Oxtotitlán is a natural
rock shelter
A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost alway ...
and
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
in
Chilapa de Álvarez
Chilapa de Álvarez, informally known as Chilapa, is a town located in the Chilapa de Álvarez Municipality under the Mexican state of Guerrero. The town is located approximately 54 kilometers east of the state capital Chilpancingo. Chilapa's fi ...
,
Mexican state
The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...
of
Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
that contains
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
s linked to the
Olmec
The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
motifs and
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
. Along with the nearby
Juxtlahuaca
Juxtlahuaca is a cave and archaeological site in the Mexican state of Guerrero containing murals linked to the Olmec motifs and iconography. Along with the nearby Oxtotitlán cave, Juxtlahuaca walls contain the earliest sophisticated painted art ...
cave, the Oxtotitlán rock paintings represent the "earliest sophisticated painted art known in
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
",
thus far. Unlike Juxtlahuaca, however, the Oxtotitlán paintings are not deep in a cave system but rather occupy two shallow grottos on a cliff face.
The paintings have been variously dated to perhap
900years
BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
.
It is not known what group or society painted them. It is also not known how Olmec-influenced art came to be painted hundreds of kilometers (or miles) from the
Olmec heartland
The Olmec heartland is the southern portion of Mexico's Gulf Coast region between the Tuxtla mountains and the Olmec archaeological site of La Venta, extending roughly 80 km (50 mi) inland from the Gulf of Mexico coastline at its deepest. It i ...
, although caves are prominent on many Olmec-style monuments, including
La Venta Altars 4 and 5.
Description
The Paintings cover an area of about There is restoration work in 10 walls, it is expected to complete scientific investigation and establish the origin of the paints used in the designs.
The best-known samples of Oxtotitlán paintings are those part of the core group. These are two
Polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
murals, one of which represent a sitting character on a mythological Olmec serpent, wearing a mask, according to Grove, could be a representation of an
Owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
. The other mural of the central group has been severely damaged by time and the environment, making it difficult to identify. Internal murals are monochrome (black and white), or bi-chromos, combining elements of red and black.
Unlike Juxtlahuaca, it is possible that Oxtotitlán contained a housing area, because ceramic materials have been found in the vicinity of the Quiotepec Hill.
Distribution
The paintings are distributed in three areas with a separate type of painting assigned to each area.
North grotto
The paintings are smaller, were created using black pigment, and feature
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s,
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
s, and
legendary creature
A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses ...
s.
South grotto
The paintings here, by contrast, are in red and generally feature geometric designs.
Central grotto
Between the north and south grottos are two large polychrome murals, over the cave entrance.
The Murals
Mural 1
This Mural is situated above the mouth to the south grotto, and portrays what is most likely a ruler seated upon a throne similar to
La Venta
La Venta is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization located in the present-day Mexican state of Tabasco. Some of the artifacts have been moved to the museum "Parque - Museo de La Venta", which is in nearby Villahermosa, t ...
's
Altar 4 or 5. The eyes of a primal cave monster, showing Olmec iconic crossed-bars, can be seen on the top edge of the throne (note that the ruler is also wearing a crossed-bars
pectoral
Pectoral may refer to:
* The chest region and anything relating to it.
* Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest
* a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget
* Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt
* Pectorali ...
, perhaps linking him directly with the monster).
The ruler, painted in vibrant reds, greens, and browns, is wearing a bird mask, generally identified as that of an owl,
as well as a green-feathered costume. Seated on the throne, his left leg is tucked underneath him while the right dangles down, similar to a pose found on the fragmentary
Laguna de los Cerros
Laguna de los Cerros is a little-excavated Olmec and Classical era archaeological site, located in the vicinity of Corral Nuevo, within the municipality of Acayucan, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, in the southern foothills of the Tuxtla Mountai ...
Monument 9.
Mural 2
This Mural, at , is even larger than Mural 1 but this exposed painting has been largely worn away over the intervening millennia and is now almost impossible to recognize.
It seems to picture a human in jaguar clothing or otherwise associated with a jaguar.
Also of particular note is the north grotto's "most striking creation", Painting 1-D, which features an
ithyphallic man standing behind what appears to be a rearing jaguar. The man is painted in black outline, with a headdress. His exaggerated genitals that point to the jaguar have led to speculation that this is a scene of a man copulating with a jaguar, but more likely the jaguar is the ruler's spiritual co-essence, later known in Classic Maya culture as a ''
way
Way may refer to:
Paths
* a road, route, path or pathway, including long-distance paths.
* a straight rail or track on a machine tool, (such as that on the bed of a lathe) on which part of the machine slides
* Ways, large slipway in shipbuildin ...
'' spirit.
Preservation and visitation
In the 30 years following its re-discovery, the site was the object of graffiti and poor maintenance. This was addressed in the 2002 by the restoration work of Sandra Cruz, under the auspices of the National Coordination of Conservation of the Cultural Patrimony,
INAH-Churubusco.
[Conaculta 2004]
Although the paintings can still be viewed, visitors must first register with the local caretakers in the nearby village of Acatlán.
See also
*
Juxtlahuaca
Juxtlahuaca is a cave and archaeological site in the Mexican state of Guerrero containing murals linked to the Olmec motifs and iconography. Along with the nearby Oxtotitlán cave, Juxtlahuaca walls contain the earliest sophisticated painted art ...
*
List of caves in Mexico
This is a list of caves in Mexico (not just archaeological):
Archaic era
* Guila Naquitz Cave (Oaxaca, c.8000-6700BC)
* Nogales Cave (Tamaulipas, c. 5000-3000 BC)
* Coxcatlan Cave (Tehuacan Valley, Puebla, 5000-3400 BC)
* La Perra Cave (Ta ...
*
Maya cave sites
Mayan cave sites are associated with the Mayan civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Beliefs and observances connected with these cave sites persist among some contemporary Mayan communities. Many of the Mayan caves served religious purposes. ...
Notes
References
* Coe, M.D. (2002); ''Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs'' London: Thames and Hudson.
* Diehl, Richard A. (2004) ''The Olmecs: America's First Civilization'', Thames & Hudson, London.
* Grove, David C. (2000) "Caves of Guerrero (Guerrero, Mexico)", in ''Archaeology of Ancient Mexico & Central America: an Encyclopedia'', ed. Evans, Susan; Thames and Hudson, London.
* Grove, David (2007
"The Middle Preclassic Period Paintings of Oxtotitlan, Guerrero"FAMSIFoundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies Inc., accessed April 2007.
* Kubler, George (1990) ''The Art and Architecture of Ancient America'', Yale University Press.
External links
Drawing of Mural 1.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxtotitlan
Cave sites in Mesoamerican archaeology
Mesoamerican sites
Archaeological sites in Mexico
Olmec sites
Archaeological sites in Guerrero
Rock shelters