Jeremy Coltman
University of California, Riverside, Anthropology, Department Member
- Mayan Linguistics, Aztec Iconography, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Codex Borgia, Maya History and Religion, Cognitive-processual archaeology, and 49 moreArchaeological Theory, Anthropological study of witchcraft and sorcery, Mesoamerican Ethnohistory, Maya Iconography, Anthropology, Cotzumalhuapa, Archaeology of Religion, Classical Nahuatl, Anthropology Of Art, Cotzumalhuapan Iconography, Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Archaeology of Ritual, Aztec Art, Mesoamerican Religion, Stuttgart Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, Mexican Codices, Mesoamerican Writing, Iconography, Epigraphy, Nahuas and Mixtecs, Witchcraft (Anthropology Of Religion), Bayeux Tapestry, Aztec Art, Religion, & Politics before and after the conquest, Maya Art, Erinyes/Eumenides/Furies, Teotihuacan, Native American Studies, Primary: Historiography, Colonial Mexico, Nahuatl. S, Aztec writing, Sacred Landscape (Archaeology), Huichol, Aztecs, Classic Maya (Archaeology), Maya Archaeology, Mesoamerica, Maya Epigraphy, Mesoamerican Studies, Religion, Comparative Religion, History, Ancient History, Cultural History, Sociology of Religion, Latin American Studies, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Philosophy Of Religion, Aztec History, and History of Mesoamericaedit
- Jeremy Coltman is a Mesoamericanist specializing in the visual culture, religion, and archaeology of the Maya, Mexica... moreJeremy Coltman is a Mesoamericanist specializing in the visual culture, religion, and archaeology of the Maya, Mexica, and related Nahua peoples of Central Mexico. He received his Ph.D. under the direction of Dr. Karl Taube in the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside. His dissertation examines the origins and legacy of solar ideology and symbolism at Early Postclassic Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. Aside from Yucatan, Coltman has conducted archaeological research on Maya cave ritual in the Cayo District of Belize. His current research includes the Classic Maya legacy on Western Mesoamerica, the origins of the Postclassic International Style, Maya and Aztec aesthetics, and sacred geography. He has taught at Santa Monica College, California State University, Los Angeles, and University of California, Riverside where he is currently a lecturer. His book Sorcery in Mesoamerica, co-edited with John M.D. Pohl, was recently published by the University Press of Colorado.edit
- Dr. Karl Taube edit
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Research Interests: Aztecs, Nahuatl, Classic Maya (Archaeology), Maya Archaeology, Pre-Columbian Art, and 14 moreAztec Art, Maya Art, Maya Epigraphy, Mesoamerican Ethnohistory, Mexico, Mesoamerican Religion, Mesoamerican iconography, Yucatec Maya, Maya Iconography, Aztec Iconography, Maya History and Religion, Mesoamerican codices, Mesoamerican Studies, and Chichen Itza
Research Interests: Landscape Archaeology, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Aztecs, Classic Maya (Archaeology), Maya Archaeology, and 10 moreMesoamerican caves, Aztec Art, Maya Art, Maya Epigraphy, Gender and identity (Archaeology), Mesoamerican Religion, Mesoamerican Art, Maya Iconography, Epigrafia Maya, and Mesoamerican Writing
Most representations of Tezcatlipoca, the supreme sorcerer of Late Postclassic central Mexico, come from the codices of the Mixteca-Puebla tradition. This important deity was also represented, however, in statues, wall paintings,... more
Most representations of Tezcatlipoca, the supreme sorcerer of Late Postclassic central Mexico, come from the codices of the Mixteca-Puebla tradition. This important deity was also represented, however, in statues, wall paintings, bas-reliefs, as well as head-shaped ceramic pieces, the latter of which are little-known and poorly studied. In this study, we offer a detailed analysis of one of the best examples of Tezcatlipoca head-shaped ceramic pieces sheltered in the Bilimek Collection at the Weltmuseum in Vienna. We compare the Tezcatlipoca effigy head of Vienna with similar pieces from the Colección Fundación Televisa in Mexico City, the Museo Regional de Cholula, and the Museo del Valle de Tehuacán, all representations being fine examples of the Eastern Nahua artistic tradition. The similarity between the iconography on the Tezcatlipoca pedestal in Vienna and the murals of Ocotelulco and Tizatlan, Tlaxcala, are particularly striking, sharing representations of skulls, hands, and a motif we have identified as a mirror. We also analyze in detail the links between the iconography of Tezcatlipoca with that of the Macuiltonaleque. Finally, we propose the possibility of a ritual use of these ceramic vessels, associated with the ingestion of pulque in the framework of a Tezcatlipoca drinking cult.
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At the end of the nineteenth century, Eduard Seler identified the bats depicted on a ceramic vessel excavated by Erwin Dieseldorff at the site of Chama, Guatemala, as the camazotz, or death bat, from the K’iche’ Maya myth, the Popol Vuh.... more
At the end of the nineteenth century, Eduard Seler identified the bats depicted on a ceramic vessel excavated by Erwin Dieseldorff at the site of Chama, Guatemala, as the camazotz, or death bat, from the K’iche’ Maya myth, the Popol Vuh. The attribution was never critically reviewed. Nevertheless, it became so deeply entrenched that virtually every image of a Maya bat is identified as a camazotz. We have located no ancient depictions of the Hero Twins in the chamber of the camazotz, which calls into question the salience of this scene for the ancient Maya. In iconography and ethnohistory, multiple figures with bat-like characteristics exist, both bats and anthropomorphic bat-men. Clearly, the situation is complex. We argue that bats appear principally in four roles. The first is as an emblematic symbol representing some group. The bat played a second role as a messenger, often paired on vessels with a bird. A third category relates to pollination, vegetation, and fertility, and here the bat may be paired with the hummingbird. The last and largest category is wahy beings, which most epigraphers now think were bestial forms of personified diseases. Included here are the many vessels depicting the fire-breathing bat, including Dieseldorff’s Chama vessel. We argue that the identification with the camazotz should be dropped altogether and that the associations proposed by Seler need to be rethought.
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Since the late 19th Century, Eduard Seler and others recognized that the Late Postclassic Central Mexican deity, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli--"the God of Dawn"--embodied Venus as the Morning Star. With roots in Early Postclassic Toltec-related... more
Since the late 19th Century, Eduard Seler and others recognized that the Late Postclassic Central Mexican deity, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli--"the God of Dawn"--embodied Venus as the Morning Star. With roots in Early Postclassic Toltec-related iconography, this deity is often depicted as a skeletal and stellar war god shooting darts. A closely related ritual complex emphasized fertility and warfare and was centered upon stars, feathered serpents, and celestial darts. This study examines this complex in the art of ancient Central Mexico and Northwest Mesoamerica and relates it to strikingly similar iconographic motifs and a historically related cosmology evident in Pueblo IV kiva murals and rock art and in present-day beliefs and practices among Pueblo people in the American Southwest. The transmission of these beliefs during the Postclassic period through West Mexico via expanding communication and economic networks implicates the Aztatlán culture as a fundamental link in the movement of a new or highly refined religion into the prehispanic American Southwest by AD 1300.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, History, Ancient History, Cultural History, and 70 moreSociology of Religion, Latin American Studies, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Iconography, Philosophy Of Religion, Art History, Indigenous Studies, Art, Violence, History of Religion, Mexican Studies, Religion and Politics, Ritual, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Aztecs, Archaeology of Religion, History of Religions, Ancient Religion, Archaeoastronomy, History of Art, Religion and ritual in prehistory, Maya Archaeology, History of Mesoamerica, Aztec Art, Aztec History, Ancient myth and religion, Indigenous Peoples, Southwestern Archaeology, Oaxaca (Archaeology), Mesoamerica (Anthropology), Mesoamerica, US-Mexico Borderlands, Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Visual Arts, Archaeology of Ritual, Mesoamerican Ethnohistory, Ancestral Pueblo (Archaeology), Prehistory, West Mexico (Archaeology), Arqueología, Ancient Warfare, Mexico, Mesoamerican Religion, New Mexico History, Jalisco, Mesoamerican Art, Mesoamerican iconography, Arqueologia, Artes, Arizona, Casas Grandes archaeology, Antropología, Oaxaca, Aztec Iconography, Ancient Weapons and Warfare, New Mexico, Mesoamerican codices, Aztecas, Mesoamerican Studies, Northern Mexico Archaeology, Ritual Practices, Gran Nayar, Huichol, Anthropology of Religion, Aztatlán archaeology, Mexican Codices, Mixtec, and Nahuas and Mixtecs
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The narrative on pages 29-46 of the Codex Borgia provides detailed iconography concerning the birth, emergence, and creation of deities, animate objects, and other supernatural beings. Rich in detail, this remains one of the great... more
The narrative on pages 29-46 of the Codex Borgia provides detailed iconography concerning the birth, emergence, and creation of deities, animate objects, and other supernatural beings. Rich in detail, this remains one of the great Pre-Columbian creation myths known for all of Mesoamerica. The opening scene (29) of creation in the narrative is the primordial supernatural birth of directional wind gods, and other features strongly emblematic of the tzitzimime of Late Postclassic Central Mexican thought. In fact, the Codex Borgia cosmological narrative may be one of the richest sources of information regarding the pre-Hispanic nature of the tzitzimime for all of Late Postclassic Central and Southern Mexico. This first page is important as the first single act of creation in the Borgia narrative and emphasizes the importance of wind in ancient and contemporary Nahua thought brought forth by the chaotic forces of the tzitzimime as progenitors par excellence. It will be proposed that the narrative section of the Codex Borgia, as a document of creation, may have shared a similar function with contemporary Navajo sandpainting rites. More than mere structural parallels based on a color-directional symbolism, the mythic past of creation would have been frequently invoked during rituals, particularly ones of a curative nature.
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"A striking example of what anthropologists call “assault sorcery” occurred when Moctezuma II sent his sorcerers to Cempoala to feign friendship to the Spaniards but instead conspired to use their tricks and magical arts to kill them... more
"A striking example of what anthropologists call “assault sorcery” occurred when Moctezuma II sent his sorcerers to Cempoala to feign friendship to the Spaniards but instead conspired to use their tricks and magical arts to kill them through a barrage of illness, nightmares, and insanity. While recent trends in ancient Mesoamerican studies highlight the ethereal and beautiful paradisiacal realms that awaited kings in death and the lavish courtly palaces they walked in life, there was certainly a more malevolent side to courtly life as the actions of Moctezuma II clearly suggest. Recent research indicates that maleficent magic was a significant component of the ideologies of complex Mesoamerican societies. Anthropologists have typically studied witchcraft and sorcery as an explanation for the causes of misfortune, causes that tend to be rooted in cultural beliefs concerning special practitioners who possess supernatural power, often in the form of actions that can inflict harm. However, those that could kill could also cure and vice versa. The dark arts certainly played a pervasive role in the political and religious ideology of ancient Mesoamerica. Today, much like in the past, witchcraft and sorcery remain chaotic anti-social behaviors that constantly pose a threat to a balanced and moral life. This talk will explore the long tradition of witchcraft and sorcery in ancient and contemporary Mesoamerica. A visual vocabulary indicative of sorcery and witchcraft in ancient Mesoamerica will also be considered.
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Session schedule for the 84th Annual Meeting for the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, NM, April 10th-14th, 2019
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Most representations of the feathered serpent at Chichen Itza depict a plumed rattlesnake, a being of wind and carrier of rain, with Central Mexican origins dating back to Early Classic Teotihuacan. In Classic Maya art, feathered serpents... more
Most representations of the feathered serpent at Chichen Itza depict a plumed rattlesnake, a being of wind and carrier of rain, with Central Mexican origins dating back to Early Classic Teotihuacan. In Classic Maya art, feathered serpents are not rattlesnakes and lack plumage aside from a quetzal crest, an attribute which continues into Late Postclassic representations but is unusual for Chichen Itza. Following the decline of Chichen Itza, feathered serpents in the Maya area do not appear with quetzal plumes covering their bodies but continue to appear in unique and striking ways. This paper explores the Late Postclassic Maya feathered serpent through stone sculpture, murals, graffiti, and codices.
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Henry B. Nicholson dominated the field of Aztec studies for over four decades leaving behind a vast amount of scholarship. In the decade since his passing, that corpus continues to stand the test of time with many of his works being among... more
Henry B. Nicholson dominated the field of Aztec studies for over four decades leaving behind a vast amount of scholarship. In the decade since his passing, that corpus continues to stand the test of time with many of his works being among the most cited resources in the field. His contributions to ethnohistory, archaeology, and iconography are vast and provide the point of departure for many specialists. It is certainly a legacy worthy of contemplation. This session will unite both junior and senior academics through a series of papers aimed at contemplating just how his legacy continues to impact current research. While this impact has been great on Central Mexican studies in particular, it has also influenced important cultural areas outside the Basin of Mexico including the Gulf Coast and Chichen Itza. Participants: 1. Diego Matadamas Gómora (Templo Mayor)
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"The famous Stuttgart "Xolotl" Statuette of the Landesmuseum Wurtemburg is an amazingly complex piece of Aztec lapidary art that has remained elusive from adequate identification for decades. In his pioneering analysis, Eduard Seler... more
"The famous Stuttgart "Xolotl" Statuette of the Landesmuseum Wurtemburg is an amazingly complex piece of Aztec lapidary art that has remained elusive from adequate identification for decades. In his pioneering analysis, Eduard Seler identified this figure as Xolotl, a deity often depicted with canine and deformed characteristics. Rather than Xolotl however, this figure actually represents Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli "Lord of the Dawn", the embodiment of the morning star, a fierce Tzitzimitl, and embodiment of the Toltec warrior. This statuette depicts a tour de force of iconographic imagery related to the celestial path of the Sun being carried by the plumed serpent. Also to be discussed are the western calendrics associated with the Cihuateteo, and an amazing image of Tlaltecuhtli, the earth goddess, on the base of the statuette. Finally, dawn symbolism in general will be discussed in Late Postclassic Central Mexico drawing upon other time periods and regions of Mesoamerica where appropriate.
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At the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (2003), Andrea Stone delivered a paper, “Principles and Practices of Classic Maya Cave Symbolism,” defining how to analyze cave symbolism in Classic Maya art. In this... more
At the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (2003), Andrea Stone delivered a paper, “Principles and Practices of Classic Maya Cave Symbolism,” defining how to analyze cave symbolism in Classic Maya art. In this still unpublished paper Stone showed that there is a basic subset of qualities that constitute ‘caveness,’ such as frames and enclosures. She recognized four types of enclosures: quatrefoil, skeletal centipede maw, lunar glyph, and mountain or earth house. An in depth analysis of the skeletal centipede maw and closely related lunar sign was given, but the quatrefoil and earth or mountain house were left largely undeveloped. Stone laid much of the groundwork for the study of cave iconography in this first of its kind paper. I have continued to develop this theme by adding additional cave motifs in a M.A. thesis on which Stone was to be a reader. Andrea laid much of the groundwork for the systematic study of cave iconography. As a result, other cave motifs can now be recognized and added to the growing inventory of Classic Maya cave symbolism.
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The program of Yucatecan cenote investigation directed by the senior author has documented extensive modifications of these subterranean environments by the ancient Maya. These discoveries have revealed as no previous investigations, the... more
The program of Yucatecan cenote investigation directed by the senior author has documented extensive modifications of these subterranean environments by the ancient Maya. These discoveries have revealed as no previous investigations, the tremendous ritual significance of cenotes in the ritual life of the ancient Maya of northern Yucatan. The popularity of the term “cenote” has grown throughout the twentieth century and unfortunately obscures the relationship of this work to the larger issue of the use of subterranean spaces by the ancient Maya. Cenotes appear to carry the same meaning as caves in Maya iconography where both generally represent cavities within the earth. Indeed, the name Chichen Itza refers to the Sacred Cenote at the site but the name uses the term ch’e’en which generally refers to a cave rather than as dzonot,from which the term cenote is derived. One depiction of the cenote/cave in ancient Maya iconography is the skeletal centipede maw. The analysis of the ancient iconographic motif in light of recent investigations allows us to gain a better appreciation of the ancient significance of these geological features for the ancient Maya.
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One of the salient and enduring features of cosmology found among the peoples of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest is the quadripartite representation of the universe with the sacred center, or axis mundi. These mandala-like models... more
One of the salient and enduring features of cosmology found among the peoples of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest is the quadripartite representation of the universe with the sacred center, or axis mundi. These mandala-like models are central artistic expressions of indigenous knowledge that can often reflect concepts of disease, curing, balance, purity, and pollution. The body itself becomes a model of the cosmos, which is constantly threatened by antisocial agents of chaos. By invoking a mythic time of creation, the invisible drama of the universe plays out in the patient. This study will offer a comparative analysis of such rituals in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest, with a particular focus on Central Mexican codices, Navajo sandpainting rites, and contemporary Nahua rituals from Veracruz. More than just a shared color-directional symbolism, striking similarities also exist in form and function. While this study is admittedly broad in both time and space, it aims to add to the discussion of interaction between Mesoamerica and the American Southwest.
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Like most ancient Maya gods, the Water Serpent (witz') is complex and multifarious. It is the deity of terrestrial or standing waters, such as springs, pools, cenotes, lakes, and rivers. In Classic Maya epigraphy, it is the personified... more
Like most ancient Maya gods, the Water Serpent (witz') is complex and multifarious. It is the deity of terrestrial or standing waters, such as springs, pools, cenotes, lakes, and rivers. In Classic Maya epigraphy, it is the personified form of the 360-day Tun period and the head variant of the numeral 13. Maya iconography highlights a sinuous body, represented as an undulating stream of animate bubbly water. The face is typically composed of a downward curving bird beak while a bound headdress frequently depicts a fish nibbling on a waterlily flower. Closely linked to the life giving qualities of water, wind, and maize, Water Serpent is also tied to the office of rulership and frequently serves as a logical choice for impersonation by rulers. Duck-billed Ik’ K’uh (wind gods) and year-bearers often appear in subservient positions to Water Serpent thus emphasizing both the political and cosmic realms of authority involved with Classic period rulership. Better insight regarding the function and nature of this watery creature may be gained from comparisons with similar beings from Mesoamerica and the American Southwest.
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The varied representations of Earth in Mesoamerican art and iconography are often couched and blended in a variety of ways but always packed with meaning. The landscape, particularly hills, mountains, and caves were personified as living... more
The varied representations of Earth in Mesoamerican art and iconography are often couched and blended in a variety of ways but always packed with meaning. The landscape, particularly hills, mountains, and caves were personified as living and sentient beings.Temple doorways for instance formed the breathing entrances of symbolic mountains while the backs of crocodiles and turtles could represent the hard rocky surface of the earth. Many depiction's of Earth indicate that it was constantly watching, seeing, and breathing. In this respect it occupied the most fundamental component of Mesoamerican ideology as a place of emergence and rain bringing wind.
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A common cosmological notion for the peoples of ancient Mesoamerica was the idea of four sky bearers, each assigned a specific color and direction, who had the important duty of holding the firmament securely in place. In Late Postclassic... more
A common cosmological notion for the peoples of ancient Mesoamerica was the idea of four sky bearers, each assigned a specific color and direction, who had the important duty of holding the firmament securely in place. In Late Postclassic Central Mexico these were the sky bearers that appear in the Borgia and Vaticanus B codices. To the Classic and Postclassic Maya, they were the Bacabs and the closely related Pauahtuns. Wind and rain gods were also closely related and similar conceptions are found among the Pueblo and Navajo of the American Southwest.
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Recent ethnographic data indicate that modern Maya are very aware of air being sucked into and expelled from caves due to atmospheric pressure. This is perceived as the earth breathing and seen as proof of the earth being an animate and... more
Recent ethnographic data indicate that modern Maya are very aware of air being sucked into and expelled from caves due to atmospheric pressure. This is perceived as the earth breathing and seen as proof of the earth being an animate and sentient being. An examination of Classic Maya iconography documents that a similar belief was depicted in multiple media. The “breath of the earth” is closely tied to the fundamentally important concept of the life giving and life sustaining rain. Caves in ancient Maya thought were important as the nexus of wind, rain and earth.
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Perhaps one of the most visually impressive categories in terms of the body in ancient Mesoamerican art involves individuals reflecting extremely difficult positions, many of which are humanly impossible. These images vary from the... more
Perhaps one of the most visually impressive categories in terms of the body in ancient Mesoamerican art involves individuals reflecting extremely difficult positions, many of which are humanly impossible. These images vary from the grotesquely contorted to the seemingly playful and constitute an important aesthetic category in Mesoamerican art. Another category depicts individuals on their backs juggling a ball with their feet. Known as foot jugglers, our best resource on the subject remains German artist Christoph Weiditz’s drawings of these performers who formed part of the entourage of Cortes when they were taken to Spain to perform for Charles V. There is much continuity in the various images of these acrobats, contortionists and foot jugglers extending from the middle Pre-Classic to the colonial. Far more than just the average human exercising his talents, these positions were in many cases, reserved for the gods. Rather than constituting just a feature of the sportive and entertainment aspect, there was also a profound ritual dimension to such performances that often put such performers at the very center of the Mesoamerican cosmos.
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While there has been a recent tendency in Mesoamerican studies to describe the ethereal and beautiful paradisiacal realms that awaited kings in death, and the lavish courtly palaces they walked in life, recent research suggests that there... more
While there has been a recent tendency in Mesoamerican studies to describe the ethereal and beautiful paradisiacal realms that awaited kings in death, and the lavish courtly palaces they walked in life, recent research suggests that there was a more malevolent side to courtly life. The visual representation of sorcery appears most elaborately developed among the Classic Maya and peoples of Late Postclassic Central Mexico where the dark arts played a pervasive role in political and religious ideology. Among the themes to be considered include ritual intoxication, self-decapitation, noxious insects, and an intricate creation mythology.
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Over a century ago, Eduard Seler identified an anthropomorphic bat image on a Chama vessel as a camazotz and associated bats with death, blood, sacrifice, and decapitation. The unchallenged application of this model since that time has... more
Over a century ago, Eduard Seler identified an anthropomorphic bat image on a Chama vessel as a camazotz and associated bats with death, blood, sacrifice, and decapitation. The unchallenged application of this model since that time has inhibited our understanding of the meaning of bats in Classic Maya ideology. We argue that the identification of bat images with the camazotz is largely mistaken and the association with death, blood, sacrifice, and decapitation is drawn principally from Late Postclassic Central Mexican sources. Bats appear to have functioned as messengers associated with earth deities and fertility.