FCAS | Heritage

More than 13,000 pieces from different cultures

The collection in charge of the Armella Spitalier Cultural Foundation is registered under the corresponding regulations before the National Institute of Anthropology and History, with the mission to safeguard, preserve and disseminate the Mesoamerican past, the FCAS has been, since its creation, a sentinel that seeks to monitor the heritage of Mexicans through the recovery, restoration and dissemination of archaeological pieces made by all those cultures that developed in what is now our national territory.

The collection amounts to more than 13,000 pieces of different cultures and temporalities, these images are a small sample of the elements kept in our institution. If you are interested in the complete catalog of the collection, please contact us.

This fantastic piece shows a zoomorphic effigy urn in the form of an eagle. The realism with which it was worked stands out, even providing the representation with what could be associated with flaming eyebrows. Let us remember that this bird, for many Mesoamerican cultures, had a solar and warrior connotation; the Mexica conceived it as the animal companion of their patron god, Huitzilopochtli, who had a military and solar character with one of the warrior elites in the army of Tenochtitlan: the cuauhpilli or 'noble eagles'.

Reg INAH 610

Fragment of what was probably a complete piece that is fractured today. It is the head of a macaw, whose plumage was highly valued in pre-Hispanic times and was generally associated with solar cults (depending on its color). It is thought that it can be dated to the Epiclassic period of the Central High Plateau, as it has many aesthetic similarities with similar representations from the archaeological site of Xochicalco.

Reg INAH 985-51

This bottle shows a representation that could resemble the Nahua Tlaloc, as it has some of his most recognizable attributes: blinkers, fangs and serpentine lips. Although they could be considered iconographic parameters for the identification of this god, we must remember that he is not the only one with such attributes; for example, at least five other gods have fangs. It is thought that the headdress is topped by seeds, which alludes to the agricultural character of this deity or his cultural counterparts outside the area of Nahua influence.

Reg INAH 1149-199

It was common, practically among all Mesoamerican cultures, the distinction in terms of social class and position within society. The rulers or nobles, appear profusely dressed and with large and decorated garments. In this case, coming from the Mayan area, we find a character of high rank with a garment that includes a complex mosaic pectoral, in his right hand, he carries a staff of command, this type of elements were known to be where the power of the government was deposited, it was also common to see in these rulers, the personification of the gods, among the pre-Hispanic Maya, this rank had the name of 'K'uhul Ahau' or divine lord.

Reg INAH 1149-201

The xantiles are representative characters of the cosmovision of the Popolocan people of Puebla. This type of characters are generally considered ancestors or guardians of sacred places, generally related to water and agriculture. In the present case, a seated character appears with his arms resting on his knees, wearing circular blinkers, very similar to the way of representing Tlaloc, Nahua deity of rain, although it could be linked by the geographical position of the sites where sculptures of this type have been found, more to Dzahui, the Mixtec god of rain, who also wears blinkers. He wears a beard, alluding to the great antiquity of these beings, who, as mentioned, were considered ancestors.

Reg INAH 1149-383

This fantastic stone piece, which comes from Veracruz, is a human face with finely worked facial features. What is striking is what could be identified as a cranial deformation, a very common bodily alteration among the diverse cultures of Mesoamerica associated with the social stratification of the people; some of them even sought to mythically recreate the physiognomy of deities or mythological beings.

Reg INAH 1149-422

This is a formidable piece that shows a human being in a seated position and sketching a kind of smile. It is the handle of the lid of a container that is delimited by a geometric pattern, perhaps the representation of a rope. It still has traces of the original polychromy, in which the indigo blue stands out, perhaps as facial paint on the nose. The elbows are resting on the knees and his hands are crossed, he wears two large circular earrings that could give a clue about his lineage or social position, and the largest amount of pigment, which is white, is on the teeth of the character. The piece could perhaps be associated with Teotihuacan.

Reg INAH 1323-429

This piece is an extraordinary example of plumbate pottery. Recall that the two manufacturing areas identified for this type of pottery are Calakmul and Tula, perhaps a point in favor of confirming the link between these two areas in a cultural exchange. In the Toltec zone, near the Tollan capital Xicocotitlan, some examples of this type have been detected, as well as workshops for its manufacture. In this case, as in many of the plumbate ceramics, we found a zoomorphic vessel with the representation of a canid.

Reg INAH 1441-115

It is thought that like the so-called "smiling faces", this type of anthropomorphic sculptures modeled in clay, represent the different social strata of the ancient Totonacs. This social rank can be seen in their multiple forms of headdress, being this one of the ways to differentiate the ranks and social levels in their population. We find a facial decoration with rubber paint, being this, associated with canons of beauty, but always in a direct relationship with social distinction, in some sources, as in the Historia General de las Cosas de la Nueva España, the Franciscan, Fray Bernardino de Sahagún mentions that even this paint in some cases, was applied on the teeth.

Reg INAH 1578-80

This example shows a little red dog, representations associated with funeral rites and burials among the shaft tomb cultures of Nayarit and Colima, areas where most examples of this ceramic family come from. Dogs were considered by various Mesoamerican cultures as the companions of the posthumous journey and it is common to find narratives where they serve as guides in the winding and complex paths of the world of the dead.

Reg INAH 1666-179

This small black engobe ceramic piece shows a being who, judging by his facial features, has some kind of deformity or cerebral palsy. Individuals with these pathologies were often seen as people close to the gods or chosen by them, generally associated with the gods of rain and lightning, such as Tlaloc among the Nahua. It was thought that this type of condition was generated precisely because the deities chose certain people as their spokespersons on earth.

Reg INAH 1666-248

This beautiful figurine modeled in clay comes from Veracruz, it has been said in many occasions, that in Mesoamerica the wheel was not known, this is a clear example of archaeological context where the presence of these elements in pre-Hispanic times can be confirmed; the variant, could go more in relation that although, the wheel existed, its use was not the same as the one that was given in Europe. The lack of draft animals and cargo, generated that the wheel was applicable more to playful activities, as in this case that the figurine could represent more a toy, another particularity of the same one, is that it is hollowed out and with a sound chamber inside, reason why it worked as well as a whistle.

Reg INAH 1666-249

This could be considered a piece related to the ceramic group known as smiling faces, linked to the Totonaca culture of Veracruz. It is common to find only the faces, but in this case we have a complete figurine in excellent state of preservation. It is thought that this type of pieces could represent the members of the society that made them; the headdresses are diverse and perhaps allude to the levels in the social division.

Reg INAH 1666-267

These elements were manufactured during the Classic and Postclassic periods in Mesoamerica, it is thought that they were part of a group of utilitarian elements associated with the guilds of artists and artisans. We are looking at a small double bowl that could have functioned as an inkwell, remembering that, according to the archaeological remains found in the mural paintings of Teotihuacan and other sites such as Bonampak or Cacaxtla, the decorations of the murals were applied by means of brushes on the thin layers of stucco that plastered the walls.

Reg INAH 2845-175

This magnificent ceramic piece represents a man playing an aerophone. It is associated with the shaft tomb culture, in which we find an important corpus of characters that could represent musicians, shamans, warriors and other members of society; it is thought that many of them were represented in an entheogenic trance and performing the activities of the life of the deceased. The clothing and some aesthetic details were created from a very fine sgraffito process.

Reg INAH 2860-5

Smiley face belonging to the Totonaca culture of Veracruz. The so-called smiley faces may have been ceramic representations of the different groups that made up the society. This example is particularly interesting, because it shows a dental sawing, an alteration that was made in different quantities, shapes and meanings, and that was a means to know a distinction in the ranks and social positions. The character also wears a pair of twisted earrings, very similar to what the Nahua know as epcololli.

Reg INAH 2860-68

Digital Glances

The complementary archaeological record through digital photogrammetric models helps to delve into the manufacturing and stylistic details of the works left by the Mesoamerican cultures. This will help create three-dimensional models of the pieces with a registration card that includes dimensions, affiliation and technique.

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