resistometer and the proton magnetometer are both be
it has used satisfactorily,
been
determined that the and further
stela development
was of caa
sonic device has begun. The Center has also been stud
the Classic period, the apogee of Teotihuacan
was later moved to ingthe
new techniques
place for the determination
where itof watrace
and was reused duringments in metals
the finaland ceramics,
periods and the thermolum
of th
nescence method for dating
people of mixed ethnocultural pottery and other fired
affiliations, c
to the first contactsjects.
with In cooperation
the with the already of
bearers established
the rad
carbon laboratory, a project is underway to acquire a
type "Toltec" ceramics.
As for the function date tree
of samples
the of very great age. The Center
composite steis
gathering and cross-indexing
Ventilla, a remarkable and little-known reco information on comple
seems to resolve thisanalyses carried out withOn
problem. the various
the dating
northdevices
room where the famous mural paintingsboth
techniques. This information is drawn from of p
lished and unpublished
are found in Tepantitla, Teotihuacan, materials. there
scene in which several players carry decorat
THE SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION of radiocarbon dat-
scene has never been published in its entiret
ing has convinced most of us of the significance of new
been described correctly, in spite of its impor
scientific techniques in archaeology. It opens the way for
early history of the ball game in Mesoame
acceptance of other techniques growing out of unprece-
end of this ball-game scene a stela is clearly
dented developments in the fields of nuclear physics, elec-
each stela rests on a small altar or platform (Fig. 2).
tronics, chemistry, and the engineering sciences. But there
These stelae are made up of four elements and seem to be
is one fundamental difficulty. Techniques developed for
representations of composite stelae like the stela from La
industrial, commercial, or military purposes, as a rule, can
Ventilla. It seems reasonable to conclude that the La
be adapted to archaeological purposes only with extensive
Ventilla stela is a ball-game marker dedicated to Tlaloc, experimentation and considerable cost. Moreover, thou-
the deity who presided over games and ceremonies sandstoof research laboratories are now making available
which chosen souls dedicated themselves in the Tlalocan, innumerable technological advances which may be applic-
which was the Teotihuacan paradise. able. It is necessary to discover what they are, and to
The excavations at La Ventilla also revealed additional select the most promising for experiment.
evidences of influence from the Gulf coast, outstandingThe Applied Science Center for Archaeology, which
among which are a plain "yoke" fragment in association
was established at the University Museum in Philadelphia
with a decapitated human skull and an unusual stoneabout three years ago with a grant from the National Sci-
ence Foundation, attempts to co-ordinate information
effigy of Tlaloc whose sculptured treatment, in the hand
and on the back, is identical with that seen in many
about such techniques and to experiment with and de-
"hachas" of the Tajin culture. velop certain of them which, at the moment, appear to be

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