Feathered Serpent Pyramid (FSP): Archaeology of
Teotihuacan, Mexico
Iconography of the Facades at the FSP:Conclusion
Given the interpretations
presented in the Iconography pages, the idea that dual-deities are
being invoked by the iconographic program of the FSP facade seems
less convincing. The two alternating heads were not equally
positioned in terms of contextual meanings, although in volumetric
terms they do give the impression of a juxtaposition of two equal
entities. Both heads may, in fact, have been equally important to the
Teotihuacanos. However, the headdress head is positioned in a way
that is clearly subordinate to the feathered serpent. The headdress
complex is something that is adjunct to, and carried on, the body of
the feathered serpent.
López (1) identified the Postclassic feathered serpent as the
great initiator of the calendric division and the extractor of the
divine-temporal-destiny force. In the FSP facade, the feathered
serpent appears to be depicted in a cosmogonic watery underworld, as
suggested by the shell motifs that surround him. The feathered
serpent also seems to have embodied the meaning of warfare and
sacrifice in Teotihuacan. This aspect of the deity appears to have
been displayed in astrological contexts since the time of the
erection of the FSP, and is suggested at later times by
representations of the feathered serpents in a variety of other
contexts. This entity at the FSP also bears a symbol set, the
headdress complex, that seems to have symbolized cosmological and
calendrical meanings that were more explicit, and more relevant in a
socio-political sense than was previously thought.
James Langley (2) points out that the Teotihuacan notational system
was particularly and extensively associated with the imagery of war
and sacrifice. Although martial objects or bloody elements are not
present in the iconography of the FSP, the concepts of warfare and
sacrifice seem to have been part of the inherent meaning of the
feathered serpent itself. The martial attributes of the feathered
serpent were manifested instead in the graves of sacrificed
individuals, many of whom appear to have been interred as soldiers,
and in the abundant offerings of objects having a clear martial
association.
It is possible that the headdress representation at the FSP
symbolized the authority of the specific ruler who sponsered the
building of the FSP. If so, this political proclamation was made in
terms of the domination of Teotihuacan society's most important
value-complex, the system of time-reckoning. The feathered serpent
seems to have been the divine entity that legitimated the authority
of the living bearer of the headdress born on his back. In fact, the
artistic expression of authority by means of a headdress granted by
sacred figures seems to have been a distinct feature of Mesoamerican
cultural and political life. The headdresses depicted at the FSP
likely became a conventional way to represent authority of ruling
groups at Teotihuacan.
Notes
(1) López 1990:321-339.
(2) Langley 1991, 1992.
Last Update: 10/12/96
Saburo Sugiyama: Arizona State University, Dept. of Anthropology, Tempe,
AZ 85287
©Copyright 1996 Project Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Instituto Nacional
de Antropología e Historia, México/ ASU
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