SOLAR DISKS AND SOLAR CYCLES: SPINDLE WHORLS … · apropiaron del simbolismo de las unidades domésticas en su intento de ... 201, bk. 6, ch.37). And a woman’s weaving equip-ment

Abstract: Sun disks are a common motif in spindle whorl decorations atXaltocan, Mexico. These and other forms of symbolism on domestic arti-facts suggest that women participated in the solar cosmologies ofPostclassic Central Mexico. These symbols and their cosmologies pre-cede and anticipate the principles of Aztec state religion. Thus, the spin-dle whorls with solar symbolism suggest that rulers appropriated thesymbolism of household units in their efforts to establish the legitimacyof their states. The "Little Tradition" in Mesoamerica was the source ofthe "Great Tradition", and not the other way around.Resumen: Los discos solares son un motivo habitual en las decoracionesde fusayolas en Xaltocan, México. Estas y otras formas de simbolismo deartefactos domésticos sugieren que las mujeres participaban en las cos-mologías solares del México central postclásico. Estos símbolos y suscosmologías preceden y anticipan los principios de la religión del estadoazteca. En consecuencia, estas fusayolas sugieren que los gobernantes seapropiaron del simbolismo de las unidades domésticas en su intento deestablecer la legitimidad de sus estados. Esta "pequeña tradición" deMesoamérica fue la fuente originaria de la "gran tradición" y no al con-trario.Resum: Els discs solars són habituals com a decoració de les fusaïoles aXaltocan, Mèxic. Aquestes i d’altres formes de simbolisme d’artefactesdomèstics suggereixen que les dones participave en les cosmologiessolars de Mèxic central postclàssic. Aquests símbols i les seves cosmolo-gies precedeixen i anticipen els principis de la religió de l’estat asteca. Pertant, aquestes fusaïoles suggereixen que els governs s’apropiaren del sim-bolisme de les unitats domèstiques en un intent d’establir la legitimitatdels seus estats. Aquesta “petita tradició” mesoamericana fou la font orig-inària de la “gran tradició” i no al contrari.

Interpreting household practicesBarcelona, 21-24 november 2007Treballs d’Arqueologia 13 (2007): 91-113

SOLAR DISKS AND SOLAR CYCLES: SPINDLEWHORLS AND THE DAWN OF SOLAR ART IN

POSTCLASSIC MEXICO

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The Aztecs were the last of thegreat prehispanic civilizations.They were an urbanized societywith a complex market economyand a heterogeneous population.With our Western bias, we mightimagine a strong separation ofspheres: public vs. private and statevs. domestic households. And wemight imagine that the private,domestic sphere was a narrowworld of family concerns. But thedesigns on spindle whorls suggestthat women entertained thoughtson the broadest cosmological scaleas they carried out their domesticroutines and that the communica-tion of state ideology was rooted inhousehold aesthetics. Therefore, inthis case, and I suppose in manyothers, the private and the publicwere not separate spheres; instead,they interpenetrated in interestingways.

Aztec ideology and art

During its ninety year history, theAztec empire’s wealth and powerdepended upon nearly constantwarfare and conquest. To justifythis warfare, Aztec rulers promot-ed a religious ideology that linkedwarfare and sacrifice to human sur-vival, and rulers commissioned

striking works of monumentalsculpture to communicate thisworld view. But the origin of Aztecartistic conventions is somethingof a mystery. In this paper, I sug-gest that many of the composition-al rules and symbolic meanings ofAztec art were developed not instate institutions, but in householdcontexts, probably by women asthey pursued their craft of clothproduction.

Aztec rulers supported a state reli-gion that linked warfare to humansurvival. The Aztecs recognizedthat human life depended on theorderly alternation of naturalcycles: day and night, summer andwinter, rainy season and dry sea-son, growth, death, decay, andregeneration. But while we seethese cycles as natural andinevitable, the Aztec state assertedthat they were the uncertain out-come of cosmic struggle. For exam-ple, the sun rose victorious eachmorning, driving off the moon andstars to capture the daytime sky.But the sun’s victory was only pro-visional, for each afternoon andevening, the sun sank in wearydefeat and the moon and stars tookback the heavens. The sun’s suc-cess in this daily struggle depended

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upon its being nourished with thehearts and blood of sacrificial vic-tims, preferably vigorous youngmen taken captive in battle.1

To communicate this world view,the Aztec ruler commissionedworks of monumental sculpture.For example, the Aztec calendarstone is filled with symbols that

refer to cosmic cycles (Fig. 1): Tounderscore the uncertainly ofhuman survival, near the center ofthe stone are four symbols com-memorating the four earlier cre-ations that had been overwhelmedby destructive chaos. They arenamed for the forces that destroyedthem: jaguars, hurricane-forcewinds, a rain of fire and floods. We

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Fig. 1. The Aztec Calendar Stone, sacrificial stone of Montezuma II, c. 1512 (drawing after Umberger 1996).

are now in the fifth creation, 4-motion, which is destined to bedestroyed by earthquakes.

these images are surrounded by aring containing the 20 signs of theAztec 260-day ritual almanac,related to the life cycle and person-al destiny; outside of this ring isanother, the solar disk, referring tothe cycles of day and night and the365-day solar calendar—thesesolar rays are a motif that we willsee repeatedly on pre-Aztec spin-dle whorls; and another ring of fireserpents, the weapon that theAztec patron deity, Huitzilopoch-tli, used to defeat the forces ofdarkness.

At the center, as if to underscorethe need for human sacrifice is acentral deity, with a sacrificialknife protruding from his mouthand talons on either side of his facegrasping human hearts.

This magnificent sculpture belongsto what George Kubler (1943)termed the Metropolitan School ofAztec art. These monuments aredistinguished by their large size,complex iconography, fine designand craftsmanship (Kubler 1943;Nicholson 1971; Pasztory 1983;

Umberger 1996). The style coa-lesced during the mid-fifteenthcentury, shortly after the Aztecsestablished their regional domi-nance, and it ended less than a cen-tury later with the Spanish con-quest in 1521. Despite its shortduration, the number of piecesbelonging to this style is “prodi-gious” (Nicholson & Keber1983:26), and stylistic developmentwithin the tradition was rapid(Pasztory 1983:143).

However, the origin of Aztecimagery is something of a mystery.While Aztec sculptors duplicatedcertain forms from the ancient cityof Tula (where the Aztecs carriedout excavations to recover Toltecremains), Tula’s sculpture is littleconcerned with solar imagery,which is so important in Aztec art.However, archaeological researchat Xaltocan, a pre-Aztec city-statecapital 35 kilometers north ofMexico City/Tenochtitlan, hasyielded many images that expresssolar and cyclical themes withforms and symbols that closelyresemble Aztec art.Xaltocan has been occupied from900 CE to the present (Fig. 2).During the first five centuries of itsexistence, Xaltocan was the capital


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of a small autonomous kingdom;after 1430, it fell under Aztec rule(Alva Ixtlilxóchitl 1975-77 I:423,II:299; Anales de Cuauhtitlan 1945:14,50; see Carrasco 1950). Our archae-ological research has focused onthe changes in daily life in Xaltocanwhich accompanied transforma-tions of in regional politics(Brumfiel 2005). The deep stratig-

raphy in Xaltocan, very rare inother parts of the Valley of Mexico,has helped us define those changes.At Xaltocan, solar and cyclicalmotifs appear on small decoratedspindle whorls recovered from theearly, pre-Aztec, domestic contexts.This suggests that Aztec imagerydid not originate in the state-spon-sored art of large urban centers in

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Fig. 2. The Valley of Mexico duringthe Aztec period, showing the loca-tions of Xaltocan, Tenochtitlan andother important towns.

central Mexico; rather, its compo-sition and symbolic language weredeveloped in everyday householdcontexts, as women engaged incloth production.

Cloth production and spindlewhorls at Xaltocan

Cloth was woven from two fibersin Aztec Mexico. One was fiberextracted from the leaves of themaguey, a plant that was exten-sively cultivated in the cool high-lands surrounding Tenochtitlan,the Aztec capital. The other wascotton, which did not grow locallybut was obtained from warmerregions of Morelos and Puebla. Themaguey or cotton fibers had to bespun into thread before they werewoven. The spinner worked byhand, drawing the fibers out andtwisting them into thread using awooden spindle. The spindles wereweighted with perforated ceramicdisks, called spindle whorls, whichprolonged the spindle’s rotation.Spinning thread by hand was verytime-consuming; spinning requiredtwo or three hours of effort for eachhour devoted to weaving (Berlo1991:451). Large, heavy spindlewhorls speeded the production ofmaguey fiber thread, but smaller,

lighter spindle whorls were usedfor shorter cotton fibers (Parsons1972; McCafferty & McCafferty2000). In Xaltocan, both large andsmall spindle whorls are present,suggesting that both fibers werespun.2

The spinners were probablywomen. Cloth production in AztecMexico was strongly genderedfemale. New born baby girls werepresented with the symbols ofwomanhood: “the spinning whorl,the batten, the reed basket [forunspun cotton], the spinningbowls, the skeins, the shuttle, herlittle skirt, her little blouse”(Sahagún 1950-82:201, bk. 6, ch.37).And a woman’s weaving equip-ment was placed with her whenshe died (Sahagún 1950-82:138, bk.2, ch.33). Spinning and weavingprovided metaphors for women’sexperiences with pregnancy andchildbirth, and female deities weredepicted with spinning and weav-ing tools (Klein 1982; Sullivan 1982;McCafferty & McCafferty 1991).We have very little informationabout who produced cloth in thepre-Aztec era at Xaltocan, butspindle whorls and needles appearin some infant burials and women’sgraves, suggesting that cloth pro-


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duction was a female activity (DeLucia 2004).

A careful consideration of spindlewhorl decoration at Xaltocan sug-gests that in many ways pre-Aztecspindle whorls anticipate AztecMetropolitan art. On this basis, Isuggest that the Aztec state drewheavily upon these domestic con-ventions to develop its own strik-ing artistic style.

Spindle whorl designs and solarcycles

I examined 96 decorated spindlewhorls from Xaltocan. Most ofthese spindle whorls were recov-ered from the lower, pre-Aztecstrata at Xaltocan, with dates ofA.D. 900-1430. In higher strata rep-resenting the Aztec empire (A.D.1430-1521), more than three-quar-ters of the spindle whorls wereundecorated, a point to which Iwill return. Decorated spindlewhorls were found in houses onliving floors, in domestic refuse,and in five cases, in burials. Thedecorations were mold-madeimpressions, and they sometimesbear traces of the paint that musthave covered their molded designs.To define the possible meaning of

these designs, I considered twoaspects of spindle whorl decora-tion: design composition anddesign motifs. Texts and pictorialdocuments from early colonialMexico provide guidance forunderstanding the meaning ofthese symbols.

With regard to composition, two-thirds of spindle whorls have adesign divided in four parts, withmotifs distributed symmetricallyin the four quarters of the disk (Fig.3). Working with pottery designs,archaeologist Constanza Vega Sosa(1984) has suggested that quadri-partite divisions in Aztec art repre-sent the four quarters of the uni-verse, the conventional way ofimagining space in Mesoamerica(see Gossen 1974; Tedlock &Tedlock 1985). Vega Sosa arguesthat the four quarters were definedby lines emanating from the inter-cardinal directions, defined by thepoints on the horizon where thesun rises and sets at the summerand winter solstices. Vega Sosaconcluded that these quadripartitecompositions de-monstrated aninterest in and a concern for thedaily and annual cycles of the sun.

Probably, the quadripartite compo-

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sition of spindle whorls also indi-cates an interest in the sun and itsmovements. Two-thirds (71 cases)of the spindle whorls in theXaltocan sample are divided intofour or eight parts which mightrefer to the cardinal and inter-car-dinal directions with their solarassociations. The other spindlewhorls either have undivided

design motifs (5 cases), or a dualdivision (4 cases), or a division inthree or six parts (8 cases), or infive parts (2 cases), or in sevenparts (1 case), or in ten or moreparts (9 cases). The spindle whorlswith undivided designs bear animalmotifs (vultures, frogs, the mythicalcipactli, and a plumed serpent). Thespindle whorls with five parts are


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Fig. 3. Spindle whorls with quatripartite designs (drawings by Laura Jordan).

decorated with pentagrams (whatwe would call stars, but in ancientMesoamerica, a circular symbolwas used to represent stars). Thespindle whorls with seven or ten ormore parts bore designs that con-sisted of a series of dots or swirls orflower petals. Spindle whorls withthree or six parts had the samemotifs as spindle whorls with fouror eight parts. It is to these motifsthat we now turn.

The design motifs seem to clusteraccording to four themes: (1) solar

energy, (2) the spatial and tempo-ral order of the universe, (3) thecreation of this order, and (4) cycli-cal or rotary movement.

Flowers constitute one commonmotif, present on 16 of the decorat-ed spindle whorls (Fig. 4a).Flowers have been associated withthe Aztec goddess Xochiquetzal(whose name means flowery quet-zal feather). Xochiquetzal was thegoddess of spring, flowers, love,feminine sexuality and the patronof weavers and embroiderers (Díaz

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Fig. 4. Spindle whorls with flowers, above a simple flower, below a flower adornedwith sun rays (drawings by Laura Jordan).

Cíntora 1990; McCafferty &McCafferty 1999; Lopéz 2005).Thus, we might conclude that thespindle whorl designs werefocused on women’s sexual andreproductive powers.

This interpretation is correct, butprobably too narrow. Flowers hadvery broad symbolic meanings inprehispanic thought. Specifically,flowers referred to the sun, heat,light, fire, and life (Velasco andNagao 2006). Flowers had themany associations because theysymbolized tonalli, the divine ener-gy that sparked life in all livingthings: plants, animals, andhumans (Hill 1992). In defense ofan interpretation of flowers assymbols of tonalli, we might cite themany other spindle whorl designsthat refer to the sun. For example,six spindle whorls are decoratedwith flowers and sun rays (Fig.4b), making a design that resem-bles the glyph ollin, which refersboth to the movement of the sunand to the era of the fifth sun, thepresent creation (Vega Sosa1984:153). Another spindle whorl isdecorated with only sun rays,another with the symbol ihuitl, asymbol of the day, and a third spin-dle whorl is decorated with a four-

petal flower, the Maya glyph k’in,also a symbol of the sun (Fig. 5).Two spindle whorls are decoratedwith a complicated sun disk motif,surrounded by a ring of what mightbe the petals of flowers or feathersof the solar eagle. Two other spin-dle whorls lack the sun disk buthave a ring of petals or feathers(Fig. 6).

A second grouping of motifs isrelated to the spatial and temporalorder of the universe. For example,six spindle whorls are decoratedwith a quincunx motif (Fig. 7a),crossed diagonal lines that con-nected the four inter-cardinalpoints of the universe, the pointsdefined by the rising and setting ofthe sun during the summer andwinter solstices. In eight othercases, two lines cross the centralperforation of the spindle whorl,dividing it into four parts that rep-resent the four quarters of the uni-verse (Fig. 7b).

A third grouping of spindle whorlsrefers to the creation of the uni-verse, of time, and of the sun. Forexample, one spindle whorl pres-ents the opposition of Quetzal-coatl, associated in Aztec mytholo-gy with the movement of the sun,


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and Tezcatlipoca, associated withthe night and the forces of dark-ness. Two spindle whorls are deco-rated with the cipactli symbol, thefirst day of the tonalpohualli, the

260-day ritual almanac (Fig. 8). Onthe day cipactli, the sun began tomove, initiating the sequence ofdays and years (Sahagún 1950-82bk.7, ch.2). Seven other spindle

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Fig. 5. Spindle whorls with sun symbols, above an ihuitl, a day symbol (drawn byLaura Jordan), below a spindle whorl with a k’in, the Maya sun glyph (drawn by

Elizabeth Brumfiel).

Fig. 6. Spindle whorl decorated with possible flower petals or plumes of the solareagle (drawn by Laura Jordan).

whorls are decorated with dots orconcentric circles which mightrepresent the succession of days,that is, daily suns. The number ofdots or circles varies between fourand twelve.

Finally, the most common motif inthe spindle whorls from Xaltocanis the xicalcoliuhqui, the step-fretspiral (Fig. 9). The xicalcoliuhquioccurs on 27 decorated spindlewhorls (31% of the decoratedwhorls).3 In almost all cases, theyoccur in groups of four. Both ZeliaNuttal (1901) and Constanza VegaSosa (1984) suggest that the xical-coliuhqui refers to movement, andthe groupings of four suggest thatthey might have referred to annual

cycle of the sun and its solstices.Perhaps we should accept a verygeneralized interpretation for thexicalcoliuhqui as representing move-ments and cycles of all types,including the rotation of the spin-dle whorl, itself, as it produced itsthread. Both the spiral motif andthe rotating spindle whorl mighthave represented all the cycles ofthe current universe, all the pat-terns of movement and change thatsustained life in all its varied forms.

Discussion

Spindle whorl designs can be inter-preted in a series of ways, somenarrow and concrete, others broadand abstract. For example, there


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Fig. 7. Spindle whorls with four-part divisions, above thel quincunx, below the fourquarters of the universe (drawings by Laura Jordan).

are important associationsbetween flowers, sexuality, and theacts of spinning and weaving(McCafferty & McCafferty 1991;Sullivan 1982). Very likely, thewomen of Xaltocan were aware ofthese associations and the act ofspinning with spindle whorls dec-orated with flowers did evokereflections on their sexuality.Flowers were also connected withan array of symbols representingtonalli, divine energy (Hill 1992;Taube 2006). Currently, some resi-dents of traditional Mesoamericancommunities believe that tonalli isan essential ingredient of success-ful craft production. They believe

that this energy is the active agentin completing several productstransformed by heat, includingfired ceramics, slaked lime, and theproper maturation of an in uterofetus (Monaghan 2001). In addi-tion, tonalli inspires and energizescraft producers to attain high levelsof artistic achievement. For exam-ple, contemporary Huicholweavers, who are linguisticallyrelated to the Aztecs, offer sacri-fices to the sun in order to acquirethe force that allows them to pro-duce high-quality textiles(Schaefer 2002).

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Fig. 8. Spindle whorl with a cipactli, thefirst day of the ritual almanac (after

Enciso 1971:19).Fig. 9. Spindle whorl with the xicalcoli-uhqui, step-fret spiral with rectangular

sides, a symbol of cyclical movement(drawn by Laura Jordan).

At the most abstract level, spindlewhorls referred to the energy thatdrove the regular cycles of the uni-verse, particularly the sun’s cycleswhich showered the earth withtonalli and defined the segments oftime and space (Gossen 1974:22).We have seen that many designs onspindle whorls were related toaspects of the sun and its energy;the popularity of these themes sug-gests that the women of Xaltocanwere interested not only in domes-tic activities but also in abstractand large scale cosmological con-cepts. In addition, the conventionalmotifs which appear on spindlewhorls (for example the xicalcoli-uhque, the ihuitl, the k’in, the quin-cunx) duplicate many that arefound in other parts ofMesoamerica. This indicates thatthe women of Xaltocan possessedsubstantial knowledge of Meso-america’s symbolic vocabulary.

It is unlikely that the women whoused the spindle whorls that wefind in Xaltocan were actually theones who produced them becausewe have recovered very few moldsfor spindle whorls at the site.4

Nevertheless, the women ofXaltocan may have determinedspindle whorl design in an indirect

way through their purchases ofspindle whorls with one design oranother, based on their knowledgeof the meaning of the various sym-bols.

We don’t expect prehispanicwomen to have such cosmologicalinterests. Western traditionassumes that women’s thought andaction is focused on issues of homeand reproduction, that is, thedomestic sphere. Evidently, ourWestern expectations are mistak-en with respect to the pre-Aztecwomen of Xaltocan. These cosmo-logical interests were probablynourished by their reliance uponthe 260-day ritual almanac formany aspects of daily life: to dis-cern the fate of newborn infants, todiagnose the causes and prognosesof disease, and to fix the date ofweddings, trade expeditions, andother household ventures. Effortsto cope with uncertainty promptedconsultations with ritual almanacs,which linked household memberswith cosmic processes (Brumfiel2004, 2007). Since these sameforces determined the outcomes ofboth the household and stateaffairs, it is unlikely that the Aztecsregarded the domestic and publicspheres as fundamentally distinct.


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From the Home to the State

Many artistic conventions thatappear on the spindle whorls ofpre-Aztec Xaltocan are duplicatedon sculptures later produced underthe patronage of the Aztec state.This suggests that women were animportant source of the symbolsand ideology used by the Aztecstate to construct its legitimacy.

The Aztec state sponsored twotypes of circular sculptures. Thesimpler of the two was the ring ofthe ball court, the tlachtemalácatl(Matos 2002). Its circular formduplicates the circular form ofspindle whorls. Like the centralperforation in a spindle whorl, theball court ring had a central perfo-ration through which the rubberball passed to score a goal. A tenonon the edge of the ring permittedits suspension from the wall of theball court. Among the survivingball court rings, one is carved withthe motif of an eight-petal flowerwhich more or less duplicates on agrand scale the spindle whorlswith flowers that we see inXaltocan. Another bears a series of16 dots surrounding its centralhole. Others are engraved with sunrays. Since the Mesoamerican ball-

game had sacred meanings linkedto life and death, the sky and theunderworld, the presence of celes-tial and solar motifs on these ringsis not surprising. What is surpris-ing are the similar motifs and com-position shared by the ballgamerings and the spindle whorls.

Another form of sculpture pro-duced under the patronage of theAztec state was the temalacatl, amonumental sculpture that sup-ported an enemy warrior duringthe gladiatorial sacrifice (Matos &Solís 2004). In some cases, the cen-ter of the sacrificial stone was per-forated to permit the passage of acord used to tie the captive to thestone during his ritual battle. Inother cases, the sacrificial stonehad a central hollow to collect theblood of the sacrificial victim afterhis battle. The central perforationor hollow of the sacrificial stonewas analogous to the central perfo-ration of a spindle whorl. Theupper face of the sacrificial stonewas engraved with the sun disk, amulti-part composition (Fig. 10).Around the central hole, the sacri-ficial stone bore several concentriccircles, with rows of dots that sym-bolized the succession of days.Outside the concentric circles,

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eight solar rays marked the cardi-nal and inter-cardinal directions.Outside of this, engraved eagleplumes adorned the border.

The central perforations, rows ofdots, sun rays, and eagle plumes areall found on spindle whorls. Theonly motif that is present on thesesculptures and ball court rings that

does not appear on spindle whorlsis the handles of blood-letters usedin self-sacrifice (Matos & Solís2004). The handles of blood-lettersare positioned between the solarrays of the cardinal directions.

The solar disk was also present onthe cuauhxicalli, stone bowls thatwere receptacles for the hearts ofsacrificed captives. The solar diskalso appeared ceremonial seats andsculptures of the xiuhmolpilli, thebundle of 52 sticks that commemo-rated the completion of a 52 yearcalendrical cycle (Matos & Solís2004). All these objects playedimportant roles in ritual activitiesthat communicated the themes ofstate ideology, that is, cosmicstruggle, war, sacrifice, and imperi-al expansion.

Thus, the official art of the Aztecstate shared several motifs andrules of composition with the spin-dle whorls of Xaltocan, but thespindle whorls are older than allthe Aztec sculptures. Some of thespindle whorls in our sample ante-date the Aztec monuments by fourcenturies. Therefore, we have toconsider the possibility that sunsymbolism and some related con-cepts were developed by


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Fig. 10. Sun disks, above a spindle whorlfrom Early Postclassic Xaltocan (drawnby Elizabeth Brumfiel), below the SunDisk of Yale University (after Alcina,León-Portilla & Matos 1992:311).

Postclassic women and laterappropriated by the Aztec rulers.This is not supposed to happen.

Since the time of Robert Redfield,anthropologists have argued thatideas and ideology filter down fromthe upper to the lower classes.Redfield (1940) believed that aGreat Tradition and a LittleTradition existed in agrarian classsocieties, and he envisioned ideasflowing from the Great Traditionof the urban elite toward the LittleTradition of the rural peasants.But, with regard to another agrari-an state on the island ofMadagascar, Susan Kus and VictorRaharijaona (2000) argue that thestate sometimes finds it useful toappropriate ideas from the familyand the home. By appropriatinghousehold symbols, state rulers canhope to transfer to themselves thedeep sentiments and familiar ideasof domestic life. In this way, Kusand Raharijaona suggest, rulersstrengthen their legitimacy.

Kus and Raharijaona do not con-sider the difficulties of appropriat-ing the already familiar symbols ofeveryday life, but such difficultiesmight be anticipated. The processmight be especially difficult when

the symbols have to be regendered,say from female-associated spindlewhorls to male-associated warfare.How was this accomplished?Marie Louise Stig Sørensen (2000)observes that performances are thekey to endowing material objectswith cultural meaning. The repeti-tive association of objects withfemales or males, acting out narra-tives of female or male action, sup-plies the context for engenderingobjects.

The two sculptural forms we havejust examined, ball-court rings andsacrificial stones, were the centerof attention in just such perform-ances. The ball game featured twoopposing teams of male warriors(the forces of light and darkness)battling for control over the ball (asymbolic sun), a metaphoricreprise of the battle for a life-sus-taining cosmos. The game attractedcrowds, betting, and intense publicinterest. The gladiatorial sacrificewas a contest between an enemycaptive and an Aztec warrior, thelatter fighting with a sword edgedwith obsidian blades and the for-mer fighting with a sword edgedwith feathers. Again, this was ametaphoric battle between malewarriors, but in this case the out-

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come was predestined, as was thedestiny of the Aztec people, to tri-umph as imperial rulers and pro-tectors of cosmic order. So throughextravaganzas featuring men inmetaphoric battles, male warriorsbecame associated with the sun,replacing the solar associations ofwomen, ritual almanacs and house-hold well-being.

As if to confirm the successfulregendering of solar symbolism asmale, the spindle whorls fromAztec deposits at Xaltocan areundecorated. But far from being apassive concession to the power ofstate ideology, this might have con-stituted an act of resistance, aneffort to withhold divine energyfrom tribute cloth intended forimperial coffers.

Conclusion

The case of Aztec Mexico seems toconform to the model provided byKus and Raharijaona. Solar sym-bolism, originating in householdcontexts in the familiar act of spin-ning, was transformed into stateart. The small scale of the spindlewhorl with its intimate symbolicidiom was magnified on monumen-tal sculpture in order to proclaim

the necessity of war and sacrifice,which resulted in conquest, trib-ute, and the perpetuation of classdivisions. We see in the case ofPostclassic Mexico that activitiesdominated by state elites were jus-tified with symbols and ideas root-ed in the daily routines of women.There was a contradiction in thisprocess: to represent state ideolo-gy, the symbols had to change theirmeaning, but at the same time,their strength was augmented bythe lingering associations and sen-timents of their household roots.

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Notes

1 In accord with Western science, theAztecs perceived that entropy is thatnatural state of things, and orderrequires energy.2 Seventy-one of these decorated spin-dle whorls (74%) are large, that is,they weigh 20 g or more and havediameters of at least 38 mm. Theywould have been used for magueyfibers. Twenty-five of the decoratedspindle whorls (26%) are small, thatis, they weigh 16 g or less, with diame-ters of 34 mm or less. They would havebeen used for cotton.3 Zelia Nuttal (1901) noted the pres-ence of two types of step-fret spirals inancient Mexico, spirals with roundsides and spirals with straight sides.She believed that the spirals withround sides were associated with theabove, with moving air and water,while spirals with straight sides wereassociated with the earth, night, anddarkness. Vega Sosa (1984) acceptsthis interpretation but suggests thatboth types of spirals were related tothe movement of the sun: the day-time sun in the case of spirals withround sides and the night-time sun(passing through the bowels of the

earth) in the case of spirals withstraight sides. But this interpretationis not entirely consistent with thecharacteristics of the motif as it occurson the Xaltocan spindle whorls. Onthese spindle whorls, all the spiralshave straight sides, that is, there is noalteration of day and night signaled byspirals with round sides and spiralswith straight sides.4 In contrast, Nichols et al. (2000)report a concentration of almost 100molds for large spindle whorls in alimited area of Otumba, a LatePostclassic site in the northeast cornerof the Valley of Mexico. In Otumba,the molds were associated with basaltscrapers used to extract maguey fibersfrom fleshy leaves, which implies thatthose who produced the spindlewhorls also participated in the prepa-ration of the maguey fibers, includingspinning the fibers. In addition a com-plete assemblage of domestic ceramicswas found in this area, suggesting thatthe production of spindle whorls andspinning maguey fibers occurred in ahousehold setting. Thus, it is probablethat the women who lived in thesedomestic units participated in thedesign of the spindle whorls.


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Documents

SOLAR DISKS AND SOLAR CYCLES: SPINDLE WHORLS … · apropiaron del simbolismo de las unidades domésticas en su intento de ... 201, bk. 6, ch.37). And a woman’s weaving equip-ment