Greenstone was used mainly for individual ornaments but also for ritual objects such as cones, figurines, headdress-like plaques called “resplandores,” and other types of plaques. They are mainly concentrated in the pyramid’s central zone.
Different qualities of greenstone were used to produce different types of objects. According to a preliminary microscopic analysis by Margaret Turner (1991, personal communication), Teotihuacanos deliberately employed different qualities of this material. This was indicated by quantitative data used to sort the objects by types, and Turner’s preliminary identification of jadeite or serpentine, and was later supported by petrographic analyses by INAH’s laboratory, which identified fuchsita in addition to jadeite and serpentine, used for the production of offerings. In the following section, my interpretation of general quantitative data, measured by Oralia Cabrera (1995), is provided in light of burial contexts and iconographic information.
Greenstone beads
A total of 538 greenstone beads was found with the burials during the FSP excavations in the 1980s and these were distributed in Graves 1, 5, 13, 14, and 203. In addition, 400 beads were found at the top of the pyramid (Marquina 1922) and, in 1988-89, 13 in the fill of the post-Teotihuacan layers on the pyramid’s east side (which may have fallen from a burial or caches atop the pyramid) and 79 in caches in front of the staircase (Perez 1939). The majority were recovered from Graves 14 and 13. They are approximately spherical, with single, central holes; shapes are often irregular, and sizes vary widely (0.4-1.9 cm in diameter). Only quantitative data - diameter, thickness, and weight - are used here.
In general, beads in the central grave show greater variation among themselves than do those of Grave 13. Almost all beads from Grave 13 (98 percent of 330 beads) are larger than 1.64 cm (in the sum of diameter and thickness), whereas the central grave included a larger number (226 of 330: 68 percent) of beads smaller than 1.64 cm (in the sum of diameter and thickness). In addition, the beads from Grave 13 tend to be thicker than those from Grave 14. These data clearly indicate differences between beads in Grave 13 and those in Grave 14, which may reflect differences in use, social status of individuals with whom they were associated, or production contexts (craftsman, origin of material, etc.).
The distribution of beads in disturbed layers of the burials (Graves 12 and 13) did not show clear patterning because of looting. However, the distribution of beads in Grave 14 by diameter indicates some patterning (Fig. 63). A majority were laid down in clusters, with high concentrations found around the abdominal region of individual 14-F, the waist of 14-IN, and the right upper arm of 14-L (locational data do not indicate that they were used as necklaces for these individuals); several small clusters were also detected in the central and southwestern areas. These objects were part of offering clusters.
Besides those forming clusters, beads were scattered individually and apparently irregularly throughout a wide area of the grave, several seeming to have been associated with the thorax region of individuals: individuals 14-E, F, H, I, J, K, L, N, IN, O, P (and/or Q), R, and S each had one bead near their chests or necks.9 Plotting beads by diameter revealed that larger beads (1.7-2.3 cm) tended to have been selected for this purpose, while smaller beads (0.8-1.7 cm) were used for the clusters.
In Graves 1, 203, and 13-F, greenstone beads formed necklaces of personal ornament, contrasting with the central grave, in which no individuals wore bead necklaces. There, beads were used for other purposes. Smaller clusters had most likely been used as necklaces for greenstone figurines.
Individual beads found around the thorax region seem to have been located originally on the chests. It is even possible that some were put in the mouths of the dead, since the bead-in-mouth custom was widely diffused in Mesoamerica, and similar cases have been reported from Teotihuacan (Noguera and Leonard 1957: 8; Serrano 1993: 112). More than thirteen centuries after the burials at Teotihua-can, Spanish chronicles described this custom and interpreted beads in the mouths of the deceased as representing their soul (Sahagfin 1978: bk. 3: 45). Individuals
Fig. 63 Spatial distribution of greenstone beads by diameter: 314 of 330 pieces in total from Grave 14 were geocoded and plotted. GIS map: author.
In Graves 1 and 203 may have held one bead on their chests or in their mouths separately from twenty other beads. In Teotihuacan iconography, only anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures wearing elaborate costumes wore greenstone bead necklaces, as if the necklaces were an emblem of high social status.
Greenstone earspools
A total of 139 earspools was found in Graves 1, 13, 14, and 203, along with some whole and fragmented examples in the looters’ tunnel. Excavations indicate that earspools had been deposited in Grave 13 and were later removed. Twenty-four earspools were also discovered with burials at the top of the pyramid and more than eight in caches in front of it.
All greenstone earspools had a relatively standardized form but differed greatly in size (1.4-5.3 cm in diameter). Their circular form is like those worn by anthropomorphic figures in murals and on pottery (Figs. 18c, 20a-b, 21a-f, and 29b-c). Individual graves (Graves 1 and 203), symmetrically aligned to the pyramid’s east-west axis, contained the same type of earspool. Two exceptionally large earspools were found in Grave 13 in association with the one individual undiscovered by looters, and one fragment in the disturbed layer of Grave 12 was even larger, suggesting that Graves 13 and 12 contained individuals who merited distinction in terms of their ornament associations. Other earspools in the disturbed layers were small, similar to those in the central grave.
The central grave yielded 123 earspools. The spatial distribution map (Fig. 64) shows that individuals 14-E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, N, IN, O, P, Q, R, and S, approximately corresponding to those holding greenstone beads on their chests, each apparently wore a pair of earspools, while the others apparently did not.10 Other earspools were dispersed, in no apparent association with individuals. A large concentration of earspools was discovered under the left upper arm of individual 14-F, and others were scattered throughout the southwestern part of the grave. Some ear-spools seem to have been associated with greenstone figurines, as I will discuss in the final section.
As we have seen, earspools found at the FSP are common to Teotihuacan’s archaeological record and its iconography, and two similar types have been found in Grave 21 at La Ventilla B in Teotihuacan (Rattray 1992: pl. IV). More greenstone earspools including examplars similar to those in Grave 13 were recently found at the Moon Pyramid. Earspools were used in sets with other greenstone ornaments as regalia for elites, as depicted in anthropomorphic representations.
Greenstone nose pendants
Greenstone nose pendants were part of ornament sets associated with select individuals in the FSP burial complex: eighteen were found in the central grave (Grave 14); two were discovered in the looted pit of Grave 13; pendants were also found on individuals in Graves 1 and 203, which are symmetrically aligned with the pyramid’s east-west axis; and at least two pendants were found at the pyramid’s top (Marquina 1922: vol. 1, 158-61) .
Fig. 64 Spatial distribution of earspools by diameter: 117 of 123 earspools from Grave 14 were geocoded. GIS map: author.
Nose pendants were classified by form into two basic types (Fig. 65), one the so-called “butterfly” type (type A), and the other (type B) a rectangular plaque with a distinctive bifurcated, tongue-like projection below it and distinguished from type A by three concentric circles carved on the frontal surface of its upper section. The
Fig. 65 Two types of greenstone nose pendant: type A (two upper pieces) and type B (others). Photo: author.
Majority of nose pendants is type A and can be subdivided into additional groups mainly by size. Only two nearly identical nose pendants from Grave 13 were type B.
Eighteen nose pendants, all of type A, were discovered scattered throughout Grave 14 and lacked clear associations with specific individuals. However, the distribution map (Fig. 66) suggests that fourteen of the eighteen were originally attached to individuals 14-E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, N, IN, O, P, R, and S, since each was found within a 25 cm radius of these individuals’ noses. Four pendants were found too far from individuals to be confidently assigned to them. Persons nearest these pieces, who have not been assigned a nose pendant, are 14-B, Q, and M; the distances
Fig. 66 Spatial distribution of all nose pendants (18 pieces) from Grave 14 plotted by weight. Shaded bodies are those who are thought to have had a nose pendant attached. GIS map: author.
Between the pendants and noses of these reconstructed bodies are 40, 60, 55, and 70 cm, respectively (the last two distances are both from M). One piece, a single pendant of exceptionally small size with a distinctly different form, does not seem to have been attached to the individual nearest to it (14-M). Any direct association of the other three with individuals is unclear. However, ornament combinations suggest that individual 14-Q, wearing earspools and one bead, might also have had a nose pendant, although the spatial deviation is large and no immediately reasonable explanation for it can be offered. Individuals 14-M and B also could not be dismissed as individuals who wore the regalia set, since they might have been ornamented with earspools and one bead (location unknown). In brief, at least fifteen of twenty individuals in the central grave originally had type A nose pendants.
Type A nose pendants were also found attached to individuals of Graves 1 and 203. In these single graves, the excavation contexts indicate that the pendants, together with two earspools and twenty-one beads for each individual, were part of their ornaments. This suggests that Graves 1 and 203 were directly associated with the central grave rather than with the nearby graves with which they formed a subset.
Type B nose pendants were found only in Grave 13. One piece was attached to the individual in an undisturbed layer; another was discovered on the floor of the pit within the looters’ layer.
Greenstone nose pendants of type B apparently have not been found before. In contrast, the “butterfly” form has been found in Early Tlamimilolpa Grave 21 in the residential compound called La Ventilla (Rattray 1992: 9; Rattray and Ruiz 1980), discovered with accompanying ornaments including greenstone beads, earspools, and pyrite/slate disks. This later-period burial may have been related to the FSP burial complex, since such analogies in morphologies of objects and their combination are unusual in Teotihuacan burials. The analogies may reflect ritual, social, or political affiliation with those wearing the same types of greenstone objects at the FSP, imply technological continuity in certain groups or the same production source, or suggest that offerings at the FSP were retrieved and buried again at La Ventilla. One nose pendant of type A was also found together with greenstone beads in association with a sacrificed individual in the Moon Pyramid, suggesting that this ornament set was used in other graves at major monuments.
The meanings of these two types of nose pendants are unclear. In Teotihuacan iconography, representations of butterflies, whose morphology is similar to type A nose pendants, are abundant, especially in incense burner complexes (Berlo 1984). In fact, a censer workshop was found in an area adjacent to the Ciudadela, suggesting that butterfly symbolism in Teotihuacan was linked to the Ciudadela (Mtinera 1985; Sugiyama 1998a). Butterfly images in Teotihuacan have been referred to as the patron deity of merchants (von Winning 1987), as the predecessor of the Aztec Xochipilli (Sejourne 1961), as a notational sign (Langley 1986: 240), and as a symbol of soul, death, and warfare (Berlo 1983, 1984: 63-65). The mortuary and martial contexts in which the nose pendants were discovered at the FSP may support the identification of type A nose pendants with butterflies as a symbol of dead soldiers; however, this identification presents a problem, in that no representations identical to type A nose pendants have been found in the wide variety of butterfly images at Teotihuacan.
Oralia Cabrera (1995) pointed out that type A nose pendants may represent the end portion of a rattlesnake’s rattle. Morphologically, a type A nose pendant is more similar to a rattle than to a butterfly in Teotihuacan iconography. Moreover, the contexts in which type A nose pendants were used strongly support Cabrera’s idea since they were found at the pyramid dedicated to the Feathered Serpent. If the nose pendant was used as an identification element, individuals found with it would have been soldiers affiliated with the Feathered Serpent. In fact, the eighteen individuals who wore it, discovered at the pyramid’s center with sumptuous offerings, would have been elite soldiers who played paramount roles: sacrificed in honor of the Feathered Serpent for the ideological and political foundation of the state.
Nose pendants similar to type B appear on the faces of individuals wearing elaborate costumes and ornaments in Teotihuacan iconography (Fig. 67a); they are also similar to those on Teotihuacan masks in censer complexes, worn as facial ornaments. Some of these anthropomorphic figures were identified as Tlaloc (Caso 1967a: 252) and, recently, as the Great Goddess (Pasztory 1988). Most intriguing are similar nose pendants below the sculptured heads of the Primordial Crocodile (Fig. 29a). The Primordial Crocodile is represented in the form of a headdress, probably with cosmological and calendrical meanings. Headdresses combined with nose pendants are found on the bodies of the Feathered Serpent, as if this mythical entity carries a regalia set of authority as a time bearer. In Peten Maya sites, nose pendants similar to types A and B, apparently introduced from Teotihuacan, were worn by warrior-kings (Fig. 67b and c); however, the exact form, with a bifurcated tongue-like projection in its lower section, has not been identified in any of these cases.
Although type B nose pendants were found only in Grave 13, it appears there were originally more than two of the same type in the grave. If this looted grave once contained a king’s body, as proposed by Cowgill (1992a: 106), it is unlikely that nose pendants were used only by the king. If Grave 13 contained another sacrificial complex, as suggested by its burial pattern (similar to Grave 14), the type B nose pendants would have been used to identify the group sacrificed and buried there. Types A and B nose pendants, contrasting with each other, may have been identification codes of sacrificial victims belonging to two different ritual and/or political affiliations. Implications are discussed in Chapter 8.
Greenstone anthropomorphic figurines
Greenstone figurines have been found in only a few graves. Thirty-five were concentrated in the central grave (Grave 14), and at least six were uncovered in front of the FSP (Perez 1939; Rubin de la Borbolla 1947; Cowgill and Cabrera 1991). Besides these body figurines, six small greenstone anthropomorphic heads, perhaps used as pendants, were uncovered at the top of the pyramid (Marquina 1922: vol. 1, 158-61). Here, only objects found in Grave 14 are discussed, since data about the objects discovered in previous excavations are not available.
Fig. 67 Representations of greenstone nose pendants. Drawing: Kumiko Sugiyama. a Mural painting, “Green Tlaloc” at Tetitla compound (from Berrin and Pasztory 1993: 49); b Two human heads wearing type A nose pendants, sculptured on a stela called “ballgame marker” in Tikal, whose associated architecture and iconography indicate Teotihuacan influence (from Laporte and Fialko 1990: 53); c Soldier wearing Teotihuacan-influenced ornaments, including a type B nose pendant. Stela from Yaxha, Maya (from Schele and Grube 1994: 91).
A great variety of figurines was found in the central grave (Fig. 68). Figurines in various sizes, forms, and body proportions, carved in different techniques and elaborateness, were uncovered from the central and southwestern parts of the grave; they were apparently scattered on the bodies of the sacrificed victims. Their typological differences and similarities may have had ritual significance and/or social
Fig. 68 Greenstone figurines of types A1, A2, A3, B, C1, C2, D, E, F, G, H1, and H2 (from the upper left to the lower right). Photo: author.
Implications; the differences also would have reflected variables not directly related to the mortuary program such as temporal variation in production or different craftsmen. Their variety may even indicate that each piece represented a specific individual or group. Because of this complexity, the figurines were classified according to detailed features, and variation in location was related to morphological differentiation. The underlying proposition is that, if certain patterns of spatial distribution or correlation with other objects are observed, intentionality of meanings in the wide variety throughout the mortuary program is more specifically suggested, whereas random distribution may indicate no deliberateness to the spatial patterns.
I took into account both quantitative data and presence of ornaments for classification of figurines. Plots of height and width indicated two basic groups, subdivided by headdress, earspool, pendant, maxtlatl (loincloth), inlaid teeth, groove on back, and other features. The resulting classification indicates that figurine size, and perhaps quality of material, are correlated with these variables. Teotihuacanos seem to have selected large pieces of greenstone to make figurines of special types (principally types C and D), while small, thin pieces were used for type A figurines.
Type A figurines (Fig. 68) are distinguished from other types by the presence of a headdress, necklace (with one exception), maxtlatl, and by a flat back with grooved lines, of a standardized size. Moreover, this group is distinguished by a higher quality of greenstone (Turner 1991, personal communication), and further subdivided into A1, A2, and A3 types. Three examples of type A1 figurines, forming a group of medium weight, have one hole on each side of the head for earspools; two figurines of type A2 do not have the holes for earspools, and are the heaviest of this group. One type A3 example, the only piece in this group without a pendant on the chest or grooved lines on its back surface, has a channel instead of holes for attaching earspools; its body is slimmer than the others in this collection, and it weighs the least.
Type B figurines are represented by two examples, each with a helmet-like ornament on the head. The back sides of the bodies have convex smooth surfaces. Type C figurines are characterized by large, heavy bodies with standardized proportions and grooved extremities. One channel on the back of the neck, possibly used to attach a “resplandor” (see below), makes these figurines distinct from other groups, and more inlay was found in this group. Two additional subgroups can be formed by the presence of head treatment. The four type C1 figurines do not have any special head treatment, while C2 figurines have horn-like objects or line grooves as head ornaments.
One figurine, distinguished from the others by its unique facial and body form, was classified as type D. It is the largest and heaviest of the collection and has a carved line on the top of the head, like typical Teotihuacan ceramic human figurines. Type E figurines are characterized by the high quality of their pure green jadeite, finely polished surfaces, and a different headdress. This figurine is not three-dimensional but is a thin, flat plaque cut in human form, with grooves representing parts of the body. Type F figurines are distinguished by earspools and maxtlatl.
Type G consists of one example, with its arms crossed over the chest, two holes representing eyes, and two more holes on its lateral sides, presumably for the attachment of earspools. On its head are three lines, possibly representing a head ornament. Type H figurines have few distinguishing characteristics, with none of the previously listed features and no inlay, but with distinctive diagonal lines delineating nose and cheek areas. They were tentatively subdivided simply by size and weight: H1 types are more than 4 cm in height, 1.85 cm in width, and 6 g in weight; H2 figurines measure less than these dimensions and are more crudely made than any of the other groups.
Contrary to expectations, a plot of these figurines by type (Fig. 69) does not reveal any special patterning among them or clear indication of their association with individuals. Rather, it indicates a wide, irregular dispersion of same-type figurines. This apparently unpatterned distribution is discussed later in connection with other offerings.
In Teotihuacan iconography, anthropomorphic figurines are seldom depicted, although small zoomorphic creatures were often shown, especially in association with water-related symbols and emerging from spiral and bivalve shells. Only a few cases of an apparent figurine head are known in Teotihuacan murals. In a Tetitla mural,
Fig. 69 Spatial distribution of all greenstone figurines from Grave 14: 35 complete pieces were plotted by type. GIS map: author.
The so-called “Green Tlaloc” (Fig. 67), two greenstone figurine heads are evidently shown with other kinds of offerings in the panels falling from the hands of anthropomorphic figures wearing type B nose pendants. Possible meanings are discussed in the section on offering associations.
Greenstone “resplandores”
Although there are significant differences in size, the forms of greenstone “resplandores” are fairly uniform, and distinguishing morphological features are considered minimal (Fig. 70); only size was taken into account to plot their spatial distribution (Fig. 71). The plots revealed that all large resplandores were concentrated in a small
Fig. 70 Greenstone “resplandores” of various sizes found at the FSP. Photo: author.
Area under the left upper arm of individual 14-F; several apparently formed part of offering clusters.
Although resplandores evidently had been attached to the figurines (Rubin de la Borbolla 1947; Cowgill and Cabrera 1991), what they represent is unknown. Their form is similar to a certain type of Teotihuacan headdress, and they had been attached on the back sides of figurine heads as if they were headdresses. However, resplandores were found with type A figurines which already wore headdresses, and their size was usually too large for a headdress. Taken together, they could have comprised a headdress complex of multilayered components. Their silhouette is similar to those of some headdresses associated with the Feathered Serpent, including the headdress worn by the Primordial Crocodile on the facades of the FSP (Chapter 4; Fig. 25a). Representations of headdresses which Langley (1986: 114) called the Feathered Headdress symbol, including the year-sign headdress, have a structure similar to the resplandor form. Therefore, resplandores might have had calendrical significance, as well as the ritual meaning of a bearer/burden that headdresses often represented in Teotihuacan (Lopez etal. 1991: 102-3). Small, simple figurines without headdresses also carry large resplandores that apparently represented a burden borne on their backs.
Greenstone cones
Eighteen cones (Fig. 72) were found in a specific area of Grave 14: only under the left upper arm of individual 14-F, a location that suggests that all were associated with this individual. However, they may also have been parts of general offerings put over the bodies of several individuals in the central part of the grave.
Fig. 71 Spatial distribution of greenstone “resplandores” from Grave 14 by size: the 37 of 38 were plotted by sum (cm) of height, width, and thickness. One piece found between two individuals, 14-I and 14-L, was not geocoded. Large “resplandores” were apparently concentrated on the upper body of individual 14-F. GIS map: author.
Fig. 72 Greenstone cones found in Grave 14. Photo: author.
They are homogeneous in material, form, and incised surface motif, except for one extremely small cone without incisions. Seventeen of the eighteen cones are decorated similarly, with triangle motifs in a row along the bottom edges of their sloped exterior surfaces. All surfaces of these cones are well polished except for the bottoms, and the summits are sharply pointed. Size of the cones and the number of triangle designs (ranging from seven to nine) vary from one to another. Based on these minor differences, the eighteen cones were classified into four groups.
Type A cones were represented by the one small, well-polished cone already mentioned (18 mm height x 16 mm diameter), whose size is extremely small; it might have had a different function from the others; a small area on the sloping wall near its bottom was apparently cut off, simulating the large cones (discussed in the section on slate and other stone). Type B cones, the largest (mean: 64.5 mm height x 51.5 mm diameter), consist of two examples, each with seven triangle motifs at the bottom of their sloping wall. Type C (mean: 55.3 mm height x 51.5 mm diameter) is represented by ten cones, each with eight triangle designs. Type D (mean: 47.0 mm height x 47.2 mm diameter) consists of five cones, each decorated with a row of nine triangle designs. The number of triangle designs is correlated with cone size. If the one type A cone is excluded, examples with nine triangles comprise the group of smallest and lightest cones, while two examples with seven triangles are those of the largest and heaviest. Although this correlation is clearly indicated, no attached meanings or functions are apparent. It was considered that their spatial relationships might suggest something about their function, particularly a possible usage for game-ritual (see below); however, plots by triangle design number, cone height, and cone diameter yielded no obvious distribution pattern (Fig. 73).
Fig. 73 Spatial distribution ofgreenstone cones in Grave 14: all 18 pieces were plotted by height, diameter (cm), and the number of triangle motifs. GIS map: author.
As far as I know, greenstone cones have not been found elsewhere in Teotihuacan, and they seem to have been rare in the rest of Mesoamerica. Only a few relevant references have been found. Mountjoy and Smith (1985) report the discovery of cones in Jalisco, which they believe were used for patolli. These are more similar to the FSP cones than any others although their materials, shapes, and archaeological contexts are different. Patolli was considered not only a game but also a sacred act by Mesoamericans (Sahagtin 1954: bk. 8, ch. 10). Aveni (1980: 231-33) discusses possible calendrical and astrological meanings of patolli in the Mexican Highlands. The resemblance of patolli to the marks of pecked crosses, which were found in abundance in Teotihuacan, also supports this interpretation.
John Carlson has informed me that the collection of pre-Columbian art in Yale University Art Gallery contains an object (Kubler 1986:221) comparable to the FSP cones: the triangle design on the bottom edge of the object is strikingly similar to that of the cones. However, this pottery object’s shape is not really a cone but a flat plaque whose upper half represents two other objects, one a square form with two holes near the edge, the other resembling the distal end of a femur. Carlson thinks this indicates a ritual use of cones with human sacrifice because the entire object appears to represent the femur head stuck on the point of a cone. This interpretation corresponds well with the burial contexts of the object, which explicitly indicates human sacrifices, although significant differences of material, shape, and the uncertain identification of other added elements raise many questions about the interpretation. Since no other references to greenstone cones have been found, Carlson’s interpretation awaits additional data and explanations.
Two of the interpretations mentioned above are not exclusive; therefore the cones could have been bloody ritual objects with calendrical astrological meanings, used for patolli. According to Christopher Carr (1995, personal communication), the Hopewell people of the eastern United States placed cones in the graves of some of their dead, some made of quartz and others made of copper (green) and sparkling stones. Carr has assumed that the cones were used in a divining game. This analogy might also be suggestive for the FSP cones, although the instances mentioned are too isolated to discuss possible relationships among them.
Miscellaneous
In addition to the objects discussed above, several other kinds of greenstone objects were found in the central area of the FSP, some from Grave 14, others from looted graves or the looters’ tunnel. These unusual pieces distinguish the central graves from peripheral graves, although there is no clear indication of hierarchical distinction among the central graves (Graves 12, 13, and 14) in their offerings. Graves 14 and 13 contained their own unique objects; however, the data were not sufficient to differentiate them hierarchically from one another in quality, quantity, or variety, because Graves 12 and 13 were looted. According to stratigraphic data, certain pieces found in the looters’ tunnel may have been offerings originally deposited in Grave 13. A small plaque in the form of a temple was found in the disturbed layer
Fig. 74 Various greenstone objects: a “resplandor,” b nose pendant miniature, c and d plaque pendants, e miniature ax with sharp edge, f and g plaque fragments, h a “scroll” pendant with a perforation, i small temple plaque, j and k two button-like round objects. Photo: author.
Near the floor of Grave 13 (Fig. 74i), incised with the same design on both sides to represent a temple platform. In the same layer of Grave 13, two small button-like round objects were found (Fig. 74j and k) and another, very similar round plaque was found in a layer covering Grave 13. They formed parts of the same type of object, as their identical location (in different layers) and morphological similarities suggest. One greenstone pendant in the form of a scroll with a perforation (Fig. 74h) was found in the lowest disturbed layer of Grave 13. Although this was a motif used frequently, what the piece specifically represents is unknown. The presence of a hole indicates that it functioned as a pendant, and it could have been used with other pendants. If a counterpart had the same form, they may have represented a bifurcated tongue.
Grave 14 also contained unique greenstone objects. One miniature ax was found near the cranium of individual 14-B (Fig. 74e),its surface smoothed and one end with a long, sharp edge. Several unique beads and plaques were also found among many other offerings, including simple greenstone beads that would have been variations of beads or pendants deposited as general offerings. Other unidentified greenstone objects, mostly fragments, are not included here.
The varieties of unique greenstone offerings, together with unusual objects made of other materials, stress the special qualities of Graves 13 and 14. Yet the data do not seem to indicate the superiority of either of these two graves.
Fig. 75 Slate disks of various sizes from the FSP graves. Two disks to the left are classified as small, while four pieces to the right belong to a third group of medium size. The human figure made of slate was also found at the FSP. Photo: author.
World History
