The Xalla Sculpture of Teotihuacan Extended Biography
The Xalla Sculpture of TeotihuacanExtended BiographyYou may wish to share this biography with students, or just to read it for your own information.It is difficult to determine when exactly the life of the Xalla sculpture began. However, we do know that is was carved out of precious white marble sometime after 50 CE, when diverse groups of migrants from surrounding areas of the Valley of Mexico moved into the soon-to-be city of Teotihuacan—the first city in ancient Mesoamerica. Archaeologists that have studied the city’s ruins speculate that these migrants may have been bound by similar religious beliefs. This is in part because the oldest structure in the city is the Moon Pyramid—an important religious monument built around 100 CE, and the only structure that existed in the city for roughly 100 years. By 250 CE, citizens of Teotihuacan began expanding the Moon pyramid, adding to the city’s infrastructure, constructing sophisticated apartment complexes, and creating a larger network of spiritual structures. At the center of this growing metropolis stood the Sun Pyramid, believed to be the largest monument ever built in the ancient world. The Sun Pyramid housed arguably the most powerful deity in Teotihuacan—the Old Fire God who was believed to be an “essential force that both powered and threatened the city.”1 The central position of this religious structure and deity suggests that a shared spiritual worldview continued to be the cultural glue, organizing principle, and political authority among this ethnically diverse population. In many ways, the biography of the Xalla figure maps onto both the individual life histories of Teotihuacan inhabitants as well as the city’s broader historical trajectory. First, like the early citizens of Teotihuacan, this figure’s “life” began outside of the city. Archaeologists have determined that the figure was carved from calcite marble, a product that “does not occur naturally in the Valley of Teotihuacan or its immediate vicinity.”2 In fact, the closest known deposits are in present-day Alpasco, Mexico, which suggests that this piece of marble migrated roughly 80 to 200 km before reaching Teotihuacan.3Though the stone from which it was carved came from a foreign land, the Xalla figure was crafted in a distinctly Teotihuacan artistic style that was directly connected to the city’s spiritual belief system. The figure seems to depict an adult male, probably of high military rank, perhaps caught as a prisoner of war, that was then sacrificed during a ritual called tlacacalitiztli. During such occasions the prisoner or victim would be bound to a post or scaffolding and shot with arrows. These arrows were not intended to kill the victim, but instead allow some of his blood to penetrate the earth. According to Teotihuacan beliefs, “drops of blood shed by the victim on the ground fulfilled the symbolic function of strengthening the earth for the new period of vegetation.”4 This practice was also intimately connected with strengthening military power before war or after a major victory (or defeat). Looking at the figure, we can see that he has been struck with two arrows—one in the thigh and one in the foot—which would be consistent with tlacacalitiztli—as arrows were not intended to kill victims. Two other notable features are the figure’s red eyes and vertical black lines crossing his face. Such artistic dimensions were key attributes given to the God of war and fertility in the Teotihuacan Postclassic style, further emphasizing the ideological connections between war and bloodshed on the one hand, and the fertility of the people and fecundity of the land on the other.51 https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/teotihuacan-city-water-city-fire2 Leonardo López Luján, Laura Filloy Nadal, Barbara W. Fash, William L. Fash, and Pilar Hernández, “The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan: Anthropomorphic Sculpture, Elite Cults, and the End of a Civilization.” Res (Cambridge, Mass.), no. 49/50 (April 1, 2006), 17. 3 Leonardo López Luján et al, “The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan,” 18. 4 Leonardo López Luján et al, “The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan,” 24. 5 Leonardo López Luján et al, “The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan,” 26.
2The Xalla Sculpture of Teotihuacan - Extended BiographyAlso similar to the inhabitants to Teotihuacan, the Xalla figure was very much “alive.” According to Matthew Robb (curator of the de Young exhibit), the contrasting colored and material inlay of the irises and pupils of these human figures brought them to life.6 People living in Teotihuacan would have interacted with these figures in ritual spaces through the acts of honoring and gift-giving just as they would with an honored human being. The Xalla figure was not created for decoration or put on public display outside, but instead lived inside of the south temple of the Central Plaza of Xalla. The Xalla figure and others like it, were believed to have agency and power that was central to the continued well-being, success, and prosperity of the broader Teotihuacano community, which at its height reach at least 100,000 people. For reasons that are not entirely clear, Teotihuacan was destroyed around 550 CE. Though we cannot be sure who destroyed the city, we do know that this group did so by setting the city’s temples on fire and methodically shattering sculptures that had particularly significant spiritual meaning and power, including the Xalla figure. Archaeologists argue that these destructive acts were likely committed it by an internal group, or an outside group with intimate knowledge of the Teotihuacano religious beliefs and cultural practices, as the perpetrators must have recognized that spiritual power proved central to the city’s political legitimacy and strength. This might explain why the Xalla figure was not only shattered, but also scattered across 800 square meters surrounding the temple in which it once lived.7 Not only do these fragments contain evidence of charcoal and ash consistent with fire damage, but particular fractures in the marble indicate the use of several different destructive tools such as a chisel.8 Going to such measures to smash and scatter sculpture fragments like the Xalla figure “meant to divest them of their ritual power.”9 The perpetrators recognized the figures’ power and believed that their destruction was necessary to destroy and replace the existing political order. Like the Xalla figure, many Teotihuacan residents perished in 550 CE. In fact, the population of Teotihuacan decreased by half during this period of violence. While the city was never entirely abandoned, the Teotihuacan state had fully collapsed by 650 CE. However, I would argue that the city of Teotihuacan as well as its rich cultural and spiritual influences never truly “died.” The Aztecs, “who came to prominence almost 900 years after the fall of Teotihuacan,” for example, considered the ancient city “the place where the gods brought the world into existence.”10Aztecs named and resurrected the Moon and Sun Pyramid, incorporating them into their own spiritual worldview. Like Teotihuacan spiritual ideologies and monuments, the Xalla figure has also been brought back to life. Remarkably, archaeologists recovered all by 8% of the figures original marble fragments, have reconstructed it, and incorporated it into a museum exhibit, which in its own way, continues to perpetuate Teotihuacan society and beliefs. 6 De Young Museum, “Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire,” https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/teotihuacan-city-water-city-fire.7 Leonardo López Luján et al, “The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan,” 28. 8 Leonardo López Luján et al, “The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan,” 29. 9 De Young Museum, “Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire,” https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/teotihuacan-city-water-city-fire.10 De Young Museum, “Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire,” https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/teotihuacan-city-water-city-fire.