The Huasteca I: Ceramics, Jewelry, and Monuments

The Huaxtec are unique in Maya history because they had separated from the Maya homeland in the central Gulf of Mexico and migrated north toward Veracruz and Tamaulipas, Mexico, instead of south like the rest of the Maya. They arrived at the fertile lowlands of the central Gulf of Mexico almost four thousand years ago, and the current name for this region, the Huasteca, comes from the Aztec name for the Huaxtec, the "People of the Land of the Guaje Trees." Since four thousand years ago, the Huaxtec have spoken their Mayan language, which they today call Teenek. The blue-on-stucco ceramic design is rare in Mesoamerica, given in part because of how difficult it is to produce. Nevertheless! - when it does work, its effect can impress. The style is also known from central Veracruz, but this piece comes from farther north. It depicts a small mammal, perhaps an otter, whose name is incorporated into the name of Tampico, the "Place of the Otter."

Regional Museum of the Huasteca

One of the most well-known myths of the contemporary Teenek in San Luis Potosí and Veracruz tells of the exploits and adventures of the maize child Dhipaak. The theology of Dhipaak is intricate, for in traditional Teenek religion the maize deity has both male and female aspects. In Teenek the deity is also known as in ejatal an idhidh, the "soul of the maize." These three Huaxtec bowls depict the painted face of Dhipaak as the Maize Child.

Regional Museum of the Huasteca

Tamohi, alternatively known as Tamuín, is one of the most well-known and best-preserved Huaxtec sites, and as a site in San Luis Potosí it is also one of the westernmost. This is a replica of the "Polychrome Calendar Altar," whose side panels retain stucco paintings of deities similar to those of the central Mexican pictorial codices or folded books. Many originally Huaxtec deities, such as Tlahzolteotl and Quetzalcoatl, were in fact adopted by the Aztecs and other Postclassic Mesoamerican societies. Warriors bearing severed heads also appear on these paintings.

Regional Museum of the Huasteca

The site of Tierra Alta, in Tamaulipas, Mexico, was discovered in 1999, and it boasts the most elaborate burial offering known in the Huasteca. Its burial deposits included a vase with avian bones, conch bracelets, gold jewelry, and jade plaques. The two women shown here were buried together, and their necklaces are comprised of 56 copper bells. These women were young, one aged to approximately 13 and the other 23.

Regional Museum of the Huasteca

The black-on-cream ceramic vase style, with its organic flow of striped and dotted designs, is another hallmark of Huaxtec art. Examples of similar ceramics found at Tajín to the south attest to the extent to which Huaxtec styles spread among its neighbors. These vases were often formed into animals, such as with the lively monkey here. A small spout is just barely visible from behind larger rim. These vases date to the late Postclassic, from 1200 to 1521 AD.

Xalapa Museum of Anthropology

Still another hallmark of the Huaxtec artistic style was the abundance of shell jewelry, whose resources were readily available from being relatively close to the Gulf of Mexico coast. When sliced transversely, the spiral of the conch could be carved into a pectoral, as visible upon deities of Huaxtec origin such as the Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl. These pieces show how sections of conch could also be carved with reliefs, or even into zoomorphic designs like the deer head at right.

Xalapa Museum of Anthropology

A wide-hipped woman appears in this small earthenware figurine from the Tampico-Pánuco sub-region of the northern Huasteca, the zone defined by the Pánuco river which forms the state boundary between southern Tamaulipas and northern Veracruz. This and related figurines date to the Pánuco III phase, from approximately 300 to 600 AD. The small decorations reveal a "pastillaje" design achieved by dabbing smaller pieces upon the larger figure prior to firing. The red and black painting on these figurines has been interpreted as a possible symbol of the duality of life (red) and death (black).

Xalapa Museum of Anthropology