Figurine Head

Figurine Head

Figurine head with typical Teotihuacan style face. Moldmade, no traces of slip or paint remaining.
  • Object: Figurine Head
  • Artist: Unknown
  • Circa: 0-650 AD
  • Dimensions: 1 1/2" long 1 1/2" wide at top of head
  • Culture Area: Mesoamerica
  • Cultural Group: Teotihuacan
  • Cultural Context: Teotihuacan, a great urban center in Central Mexico during the Early Classic, was one of the six largest cities in the world in AD 600. Its constructions covered some 8 square miles, and a population of 150,000 people occupied more than 2,000 apartment compounds. The “portrait figurines” of Teotihuacan is one of the most numerous types found at the city. Scores of fragmented heads, such as these, are found in the trash heaps of the apartment compounds in which the people lived. The heads were mass-produced in molds, but the bodies were most often hand modeled in dancing and other action positions. We have no idea of their meaning and function.
  • Donor: David and Dolores Thomasson
  • Catalog #: 91.173