Feathered Serpent Pyramid (FSP): Archaeology of Teotihuacan, Mexico
The
excavation of Pit 2 took place on the top of the Adosada Platform. Within
the fill recovered from this unit were many fragments of burned clay marked
by a variety of motifs in low relief.These materials vary in size from
ca. 40x30x20 cm to tiny fragments. Their location and associated stratigraphy
indicates that they derive from a structure razed in the near vicinity.
The only likely candidate for such a structure was the temple on the top
of the pyramid, which was probably destroyed when the Adosada was built,
with fragments of it incorporated into the fill of the platform (2). If
so, the portions of the frieze that could be reconstructed from the fragments
listed below were an integral part of the iconographic program of the pyramid.
Feathers:
Several large fragments clearly represent a cluster of feathers. Each feather
usually measures 7 to 9 cm wide, and tapers gradually toward the end. Their
form suggests that they may have formed part of a fringe adorning a larger
motif, or part of a large headdress.
Shells:
A few fragments had unequivocal representations of bivalve shells, identical
to those represented on the facades of the FSP; a few other fragments also
may have represented bivalves, but are less clear. The sizes of the shells
are consistent with those depicted on the pyramid facades.
Possible plants: Relatively small stalk-like elements were found
in the collection of clay fragments. Some of these appear to depict branching
parts of plants (two objects on the left in the same photo).
Scroll:
A series of scrolls with three parallel lines on their base is represented
on a large fragment. Many other smaller fragments seem to have formed the
same scroll motif. The scroll is an element that appears very frequently
in Teotihuacan iconography, and is usually associated with liquids. Their
combination with three sharply bending lines resembles a water complex
(3) that often appears in association with the Storm God.
Feathered
Disk: A double edged disk with a feather fringe was also represented
in the collection. The external circle was about 25 cm in diameter. The
short fringes appear to have been made of feathers. The feathered disk
was incorporated at Teotihuacan into many different design contexts; examples
of its use include headdress ornaments, medallions, pectorals, shields,
mirrors, and so on. (4)
Dots:
Long panels filled with small irregular dots were represented on several
fragments. All panels are 12 to 13 cm wide, and at least 23 cm long. Since
no fragment had an edge line or other kind of motif on either side of the
panels, it is likely that they were originally a long flat plain panel
simply filled with dots, without any other associated motif. In Teotihuacan
iconography, dots appear in different contexts; in cotton flowers, liquids,
headdress ornaments, and in panels falling from the hand of priests. The
fragments are simple and fragmentary, so they could have been parts of
almost any known or unknown motif.
Circles:
Two types of circle were detected in the collection: a spherical convex
circle with a smoothly curved surface (Photo left), and a high-relief circle
with sharp edges (Photo right). Because the elements are so simple, their
context is difficult to determine. Circles, obviously repeated in this
case, often represented eyes of various entities, beads, or disks in headdresses,
etc. They also represented other kinds of round ornaments on human bodies,
or appeared simply as abstract geometric motifs.
Half-oval
pieces: Nine fragments with an oval cross-section were found. They
have a plain convex surface, but no information about the form of their
edges has been preserved. The two largest pieces are about 25 cm and 30
cm wide, respectively. They could have been body parts of anthropomorphic
figures, although a plain surface would be rare in the trunk of anthropomorphic
figures. They may also have been parts of extremities.
The fragments described indicate that the iconographic content of the temple
was significantly different from that of the facades of the pyramid itself.
The scale of the motifs is comparable to those of the FSP facades, and
evidently, they complemented their content. The data seem to indicate that
the frieze of the temple may have symbolized the water complex, possibly
associated with the Storm God. (5)
(1) Marquina's (1922) excavation and the recent excavation by the PAT80-82
(Cabrera and Sugiyama 1982) at the superior part of the current mound revealed
that only the nucleus of the pyramid has been left without any remains
of the structure atop the pyramid.
(2) Sugiyama 1993b.
(3) Langley (1986:320) calls it Shell Triplet .
(4) Langley 1986:259-260, 318; Taube 1992. The Reptile Eye sign also appears
with a feathered cartouche similar to the disk discussed (Múnera
and Sugiyama 1993).
(5) More specific interpretation is described in Sugiyama 1995.
